The Search is Over

[The Apprentice]

Part I…..The Search is Over

This may be a long story…I hope you find it of interest. It’s a story of love, trials and tribulations and joy…If that does not turn you off nothing will….happy reading

Having been looking for a boat to get back on the water following an hiatus of about 20 years due to work commitments taking me to 11 countries and living in 9 (have not lived in Australia now for about 20 years, and not planning on going back), I’m happy to announce the search is over.

Throughout the past 18 months I have been from Turkey in the East to the UK in the West in search of the ‘as near as perfect’ boat to suit our needs. We are Expat South African and Australian, now living in Las Palmas, Spain and I commute to one of the West African countries for work, so looking for a boat has been a lot of fun…Out extensive travel to mainland Europe had been a way of ‘justifying’ the search to my wife...

After having planted the seed of getting a boat (again) with Minister of Home Affairs eons ago, out of the blue one day (18 months ago), while visiting friends on Koh Phangan Island, Thailand, where we lived for a couple of years, she said let’s get a boat…!!! Actually another Cruiser Forum member was privy to the conversation as we were sipping on a cold beer following a day of diving at Sail Rock, so I had a credible witness should the statement ever be retracted. A very unlikely occurrence!

Well I did not question the statement…That’s good enough for me I thought…and so the search commenced… Actually if the truth be known I had been quietly looking for the past couple of years.

Since early days I had always liked the Moody 422 and 425, and began in earnest the search for the perfect beast…Looked at a few aI realised the available sock was not up to what I had envisaged…I’m in my mid 50’s now and as much as I would love to potter around on a project boat, I was more inclined to get something requiring less work and more fun. I had also in the back of my mind the Beneteau as an alternative…

As the months rolled by, an extra few dollars made their way into the boat account each month.

The search continued with Beneteau’s becoming more attractive and a focus…looked at multiple models, years, styles, from East to West, and in the end it came down to the 44 Centre cockpit.

Looking at boats online, on the water, calling brokers and surveyors and having ‘walk-through’ surveys carried out ultimately narrowed the field to three (3) boats in the UK…

I guess I should inject here that the surveyor I found in the UK was (is) brilliant. He and I talked a couple of time about my expectations and we seemed to align so well. We were on the same page. He would be trying to look at boats I selected through my eyes, prior to me travelling to the UK. From the walk-through surveyors of three (3) boats two (2) were singled out. With that I headed to the UK.

The two (2) I looked at in the UK were 1996 and 2002 models. Long story short (a bit of an understatement, considering what I have already written), I went with the 2002 model, Its very well set up, having done one ARC and was enjoying the cool waters of Dartmouth. Back to LPA, discussed it with the Minister of Home Affairs & now Finance (expanded portfolio), two calls with the broker, and the boat was ours. If the offer was not accepted, I would have simply gone to the second. I could not separate, them apart from age. Both well cared for, and would suit the need

Than it dawned on me…what’s next …the searching was over…I really enjoyed the pursuit…now what...OMG what have i done..?

What was I going to do with the 15 min’s I afforded myself at lunch time each day at work…?

There was no fear of having nothing to do as you would well know. Arranging to get her bottom painted, engine and gen set serviced, new anodes, a quick polish of the hull, rudder and cutlass bearings replaced, re-registering under different flag, Insurance, and a couple of minor (cosmetic) things I wanted taken care of before moving her to Las Palmas. The plan is to move to her new home by the end of June.

At the start of the adventure, I developed a spread sheet (is that not what all engineers do) that outlined what we were looking for and at a glance was able to compare each boat across a number of parameters; I will load this in my next post, [Part 2].

Some may find it of interest. I will also go into a bit of the detail around the few things I’m having taken care of before she goes back in the water.

I hope I’ve not bored you with my story….

[Tayana42]

Nice story. Very good that you knew what you were looking for and found it. Congratulations on the boat.

[The Apprentice]

Thanks Tayana42...

I was somewhat single minded in the end...Whittled down the vast number of options and took it from there...

Finding what you 'need' -vs- 'what you want' is something that needs to be settled very early in the search...Otherwise I would have still been looking in 12 months time

[Prairie Chicken]

Very nice! Good choice, and a nice story. I look forward to hearing the continuing saga. Congrats!

[The Apprentice]

Thanks Prairie Chicken
Its a comfortable boat, and not one that will be sitting in the marina as a show piece...
Cheers

[Tetepare]

Congrats. You're ahead of us.

Now comes the worst year of your life. Finding little things wrong, trying to figure out how things work, where this and that lead to, and trying to fix. Rest assured though after a year you'll be in a better place.

[The Apprentice]

Thanks Tetepare...


Yes, chasing down where wires lead to and what's on the end of them...or not is going to be exciting...


I will most likely develop a few new yoga moves...as I go...

[Jim Cate]

Now comes the worst year of your life.

what nonsense! That should be a GREAT year, playing with new toys, learning new skills, feeling the joy of crossing things off lists. Actually, if it isn't as I describe, you shouldn't be buying a boat!!!

Enjoy your new love, and do add Minister of Transport to her (your old love) portfolio ASAP.



Jim

[The Apprentice]

Hi Jim...
Its going to be a great time, and as you say learning new things and ticking them of...I love those tick boxes...


As someone said (Emerson..?) 'It's not about the destination it's about the journey'


Good point about expanding the portfolio to include Minister of Transport


Where about's in Broken Bay are you...? I sailed pretty extensively around Pittwater for many years

[Jim Cate]

Where about's in Broken Bay are you...? I sailed pretty extensively around Pittwater for many years

Ummm, let's see... Been anchored in Towlers for a couple of weeks, getting stuff done. Came around the corner yesterday, night in America's, laundry in Brooklyn, anchored out in the stream or a few hours, now in Refuge for the night... tomorrow, who knows? Will be around these parts for a while longer, then further north before it gets too cold!

Jim

[JPA Cate]

The Apprentice,

We're in Refuge Bay, tonight, but basically, we're cruisers, mostly in Australia now, but still some trips to New Caledonia, which both of us like for its beauty, its pleasant sailing, and, of course, French wines and cheeses, and oh! the pates!

Ann

[The Apprentice]

Sounds great...Some nice places to just hang out...
Good plan to move north with the onset of winter...However it never really get all that cold around there
Enjoy it guys

[The Apprentice]

Ann and Jim...


I hear what you say... French wines and cheeses, and yes the pates ...yum
Together with blue sky's and a light breeze...What more can one wish for...

[savoir]

The pates in New Caledonia were fantastic. The terrines were even better.

The price of ham was a little scary at $45/kg. OUCH !

[The Apprentice]

Savoir..
$45/kg...double ouch...
I love living in Spain...the price of ham is great..
The Serrano ham is fantastic