Visit our Popular Forums

JCF · 20-04-2014, 16:21

Hello to all Captains, Admirals and Mates,

Where to start? Hell of a six years. Lost a brother and my father. Geez, 1 sinking, 1 demasting and twin screw shafts on a 36' motorboat get bent like pretzels. So the admiral loses her mom and also ends up having the big toe amputated (2 years bed bound total) because of an injury sustained from trauma.

So we're glad and lucky to be alive and almost start to get our world back. BAM. Super storm Sandy destroyed the bottom of the house and a small speed shop business I put in place for my son with 6 bikes (2 of which were my own) and 2 trucks along with my own personal truck and the admirals truck. Insurance companies screwed us good by depreciating everything and then depreciating everything newly installed again. We put things in perspective and in order by using our nest egg until claims and other crap get paid for pennies on the dollar but we figure we count our blessings (losses sustained were a small fortune).

Bought vehicles, speed shop had to close its doors. Boats were a total loss. Lost the trucks and bikes and everything considered personal items. Prior to Sandy, I purchased a nice 26' catamaran, demounted it and transported it from Washington to Charleston, remounted it and did a major fit out (mast, new standing rigging, new sheets and halyards, new LED lights on mast and hulls, new electrical, new inverter, new vhf, new rode and chain, new wind vane, depth finder, new chart plotter, used radar, used tiller pilot, new hard dinghy and 2 stroke, new 15HP outboard, etc) over a two year period, then started to sail it north to NY. Reached South Port and came home to keep doing repairs on the house until it was time to move her along again.

I had almost completed all the repairs mandated by the insurance company on the house and the wife gets admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. On my way to see her, I'm at a RED stop light STOPPED on my son's bike and I get rear ended by a cager. I end up with a laminectomy with rods and screws fusing 6 out of 7 verterbras in my neck effectively discombobulating my world and restricting my visual range of motion to a few degrees of eyeball movement. That was in September. Now I'm almost able to twist my neck in any 6 axes by about 10 degrees. Doctor said maybe I can get 50% back in 5 years.

So we have decided that unless we get killed dead, we are out of it and have begun all our due diligence to retire early within the next 3-4 years...maximum. Of course, it has already been decided that the house must have a canal and dock with sea wall for the catamaran. We are looking at Cape Coral or Ft Myers.

Information provided... which brings me to my inquiry. I have the cat at South Port and I want to ask if anyone is interested in the following. We are no longer sailing her North and instead are doing an about face and heading her South.

1. There is a short list of repairs that need to be made, and a long list of elective fit out items I would like to see completed. None in my opinion are seaworthiness or safety concerns and to be honest, I don't even need them done for the trip and only mention it for disclosure reasons in case someone is looking for work I am going to find very difficult to complete at the present moment with my injuries. I can help but only to tell you what needs to be done. The cat steamed from Charleston to Cape Fear by way of a 25 mile offshore rhumb and she was ok. Actually we motor sailed because the winds were very light.

2. And more importantly, delivering the boat to the Marina down in Cape Coral by way of the Okeechobee waterway since it cuts time from having to swing her compass south into the keys. That's her home port until we relocate. There is no immediate rush for either to happen, but, I definitely want it done at the very earliest possible opportunity since I want those items off the checklist. I may or may not take part in this but even if I do I will not be able to help except to look around.

If you wanted to deliver and have time and want to remain on board at her home port to complete the repairs then that would be something I would be amenable to discussing as well. I have to pay the marina anyway so that wouldn't be a problem. Right now, all negotiations and possibilities are open to discussion.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? All are welcome and appreciated. Once I figure out the attachment thingie I will post some photos and the repair lists etc and of course anything else requested.

I'm so glad to be back.