Sweet Escape Blog Post #3

We left our beloved home amongst the Redwoods in NorCal on November 10, driving our trusty Tacoma with a little Uhaul trailer, and headed east by way of Santa Fe and Dallas so that we could visit my siblings. Arriving in Ft Lauderdale on the 15th. I found a cheap Airbnb that turned out to be a tiny Columbian crash pad! Luckily, I found another place the next day that was perfect. Our temporary digs are in the Wilton Manors area, a great neighborhood reminiscent of Guerneville as it's a gay neighborhood, and close to everything.


Back in August, we selected two boats that fit our needs: all the right cruising gear like water maker, solar power, lithium batteries, new sails, newer electronics, and new high-end mattresses. Both had many extras like air conditioning, and one had a very expensive satellite communications system + a washer/dryer! The first boat that we decided on was "The Boat," (and my favorite catamaran), is a Leopard 40. We actually made an offer on her and gave them a good-faith deposit. But that was before the sellers ended up having to put new engines in and then raised the price to cover that added expense, effectively taking us out of the running. We shifted to option #2 - a less expensive and older Manta 40 also in Fort Lauderdale. On paper, she looked great, and we sent our good friend and experienced (retired) boat surveyor to have a look. He thought she looked great, so we decided that this one would become our "Sweet Escape."

We asked to see the boat asap and a couple of days later, the owner arrived and we were able to spend time with him going through the whole boat. The plan was to do a sea trial (take it for a test spin!), the next day, but as we started powering up systems, engines, etc., nothing worked. It was one thing after another. First, the engines wouldn't start due to fried starting batteries. Next, it was the impeller, which was just moments away from disintegrating when Jann noticed that the starboard engine exhaust sounded funny. With each failure, we ended up running all over Ft Lauderdale in search of parts. Jann lent a hand with all the various repairs, with the seller doing most of the labor.

We sought the help of our dear friend Terry for resources, referrals, and local knowledge. As we grappled with some missing running backstays, we decided to enlist the expertise of local riggers Nance & Underwood, who sent us a couple of guys to go over the rig with a fine tooth comb. Lo & behold, they discovered a crack in the forestay chainplate and told us that the missing running backstays should be put back on the boat. Oy!

We scheduled a sea trial for Tuesday and asked a surveyor to join us. He canceled the night before, but we were undaunted and pressed forward hoping that the boat could leave the dock so that we could see if she actually sailed. But the bottom needed to be cleaned and the poor diver found more than he had bargained for. He had to knock off "oysters, mussels, barnacles and a whole undersea garden." Plus, he had to chisel the props free. Afterward, he said that he was too sore to do anyone else that day. And by taking off that garden, he also scraped away most of the bottom paint. (Add a haul-out and bottom job to the list.).

It seemed like every time the seller turned something on, it crapped out, only to be resurrected sometime later, with much time, effort, and money.

Our interest and patience were running thin. Add to this, the broker was sending us documents to sign to remove survey contingencies, and pushing to close the sale before Thanksgiving (he was leaving on a cruise.). Though at least the seller was trying to handle all the failures and saying he'd pay for the repairs or take it off the asking price.

Lesson learned (hopefully by the seller!): You can't leave a boat idle for 6 months! Especially here in South Florida during the Summer!

Fast forward to week #3 in Ft Lauderdale: We are still in our Airbnb and we seriously need to get rid of this expense. Jann & I agreed that the Manta was just going to be a money pit, so we decided to pull out of the deal. First, we called our new friends, the sellers of the Leopard. We've been in speaking with them for 3 months, and we had heard from their broker (also the broker of the Manta), that their last buyer had backed out for personal reasons. It was time to have a heart-to-heart. My intuition told me that they were ready to negotiate their price. Due to extenuating circumstances, they really need to sell this boat soon, and we really want to buy it, and soon!

I'm so glad that we spoke with them as we are all on the same page, finally. They will drive down from Ocala to show us the Leopard tomorrow and we couldn't be happier. This boat is beautiful, and seaworthy, with everything that we want or need. (More on the boat soon).

In the meantime, we are selling the last few remnants of our landlubber existence, namely our 2019 Tacoma. We had it detailed yesterday and posted it online. We're already getting calls as it's the only one like it available in all of Broward County. I have also listed some items that we brought with us, but don't have room for on the boat. Plus, we've also donated some additional items. I think all-in-all, we've probably donated $4000 worth of possessions. Once we get our deposit back from the Manta deal and sell the truck, we should have some extra cash available for provisioning and it will cover all the extras we've already bought.

I have seriously scaled back my consumerism over the past 20 years, so it was with a little hesitation that I jumped in feet first for the Black Friday sale at West Marine! Yeah, I am a sailor and we love shopping at a great big West Marine like they have in Oakland and Ft. Lauderdale! We got a great deal on a heavy-duty (big wheels for sand) folding cart, new inflatable PFD vests with the off-shore harness, and jerry cans for diesel and water, (to transport fuel/water where there's no fuel dock).

The good news is that our carbon footprint will be reduced to almost zero! Our new floating home will be powered mostly by solar, with lithium battery storage (hella long!), or the generator. We really won't need to run the engines except when there's no wind, (or too much, and then it's best to motor-sail). This is one of the best things about the cruising life... being self-sufficient!

Also, as we do wherever we go, we have met so many new friends, and we hope that you are reading this now. We love sharing our story and really appreciate your interest in our adventures aboard S/V Sweet Escape! If you're not already following us, please see our links below.

Next up:
Doing the Deal - Buying our "Dream Boat" a Leopard 40!
Moving aboard - Where to stow all our stuff?
Provisioning - How much to get to last for 6 mos, and where to stow all that stuff?
Fixing our itinerary - First Stop, a shakedown sail through the Keys, and then it's off to The Bahamas!

Be sure to check my FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/msnancybirnbaum/) for links to Blog updates.
And we invite you to sail with us by following us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sailsweetescape/

I set up a YouTube Channel (@NancyBirnbaum), and plan to get that started up as soon as we have our boat. So stay tuned and sail with us.

Oh, and we'll be inviting guests to join us for our Caribbean voyage. We plan to publish our itinerary as we make our way through the Bahamas, so we'll have a better sense of when we'll be at each major port that you could fly into.

Fairwinds,

Your Seafaring Digital Nomads, Nancy & Jann