August bank holiday Monday was a wholly different day, the sun streaming out of a clear blue sky and hardly a breath of wind. After yesterdays skirmish with the elements we have decided today will be a day to go and look at some boats that are for sale near Bowness. You'ld think after yesterday that we would catch our breath and have a bit of a rest but not a bit of it. Jackie has found this old tub for just under 6000 that we should look at, and it gives us a reason to have a day out in the Lakes, even if it's the last place you should go on a bank holiday.
We take a leisurely drive up the west side, through Cunsey woods to catch the ferry over to Ferry Nab. Today is the day we should have chose to go sailing, as between the trees we catch yachts gently cruising the lake under full sail in light airs. Ah well, no matter we're still in a nautical frame of mind cause we're going to view a boat.
We have talked ourselves in and out of buying a boat, at the moment we're in an out mode, and have been eyeing up courses. Perhaps what we need is a passage making course, there's one going from Gibralter to Palma, which would give us the experience we lack. Or there's others in Scotland but they cost quite a lot, 6 or 700 pounds per person which ever way we look, this sailing is going to be expensive.
We have also poo pooed the idea of lake sailing as we want to do ocean stuff, but after yesterday we now see that even a lake can be challenging, especially in a boat one step up from a dingy. Maybe if we had a decent size boat we could learn the ropes here in our own back yard.
Maiden marine has three boats that are very cheap, and probably not suitable at all but it's some reason to be out in the Lakes this August bank holiday. David, the brokerage manager points us in the direction of a Jaguar 25 called Windfall. He tells us that if we're looking for something thats got decent rigging and we're not too bothered by the interior we should take a look. She's been in the ownership of a couple of guys who like sailing but are not too fussy about appearances. How right he was, but she is not as bad as we expect. In fact all in all this boat appeals to us in a big way. Ok she needs a womans' touch and some new rigging but overall for the princely sum of 5995 she's a bargain.
We just might buy her, although she doesn't look pretty with her dull brown hull all in all we could learn a lot in this sloop. We just need to weigh things up but looking at what it's going to cost us still in courses Windfall may be the chance to learn what we need to learn and at this price perhaps we could sell her on and not loose money as comparable boats seem to be a few thousand more than this one.
We'll arrange a sail in her and then decide what to do. She's a bilge keel so we could take her to Roa island next year and get some sea miles in as she would rest on the mud flats at low tide which is a real plus for these boats.
I think we have already decided that we'll buy her, that this is what we need to bridge the gap before we make the jump to the Caribbean in the next year or so.
It's what we need, our own boat to play with, when we want to, it's the next logical step and at this price I think it's the right move. It feels right, so if the trials go OK I think we may soon become the proud owners of Windfall.