Hilary Helkenn

Vessel Name: Brighter Days
Vessel Make/Model: Fuji 45'
Hailing Port: Vero Beach, Florida
Crew: Travis and Hilary
About: When a boy meets a crazy girl who wants to sail around (or about) the world, and he is cool enough to say "ok."
20 July 2016 | La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit, Mexico
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20 July 2016 | La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit, Mexico

Our first trip to SV Brighter Days Part 1

Last week, the Captain and I were able to sneak away to Mexico to spend a few days on the boat. Since our time was so limited at sea trial and survey, this was really our first chance to get to know her.

03 July 2016

Introducing SV Brighter Days!

Plot twist….!!!! Big(ger) changes on the Horizon…

Our first trip to SV Brighter Days Part 1

20 July 2016 | La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit, Mexico
Hilary
Last week, the Captain and I were able to sneak away to Mexico to spend a few days on the boat. Since our time was so limited at sea trial and survey, this was really our first chance to get to know her.

I will confess that I had a lot of anxiety over this purchase. More than T, who was all in from the beginning. T had finished the sale of Mongojo the day before he left, and that was difficult. I LOVE her. She was my first boat and I had plans and I somehow feel that I let her down. While I realize it's a bit ridiculous to anthropomorphise a boat, I can't help it. I'm a sentimental girl. I knew the way she moved, I knew the little tics she had. I knew how her mast sang to me when the wind was from the NW at about 5mph. I knew and loved her, and selling her was hard. That she went to an experienced sailor and cruiser who had the knowledge and intent to fix her up helped ease the blow, but it was still hard. I didn't love Brighter Days yet. She was a mysterious stranger to me. It had been a prolonged closing and the initial thrill of a new beautiful boat had worn off a bit. So I wasn't sure how I would feel, but I knew it would take some time to get to love her.

T arrived the day before, and had barely had time to get to the marina for paperwork and then was exhausted so he went straight back to the hotel. Since we were unsure of the boat systems, we had reserved two nights at La Cruz Inn. A quaint little thatched roof "bungalow" hotel, it was recently bought by Annette and Cirillo. I highly recommend staying there. They could not have been nicer, loaning us a cooler and even giving us a ride to the boat the next day. We had a nice air conditioned room and bathroom, with an outdoor kitchenette and sitting area.

I arrived the next day around 1 pm, and was beyond delighted to see T after almost a month apart.


Crew Reunited


After a quick lunch at Restaurante de Enrique (where I think we might quickly be considered "regulars" as they remembered us from May) we headed to the boat for our first peek as the owners of a Fuji 45'.

She is beautiful. Her lines are classic and gorgeous. A lot of boat owners will refer in disparaging tones to the "PO", or previous owner. Something done by the "PO" often is different to how it would have been accomplished by the current owners, and oftentimes it is viewed as inferior. I doubt T and I will ever have cause to do this. The boat was refit completely between 2003 and 2008, and it is just stunning. I kept walking through her saying, "I just can't believe this is real." and "She is so BIG. I can't believe she is ours." That feeling didn't really go away during the long weekend. Everytime I'd open a drawer and discover cool new storage, I was in awe. From her sails down to the engine room with the new Yanmar 76hp, she is just truly a stunning boat.

The first night, I was truly just in sloth mode. We opened a bottle of wine that we had purchased at the OXXO that turned out to be a completely drinkable Chilean Malbec for ~$10 USD and vegged. Sooner than I wished, the sun was going down. We had work to do, no doubt, but something about heat, a boat and Mexico just provides the perfect reset button. There would be time enough for work tomorrow. Tonight, it was time to relax. I read, sipped wine, watched the sunset, snoozed, enjoyed the company of my Captain and just soaked in the essence of our new vessel.

It was well past sunset when we reluctantly gathered our belongings and made our way to La Cava, a local Mexican restaurant that probably caters to tourists. We had dinner there in May, but someone who shall remain un-named....Ok me...had way too much to drink the previous meal (probably why the bartender at Enrique remembered us!) and I couldn't eat my food. So we tried it again, and I was very pleased. T and I shared a combo meal, and guac. Their enchiladas sin carne with a salsa verde are DELICIOUS! After dinner and several beers (I think the bill was about $28 USD for two and drinks) we headed back to La Cruz Inn. Alarm was set for 8 am to head back to the boat. :)

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