A fun thing about going to the boat show is getting to look at some ‘previously loved’ sailboats for sale. Used to be there were more of them at the show. Now, I think it must cost the brokers too much to give just any boat that kind of visibility, so the pickings are slim. We got to look at  2005 Malo 45 Classic designed for Nigel Calder (It had a new engine. How appropriate.).  It was a pretty nice boat, and only $599,999. Even at less than 20% of that price, we like Galapagos better. Whew! Close call.

We also got to look at a nifty 1982 Shannon 38 Pilothouse, one of only 9 built. The price tag on that one was only a cool $95,000 so getting a bit closer to our league. Shannons are really good boats, so someone is going to have fun with this one. It was a saucy boat but, again, we like ours better. I do love looking at boats, but it’s good to continue to be happy with what we have.

What flipped us totally out was going aboard the 2009 Garcia 76. Oh my good golly Miss Molly! That boat is simply amazing. If this is an example of how ‘the 1 percent’ must live, then I have been born into the wrong life. When this boat goes onto the U.S. market, it will be listed at about $2,500,000.00. That’s a lot of zeros.  This is a number that is so far beyond my reality, it seems like one should be able to buy a small country, complete with serfs for that amount. The amount of pure hedonistic indulgence is the equivalent of a gallon of your favorite ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery. It’s enough to make you completely sick.

Still,  the aluminum hull of this monster called to me from across the docks. I just had to go aboard because I wanted to be able to wrap my head around a boat that big that looked like it was an awesome sailing boat. Yes, I know there a many boats that that big. But I’ve never been aboard them. Mike and I almost raced each other to the swim step to clambor aboard

I’m so glad the boat’s owner wasn’t aboard to see us gawking and exclaiming about the size of the equipment on this boat. How embarrassing that would have been. We were all kinds of ‘touristy Americans’, exclaiming in wonder as we surveyed the breadth of the mast, the sheer beefiness of the blocks, the world of electric roller furlers. And on this 2+ million dollar boat, someone had wound the foresail so tightly around the furler that it was hurting the sail. I could barely walk away without feeling its pain. Awful.

Here you go. A little sailing eye candy:

Mike noticed their use of soft shackles, pieces of sailing ‘hardware’ that Mike, too, uses liberally. So we’re sort of kind of like the owners of this boat. In a way.

When I look at boats, I always like to spend an appropriate amount of time on deck before going below because it makes me look like I am actually interested in all the sailing stuff going on up there. But of course, I am really dying to go below. You know, true confessions and all.

I believe the word ‘stunned’ would be an appropriate description of what we must have looked like upon finding ourselves in the main salon. Just WOW! First, get a load of that settee and dining area. I’ll show you the galley, which goes the entire beam of the boat, in a minute. Mike and I had our mutual jaws hitting the floor about every two seconds just looking around. Then, when the broker heard me say I would be writing about this boat on the blog, he asked if he could give us the tour and show us some of the finer bells and whistles. Are you freaking kidding me? Lead on, friend, lead on!

First, I noticed the flooring which is not at all the traditional sole in a boat. It’s actually an all weather fabric mesh that I have seen used on floors in industrial chic designs. You can buy outdoor rugs made of it. And it makes a dandy surface on the sole of the boat. The color in this boat, a deep graphite, is quite soothing and gives the boat a quiet feeling.

On the other side of the salon there is another white leather settee and matching white leather club chairs. And the thing about those club chairs is that they are attached to the floor with magnets. To move the chair, you just flip a switch and it releases. Pretty darn cool. But wait! There’s more! What’s behind the chair? That would be the electrical and workshop area.

So turning back to the salon, we tarry awhile longer admiring the view of the furnishings (a little afraid to touch them, actually, with our plebian hands)  then move to the galley. The galley; that which left me speechless. It’s just not possible to understand how a sailboat can have a galley like this. I mean, I get it that cruise ships have galleys. But this boat is owned by an INDIVIDUAL person. Not a government or a large corporation. I only wish I could have had a gander at that refrigerator. But we were not allowed to open it due to the presence of smelly French cheese, at least that’s what the sign said.

And this:

And let’s discuss storage. No, let’s not bother. Because this boat has so much it may as well be a condo. But of course, it is 75 feet long. Seventy five feet. I wonder. Does this boat spend much time in a marina? Oh, wait. No. No need for a marina when you have a crane on the stern of the boat where your OTHER boat lives. The other boat was missing, but I’m guess that the ‘dinghy’ would have been roughly the size of our previous Cal 34, Moonrise.

We move toward the bow of the boat and find an entire new world of berths and cabins, with heads everywhere. I believe the broker said there were 4 heads on this boat and I didn’t take a photo of even one of them. When that happens, you know I am overwhelmed by all the other sights I am seeing. I’m sure they were simply grand. We have enough trouble with two heads on Galapagos, so I can’t imagine doubling that. But I supposed if you can buy this boat, you can pay people to take care of it for you.

More photos because I simply don’t have enough adjectives.

And another cabin. This boat seems to be layed out like the big sailing yachts of yore;  like S/V Odyssey, the pretty Sparkman Stephens sailboat owned by the Tacoma Sea Scouts. The owner’s cabin is in the stern of the boat, with captain’s quarters up front, along with guests and crew. Here’s another nice cabin.

And then, far away in the fore peak, the serf quarters. Nothing says ‘this isn’t really your house’ like a toilet in your bedroom. On a normal boat, this cabin would be pretty nice. On this boat, it pretty much pales in comparison to the other cabins.

But I’m saving the best for last. The master cabin. Have mercy, this is a lovely cabin.

Alert readers will see that this bed is not on the midline of the cabin. But what about when the boat is under sail and she is heeled over nicely? Won’t the owner be irritated by that? Not to worry. This is a FRENCH boat! And the French are all over your comfort at sea. They have a long tradition of building fine boats. They keep these details in mind. Watch this:

The broker was positively gleeful as he pushed a button and magically the head of the bed began to rise. Starboard tack?  Port tack? No problem. Push the button again. Raise the foot, raise the head, raise whatever you need to raise in order to get a good night’s sleep below. Sweet.

Then, of course, there is the storage behind all those pretty wood panels. Drawers pull out, hanging lockers pull out.

Finally, there is a work station to die for in the master cabin.

On the way out I took notice of the nav station.

By the time we’d seen the master suite, we were getting the idea that it was time for us to let other people have a turn. People were lined up waiting to board so no time to actually talk about little things like engines or sailing systems, things like that. I’d say we got a bunch of ideas for refitting Galapagos by looking at this boat, but you’d probably think I was exaggerating. And you’d be right. We just have to appreciate this boat for the work of art that it is and be glad we had the luck to be at the show to see it. Plus we have a blog so we got to see the magic bed and all. What a great day! You see? There IS a benefit to writing all this stuff down!