Wow! I'm numb.

We now own a 1993 Privilege 482-S catamaran in Sarasota, FL.
We found this sailboat on www.yachtauctions.com by National Liquidators. It was by sheer chance that everything fell into place.

It all started back in February when Wil's dad in MA made a comment about all of the boats that are being repossessed and being taken to Florida. I did some research and found the National Liquidators website. The majority of the boats on this site are power boats and small sailboats, so I figured our chances were slim to none to see anything that we were interested in. However, I bookmarked the site to our "Boat" folder and moved on to other things.

On Saturday, February 28th, it was early afternoon when I decided to finally take a shower & get dressed for the day. I was just finishing up in the bathroom when Wil came in and said "I found a boat." I was in disbelief. Really? Where? He told me he'd found a '93 Privilege 48 on the repo site. I started shaking with excitement.

We didn't hesitate to make the phone call and figure out how to place a bid. The broker at National Liquidators sent us pictures and information. Our brokers, Brian and Mike from Catamaran Company, worked together to help make sure everything went well. Brian went to Sarasota (on his birthday!) to video the boat and let us know her shape. Together, we arrived at our price and placed our bid.

The next week and a half to follow were horrid with respect to waiting and not knowing anything! Right after placing our bid, and waiting to see if we would drive to FL as a family, we suddenly got a phone call that Wil's grandpa in NY had died. Talk about a change of plans! We threw the winter & funeral clothes in a duffle and drove to NY instead. However, just in case we won the bid, we carried bags for FL as well.

While in NY, we learned that we were the highest bidder, but that the boat was going for a second round of bidding. Apparently, when a boat first comes to the repo market, the bank uses a first round of bidding to help establish a value.

When the funeral and family gatherings were over, we drove the 10 hour drive home. I wasn't in the house for more than 30 minutes before Brian phoned to say we were going to FL! Immediately, I reorganized the packing, and reserved airline flights, a hotel room, and a car for a trip to Sarasota. Two days later we, as a family, were in FL for a personal inspection, survey, and sea trial aboard the Black Pearl.

We knew from the first moment that this would be our boat. She's in need of some major TLC, but with some love and attention, she will be a great boat. After the survey & sea trial, we spent 3 days cleaning and working on the boat. This was tough because we were treating her like she was ours, but the rug could be pulled out from under us at anytime. Nothing was official until the absolute final closing. At the same time, we had to start making arrangements for sailing her back to NC. So many details to think about. Kid care, animal care, where & when will we haul her for the out-of-water part of the survey, the forestay needs fixing, arranging flights, renting a life raft or having the current ones serviced, and the list goes on.

Now today, Wednesday, March 25th is the day that Full Monty officially became ours. Now the fun (and hard work) can begin!