Hylas Saloon

Thursday 31 January 2013

Where in the world is Carmen? San Diego? Yes, but not for long.

It was necessary to fight off buyers for the Cabo Rico. Had them lined up to pay more, indicating a seriously low ask. No matter, she is shortly en route to Adelaide beginning a new life as we similarly embark.

At last report Jan & I were homeless and depending on the kindness of strangers, friends and relatives, looking for a grocery cart or possibly a new home. Fortunately she is really cute and brings out the paternal/maternal/chivalrous/lustful instinct in people with spare accommodation. Thought it was a joke about wanting a bigger boat, didn't you? Anyway, here's a summary of the last five weeks.

After vacating Anthem, spent a week on "Freezing Rain" sorting 500 kilo of household goods bound for Miami, best guess for where all this crap should go. Because of transit time, needed to make a decision which would have sucked had we bought a boat on Left Coast where we stopped for two days to look at Kelly Peterson 46s and Tayana 48s. Fell in love with a Tayana 52 on Harbor Island. Pretty boat. The love didn't extend to its teak decks.

Mooched off a friend in St. Petersburg (the warm one) for a few days before trekking from tippy-top of Florida East Coast down to Ft. Lauderdale looking at anything likely from 45 to 55 feet. Definite ideas on requirements began eroding as nothing grabbed us by the short and curlies. Last minute, reluctant detour to see an in-mast roller furled sloop we therefore definitely didn't want resulted in its purchase. Life throws you curve balls. People buy crap that has one bit they fall in love with and ignore the nearly perfect that has one bit they dislike.

The Hylas 46 "Shazza" (which is Australian slang for trailer trash and a term to warn others of trashy women in the vicinity) is fitted out very well for our requirements. Needs a few bits like dinghy davits, wind generator, isolation transformer (so we don't smoke the boat when connecting to 240 volt shore power), a few other bits and pieces and possibly a dinghy that isn't held together with duct tape, but is, despite all that, ready to go off shore. If time allows, expect to despoil Bahamas for a few weeks before our shipment arrives into Miami from Oz then beat feet to Antigua for mid-April Regatta Race Week.

Survey is this Monday so, if all copacetic, should shortly have new hole in the water to consume money. Even with energetic schedule over next few weeks and always attendant sloth (second favorite deadly sin), expect a more regular abuse of the blogosphere. You have been warned.

Jack

PS We are currently visiting Jan's sister in Canada. This is an extremely foolish thing to do in January.