We are in the transitional time of year here in the Pacific Northwest. Actually, it feels a little bit early for the grey skies but they descended upon us with a vengeance last week, dumping buckets of heavy rain, causing us to close the ports and hatches on Moonrise. Have to say it’s good to have a dry boat. The sun takes longer to burn off the clouds in the morning, the world begins to feel small; womb like. Apparently we are in for an early fall this year, more’s the pity. So all the more reason to seize the day as often as possible and get out on the boat. Just going down to the marina improves our mood. We breathe audible sighs of relief at the open space and the water.
Unseasonably good wind!
On the boat sales front, things are looking up. We feel movement in the air and it’s not just wind on the water. We showed Moonrise to a very nice man who is a knowledgeable buyer, knows what he wants, and is looking for a boat to sail to Alaska with his son. We would love to think that Moonrise would find a home with a family! That would make us feel very good. The same day we received another call from someone looking for a boat for himself and his wife, also a good candidate for Moonrise as we know how comfortable she is for a couple who just wants to spend time alone. The level of interest in our girl is picking up, giving us hope that she will find the right new home soon and we will not actually have to sail her to Mexico and beyond, a trip that would be sure to cause anxiety in my family (and myself, to be brutally honest).
These folks were just drifting around in the light wind, reading a book on deck, enjoying the warm sunshine.
Meanwhile our ad is getting interest from people who might like to work out a trade with us. Wouldn’t it be something if everything kind of fell together all at the same time? Keep your fingers crossed for us and do whatever other little rituals to the Gods of fortune feel right to you. We’re doing our best to just kind of stand back and observe this whole thing, doing our part to allow things to happen without forcing them. And we’re also doing our best to keep all of our options open. It’s a delicate balance, to be sure.
To continue our education about all things boating, Mike and I are excited to go up to Friday Harbor next weekend via the Victoria Clipper. (That’s right, any excuse to get away.) A trip that would take us 2-3 days on Moonrise can be had for a little over an hour on the Clipper. We’ll be meeting up with Steven Roberts of Nomadness.com and taking a look at his Amazon 44, probably just about the dreamiest boat I can imagine. If you are an engineering geek or any kind of inventor person, you owe it to yourself to explore his website in depth. If you are not particularly geeky, I warn you that Steven speaks in a foreign tongue but the photos are pretty. Put on your Star Trek outfits and beam yourself up to his site. I cannot wait to meet him and see his boat.
Meanwhile, we are enjoying Moonrise so much right now. We realize that when we do get that bigger and heavier boat, we’re going to be giving up for awhile the kind of sailing we can get on Moonrise; ghosting along at 4 knots in about 7 knots of wind, sails completely balanced. We’re willing to give that up for the comfort afforded by a bigger boat, but we do plan to enjoy it while we have it.
My sailor man. He’s a keeper. Damn! I am one lucky woman.
OOH! Sounds like you have lots of fun stuff coming up. When you start to think how efficient power boats are remember the 1-2 gallon of diesel an hour burn rate on trawlers. Adding those numbers up usually cures me of power boat lust.
I really, really do hope you find a new home for Moonrise but if you DO have to sail her to Mexico, it will be okay. Yes, Andrew will have to sleep in the cockpit but he’s young, he cam take it. 😉
We saw a trawler in Sidney, BC for sale. The sign said it only burned 7 gallons/hour! OMG! Moonrise’s engine takes 1/2 gallon an hour going full speed. I just can’t imagine spending that kind of money.
What will be will be. Even in Moonrise we can offer him a quarter berth. 🙂
We are berthed down the dock from a gorgeous Nordhavn. I joke it’s like getting married then wanting a lover. We just bought Mongojo and I can’t stop talking about this trawler. But…yes…at 2400 mile range and 900 gallon’s of fuel, we could never do a trawler unless we won the lotto.
Moonrise is such an awesome boat. If you picked your weather window well, the trip down the Whale Highway would be a little daunting but doable. Whatever the Universe has in store will happen. 🙂
Also, on my blog, I was able to get links set up FINALLY! I had to go onto a PC and download the plug, I tried hours on my Mac, got it first time on the PC. But it’s done…and I have your blog linked! 🙂
LOL! I know what you mean about feeling disloyal to your own boat when drooling over other boats in the marina! It’s easy to see why people like the comfort of a trawler, but oy! the expense would kill me.
Glad you got your blog figured out! Thanks for linking with us.
Man you’ve got alot of things coming up it sounds :D!! That is so awesome. I’m always rooting for you and Mike and the next boat. So whatever happened to your boat review posts? I’d love to see some of these boats you are checking out, if only in pictures.
My boat reviews are now featured on ThreeSheetsNW.com and as part of the deal, I agreed that I would not publish them on our website until the day after they are seen on ThreeSheets. I put them on our Boat Reviews page but that creates a new page, not a new post. So I link to the page from a new post. I know… very confusing. There is a review coming up for an interesting Finnsailor, and I’m working on one for an Amazon 44. But we haven’t looked at that many boats lately. I don’t want to waste a broker’s time. Of course, if they have something they’d like me to write about, I’m always game to have a look.
Oh I see now. I’d love to see the Amazon 44. Also, if you are able to sell Moonrise, that would pretty much open you up to getting a boat anywhere along the West Coast right? Or does the issue of paying taxes when you bring it up to WA come into play?
In Washington. taxes definitely come into play. The taxes take a huge bite out of our budget. We would keep the boat in Oregon as long as possible. The Amazon will sell for over $200,000, well out of our price range. Plus, you can add another 8.9% to that sales price. See what I mean? Nasty. We save a lot of money if we buy and keep the boat in Oregon. It’s also why we’re looking at cheaper boats, even if it means we have to do some work. At least our labor doesn’t get taxed.