We had a wonderful, albeit too short of a trip to St Lucia in late November to conduct the survey and sea trail with broker, seller and surveyor. St Lucia is a beautiful Island and Rodney Bay is a gorgeous anchorage with a long beach and a large marina. No wonder, this is a popular bay for sailors as well as a destination for a number of cruising rallies. The survey was both thorough and informative and we quickly realized the maintenance requirements of an 8 year old boat that has been lightly used. The light use was one of the boats initial selling points with few hours on the engines and light wear on various systems. However, we quickly saw that without regular use, a number of systems showed signs of sun deterioration, corrosion and mold. These are things that affect all boats, of course, but with live-aboards (heavily used boats), they are typically addressed as they present themselves. There are always trade-offs... Regardless, the list required repairs is manageable and not significant enough to prevent us from moving forward with turning this boat into our new home.

We sold "Summit," our 30 foot Cape Dorey cutter in 2001 when it became clear that soccer games, birthday parties, and work schedules would be hairy for a few years. Thirteen years later, with our three children in college, we were excited to sign on the dotted line and become boat owners once again.