With the sad realization that we will not be sailing across the North Atlantic this year and that the end of our cruising days is staring us in the face, we dust off our list of options of what to do next. Mary Margaret and I have talked about this the last few years as we watched our cruising friends, one after another, pack it in and call what is known in the cruiser world as "burying the hook".

At the top of our list of options is selling Leu Cat, moving back to the States and then buying an RV so we can tour North America. Our wanderlust is still so strong and this option seems to beckon our souls. Our thoughts are we could do this for a few years, delaying the day we need to rent or buy a house and return to being "normal" once again.

A second option is to rent or buy a house somewhere in the US and then spend a fair amount of time traveling, especially in Europe, since we were not able to sail there and explore from the comfort of Leu Cat.

A third option is just the more typical option: simply renting or buying a house and getting involved in the community we chose to live in. The problem with this option is making the decision as to where to settle down and establish roots. Right now, we are kicking around the thought of moving back to the Ann Arbor, Michigan area, where we met and both went to University. There are many nice features to that option as Ann Arbor is a great college town with lots of neat things to do such as sporting events (great football, basketball, girls softball, etc.), wonderful theater with lots of plays and musicals, great concerts, beautiful parks and woodlands, etc., etc. etc. The problem is the winter. Michigan can get very cold and snowy and we remember so well that for 6 weeks, from mid-January through February, you seldom see the sun. It can be a bit depressing. However, one potential solution is that we would take that time to travel out west to visit our three kids and their families in Arizona and California. As I write this, it sounds better and better.

The first decision we are facing is when to sell the boat. As it turns out, a couple of days ago another Lagoon 440, S/V Shift, docked right next to us. I briefly talked with Andros and his wife. They just put their boat up for sale last week and they received 4 offers almost immediately. Wow! The offer they accepted was for $350,000 which was $15,000 over their asking price. How lucky is that!

Their broker is from BVI but came over to Sint Maarten to make sure the inspection of the hull went well today. After they returned to the marina from that short haul-out and inspection, Andros brought his broker over to meet us. I had asked Andros if he would do that so we could get a better feeling for the market.

It seems there is a very healthy demand for Lagoon 440s and people are discovering that it has a number of advantages over the newer Lagoon 450. It was an encouraging meeting and we will be pursuing more discussions with this broker over the next couple of weeks.

Plus, a blog reader has also left us a comment suggesting the he and his wife may be interested in Leu Cat as they are getting ready to follow their dream of sailing the seven seas. We shall see.

Thus, over the next several weeks we will be pursuing different leads and options, trying to figure out what to do next and when to do it. Pretty exciting times!