Sails for Voila!
As we look toward our adventure we are trying to use all of corporate advantages while we still have them. Today I cut out a spinnaker using high quality Airx cloth we just happened to have in stock. The down side was that I had to choose from red, white and blue like most other spinnakers. If anyone else is interested in a great, high quality spi the price will be terrific until we run out of cloth. Alan Is trying to convince me that we have room for 2 spinnakers on the boat – compression bags- he keeps saying. Next we will be making a new genoa as we sold ours this spring. The list goes on for all kinds of hardware and boat gadgets. It is an interesting process because even with our often substantial trade discount in Canada, it is often cheaper to wait and buy in the the US. I understand that there is shipping, brokerage and sometimes duty on products that are brought in but one would think that when a dealer is doing it wholesale there would be some savings.

We officially put the “For Sale” sign on our building a week ago and we have handed out 10 brochures to people who have dropped in to enquire. These interested parties include our neighbours on both sides of us looking for more space. No one has pulled out a chequebook yet but it is encouraging.



The sale of the sail making business is not as active but we expected that. A couple of interesting conversations today might lead to something. I am sure we would have no trouble selling some of the major assets individually but I still believe that selling the whole business as a package would benefit someone a great deal.

On the fun side, a couple of long time customers dropped in this week, who are full time cruisers. It was fun to pick their brains and listen to encouragement. Alan was able to tune up his dinghy skills in a tiny TAZ sailboat. – at least after he climbed out of the water when he tipped it over.

If you have been following along for the past 5 years or so (mostly at voilasadventures.blogspot.com) you will know that our pattern has been to spend 4 months or so sailing in Florida and the Bahamas. The rest of the year we have been in Quebec working in our company Larsen Sails and Marine Ltd. All that is about to change. We have decided to put our company, the building it occupies, and probably our house up for sale. It is time to go sailing full time and see some of the world.

After being in business for more than 40 years, this is a big decision for us. It is a business we enjoy and we will miss many of our customers.

Although it would be ideal to sell everything together so the company would keep running into the next generation we are realistic enough to realise this might not happen. We are putting together a plan that would allow us to sell the business assets, excluding the building, so it can be packed in a container and shipped anywhere in the world. Sailing has many emerging and underserved markets. Someone with energy, a plan – or a dream – could set up shop and be ready to go in a matter of days. We have been building a wide range of sails for dinghies to ocean cruising boats to competitive racing fleets. We do many types of repairs and canvas work. Our equipment includes a Prosail plotter and a variety of sewing machines. If you, or someone you know might be interested, check out our website at www.larsensails.net.
We are hoping that we can help someone with thier dream while allowing us to begin our adventure

I can't believe that each of us has sailed for almost 50 years. After learning to sail as children, spending our summers (and more than a few school days) sailing, we met at a yacht club, married and had three wonderful girls. In spite of owning a marine focused business, and so many sailboats, I have lost count, we often did not have time for sailing.

Over the years we have kept track of our progress on the web in various places, most recently at www.voilasadventures.blogspot.com. If you would like a more detailed account of our adventures (or are having trouble sleeping) you can check there.

In 2002 we bought an Albin Vega 27 and spent two years restoring it in our spare time. In 2004, we arranged 3 months off and pointed the boat south from Quebec. The first year got us to the Florida Keys and through the Okeechobee canal. Year two, we ventured to the Bahamas and had a marvellous time. After decades of sailing and racing, many aspects of cruising and boat management were new to us.

While we loved our Albin Vega - Voila! (number 2). As we reflected during our working months, if we were going to do this on a regular basis with a view of doing it full time one day, a bigger boat would be nice. Certainly a Vega can can take it's crew anywhere, our own boat had taken its previous crew around the world.

As we walked through boat yards and cruised the internet, we found the boat for us. It had the sam Swedish toughness as our Vega, but room the stretch out in. We had found a Hallberg Rassy 352 in Annapolis Md. After a quick tour during the Boat Show, we went home and began long distance, cross border negotiations while the Canadian and American dollars bounced like yo-yos. The final papers were not signed until the beginning of Decemeber. Some of the marinas in the Chesapeake were shutting down for the season. We decided the best option was to have the boat trucked to Florida where we would be able to put here in the water in St. Augustine. We puttered down the coast and worked on some of the issues that bothered the insurance company and the surveyor.

Last winter, after a month of yard work, we had a wonderful visit with our daughter and granddaughter. We then headed to the Bahamas for some real cruising. That adventure ended with a great visit from our youngest daughter who decided she wanted to spend her 30th birthday snorkeling and suntanning instead of shovelling snow. Unfortunately our scheduled return to work often creates a whistle-stop approach, although we always try to have enough flexibility to be safe.

We are currently back home in Canada with Voila! waiting patiently in Indiantown FL.

We will try to put up periodoc posts as we get ready for another season.