05/14/2010, You can't, nor can you afford not to try and make them!
I would report more on the potential purchase of our new boat, but right now there just isn't any new news to report frankly. Oh, there is lots of drama, but it will be best to talk about that once the process is over, one way or another. What I can say is that this weekend will hold the key. Events are unfolding that will either put us in a new Hudson Force 50 or keep us sailing happily along on THIRD DAY.
It's been quite a roller coaster ride and in many ways it's helped us to re-evaluate where we are and most importantly where we want to go next. In that process, living aboard a boat came out as a clear winner. Every cruise ends one day, or at least transitions into something different. The move from the freedom and independence of cruising to living aboard a boat rather than stepping off the boat and back into a land house would be easier for sure. It's something that sounds very appealing to us, which is what ultimately pushed us over the edge and into the process of trying to find something bigger.
As I'm putting together a spec sheet for THIRD DAY and listing out all her systems and cruising gear for a potential upcoming sale, it's hard to imagine all we've done to her and it's all but impossible to account for all the hours put into making her what she it today, our home. As we look at not just a bigger boat, but a gigantic boat like the Hudson Force 50, you can't help but have a little feeling of dread about going through the process all over again. To take a boat and make her your own isn't just a financial challenge that the smart among us never try, it's quite an emotional task as well. Don't get me wrong, the emotional investment we have in THIRD DAY won't keep me from cashing a check for her purchase and using it ALL for the upgrade to a Force 50. She will, however, always be the boat that helped us change our lives, that gave me the opportunity to spend two solid years (and counting), 730 days, 24hrs a day with my family and two kids. How do you put a price on something like that? You don't in the end, because such memories are not for sale at any price nor can the cost it took to generate them ever said to be too high. The boat doesn't matter in the end because it's just a tool like money that if used correctly can give a great return or be flushed down a Big Government spending rat hole.
So how then do you price memories? Well it's actually pretty easy these days with the internet. You go on www.Yachtworld.com and see what the average asking price is for a 1978 Pearson 365 Ketch and then list THIRD DAY to sell!
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05/13/2010, Ok, Two Mindight Bus Runs
It's now 7:45AM on Thursday morning and I feel even worse than I'm sure I look, having just got back aboard THIRD DAY from an overnight bus trip to San Carlos. It was my first trip to San Carlos, but since I was only on the ground less than 7hrs, all I can really say about the town is that it looked like any other Mexican town in Baja.
I left Mazatlan at 11PM on Tuesday night on the first bus trips and set foot in San Carlos at 10:30AM Wednesday morning, and then leaving at 5PM the same day back to Mazatlan. The purpose of the trip wasn't to see if I could kill myself, throw out my back, or even to run a comparative test of traveling at night by buss compared to by boat. The reason for this crazy whirlwind trip was to check out another Hudson Force 50, which is for sale in San Carlos. Since we are trying to buy the Force 50 in Mazatlan, checking out another similar model boat just seemed like the smart thing to do, and it was because it gives us options.
Both boats have their plus and minuses, which all get factored into the ultimate decision of which boat at what price represents the best "deal". Buying a large (ok huge) boat like the Hudson Force 50 opens up a whole new world of interior and exterior teak varnishing projects in comparison to THIRD DAY. Prior to the actual boat closing, a good investment may be to purchase stock in a sand paper and varnish company, but perhaps that could be viewed as insider trading, and we wouldn't want to end up like Martha Stewart! But would her time served, be any less "hard time" than taking on such a forest of teak in need of restoration?
As I've said for almost the last week now, we should know more today, tomorrow, or heck, next week about our pending offer. It turns out that the delay isn't with our offer, but with the boat Broker situation here in Mazatlan. It's a story and drama that would make for a great mini-series, but for now, we will just remain silent on the sorted details and say that most if not all of my feelings regarding boat brokers have been confirmed in the last 14 days, since we started our attempt to make the purchase.
At this point, some sleep would be the best thing to do, but that's never stopped me in the past. So as soon as I finish breakfast, I'll hop on the hour long buss ride from the Old Harbor to the Marina area and spend a little quality time with the boat brokers to get a little fresh dose of drama.
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05/11/2010, New Boat, Hurricanes, and being busy
This morning is a scramble, as we get THIRD DAY ready to leave the marina slip and head back to the Mazatlan Old Harbor. We have been able to do lots of major work items in the last week, but blowing taco money on marina fees just isn't something we like doing so at about noon, off the dock lines go. The last week in Marina Singlar cost us $95USD, which is about 10% of what we have been spending each month to cruise. So it's easy to see how spending significant or even scant time in a marina can really add up and impact your cruising budget. We wouldn't have come into the marina if it wasn't for our scheme to buy the larger boat, which is still in the works, but now with that underway there's no need to stay. It's an hour buss ride from the Old Harbor to the Marina's, but it's a Free Anchorage! We will end up moving THIRD DAY back to the marina if we actually get the new boat and park them side by side for a day or two of unloading THIRD DAY with all our junk, I mean important cruising gear, but for now, we need to continue with what got us here in the first place, which is watching our budget!
With Hurricane season officially starting in 4 days, the thought of schedule is definitely in the back of our minds! By this time last year we were working our way into the relative safety of the Northern Sea of Cortez, but here we sit smack-dab in the middle of the hurricane area. We estimate that the new boat will take us 3 to 4 weeks to get ready before we can take her up to the Northern Sea and then there's the question of what to do with THIRD DAY. One option is to leave her here in a $329/month marina slip and list her for sale with a boat broker while the other more time consuming option is to get her unloaded and then bash her back up the outside of Baja and put her on our Port San Luis mooring until she sells. It's a tough call either way, weighing a monthly expenditure on one side, with the thought of a Baja bash on the other. Boats on moorings are more difficult to sell due to the complexity of getting people out to look at them, and there is a definite advantage for a buyer making his purchase in Mexico vs California (saving California sales tax). Although June and July are historically the best two months for a trip up the outside of Baja, is that something we really want to do? Although the larger boat will be great for our long term plans, it does cause some difficult short term decisions and increases our boat work load.
At this point in the game, after two years of cruising and almost three years of refitting prior to cruising, THIRD DAY is basically perfect. The to-do-list isn't filled with important items, but more with aesthetic and nicety items. All the systems are dialed in and working well and everything is just the way we dreamed it would be when we bought the boat. So if you are looking for a truly cruise ready Pearson 365 Ketch, hey, have I got a deal for you.
I also have to admit something; I like the excitement, turmoil and unknown factors of this whole "bigger new boat deal". It fits my "type A" personality to have lots of issues swirling around and even after learning how to relax while out cruising, it's still fun to have that feeling of being slightly overwhelmed with more on the plate than I can handle. It's helps focus the mind and it's definitely true that if you want to get something done, ask someone to do it that already has too much on his plate, rather than the person with enough time!
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