I can't believe how much has happened since the last entry here. It's become very clear to me that I can't type at a fraction of the speed we're living at the moment.
So, I'm going to have to leapfrog a bit.
Briefly, Flying Cloud, the boat in the US we really expected to be the one, was a huge disappointment. She looks great in the photos and some of the work that had been done to her by the previous owner was brilliant. But her decks were in very bad repair with water intrusion that has rotted a lot of areas inside. It would be a $50,000 job to strip and rebuild the decks before starting on the inside, and a year to 18 months out of our cruising life.
We had to check her out because she may have lived up to expectations, but seeing as we were there, we used the opportunity to look at many other boats from Seattle through Oregon, California and even into Mexico. It was a chance to see in real life a number of designs we've had on our 'possibly suitable' list, and discount those that would be less suitable. So many boats have characteristics that would be bearable for a month, but seriously irritating if permanent.
We also caught up with some family on the way and made new friends. There is no doubt that people who live on and around their boats are a unique breed. Probably because it's a brotherhood of folk who know that the helping hand they extend now will be a helping hand they may need later. It's old fashioned, quaint, sincere, and really nice.
After narrowing the field down to just 2 boat designs, the first choice being the layout of the boat we saw in Greece and the other being the layout of Bon Accord in the Netherlands, the choice was easy. The Greek boat is the only one of the first option on the market and she is too far gone for our purposes, so that left Bon Accord.
We tried to get the airlines to change our return tickets to fly out of LA, but they wouldn't play ball so we drove from the bottom of California to the top of Washington state, over 2000 kms, jumped on the plane and 16 hours later we landed at Heathrow. There we met Alex, a Cruisers' Forum aquaintance, jumped in his car and drove to Dover for the ferry crossing to Calais. When we got there we drove straight up through France, Belguim, and into Holland, eventually getting to Stellendam, about an hour south of Amsterdam. We'd left Oceanside, California on the saturday lunchtime, and arrived in Stellendam around 5 pm on the wednesday.
Phileas Fogg, eat your heart out!
Alex is a delivery skipper with a number of circumnavigations under his belt and has done boat restorations etc etc. He offered to go over the boat with us and we figured it to be good insurance. Either his experience would help us avoid making a costly mistake, or provide leverage to reduce the price. If we were really lucky we'd have confirmation that the boat is fine, as is.
We spent thursday and friday going through the boat. Once again Sandy and I could see her as our home, more so than the others we have seen. She just feels good.
But what an emotional rollercoaster. On thursday night I was ready to walk away from the deal because some issues appeared just too big.
On the other hand we'd decided to spend 2 days there so we went back on friday and carried on. We're glad we did.
On the friday we rolled out the sails, well, those that weren't jammed. It was cold and breezy and the sails are filthy. Some need a bit of stitching. But when that huge main, and even bigger genoa filled, Sandy and I looked at each other. I could read her like a book. "... let's just get this baby on the ocean, somewhere warm...", or some suchlike. We actually both felt the excitement of what lies ahead.
By the end we had also found some good things about the boat too. It's true we have identified many things that need attention, but she is fundamentally a very strong boat.
After some deep thought in the early hours of the morning, as you do, we decided that the boat's condition is actually not our problem. It's the owner's problem. We can keep our money in our pocket and go on to the next boat. He is stuck with it.
We spent the drive back to Calais going through the list with Alex and jotting down estimates of the hours for each project or repair, and costs of materials and equipment.
Monday and tuesday were spent putting a proposal together, presenting the state of the boat, estimates for the work, and the price we would be prepared to pay. It's a lot less than the 'bottom price the owner would accept'. But the work is a lot more than most buyers would be prepared to take on. In fact there are many jobs, but the biggest involves taking out the massive engine to cut the tanks out, make new tanks, and puting it all back together again.
So, we've sent off our offer and I strongly suspect that when the owner picks himself up off the floor, he'll continue to be in denial about the state of his boat and tell us to get lost, or whatever the dutch equivalent is...!
On the other hand the boat has been on the market for 2 years, it's not set up for cold climate sailing so would not attract local buyers and continues to cost him insurance and marina fees... while it deteriorates further.
And so we wait. The chances of getting this boat are not great, but at least we have given it our best shot.
In the mean time, Easter is here and we have the good fortune to be with family. Nick and Lee have made us so welcome.
Our next port of call, if not back to Holland, will be to see a good looking ketch near Valencia in Spain...