Bought The Yacht, Now What?

It has been a while. We've been kinda busy...

When we returned from Grenada, we were the proud owners of a 46 foot yacht! There is a lot to buying a boat. The whole process is very different from my car and house buying experiences. First you make an offer and if it is accepted, you put down a deposit and sign a contract with "opt out" clauses. Then, you pay for a survey to see what kind of shape the boat is really in and you go on a sea trial. In our case, because the boat had been winterized, we did a bit of a modified sea trial just to check systems. Then there is the back and forth with the seller based on the survey results before the accept/decline deadline. After we accepted the boat, there was a few weeks of waiting for the previous owners to sign off. That was a bit nerve wracking. As a buyer, you are financially and emotionally invested for months before you get the boat and a delay on the part of the seller creates angst.

The long process time was a good thing because we had lots to figure out: boat insurance, tax considerations, where to dock the boat. We needed to find the right marina, given our very limited skill level and our old-to-us-but-new-to-boating dog. Oh, and the boat name! "Scrumpy" wasn't going to work for us. After some research, we made a decision: Regatta Point Marina in Deltaville, VA. Our slip will have a great view of the Rappahonnock River. It looks like it will be easy to maneuver into the slip and out to the Chesapeake. We will heading there next week (we hope)!

This is another thing about boats... timelines are flexible and often beyond your control. The rigging inspection revealed a messed up forestay. The forestay is one of the cables that holds the mast up. We are currently grounded and forestay-less while it is being rebuilt. We have another stay and two halyards taking it's place and it is working well to keep the mast secure. Fingers are crossed that the forestay will be back on and we are ready to go by next Thursday.

We've been mostly living on our boat since it went back in the water in mid-March. Recommissioning a boat takes a bit of time: there is paperwork, repair work, cleaning, more inspections (standing rigging), more repairs, more cleaning. We are learning lots! Thankfully, this is Dave's element - he loves learning stuff, understanding how things work, and tinkering - especially if new tools are required :-). Aevitas is pretty close to being ready for her first voyage as our boat. We have hired a couple who are both captains and sailing instructors, to make the journey to Deltaville with us. It will be a two day sail. We were scheduled to leave on 4/13, but it looks like our forestay will not be ready in time. We are hoping we are delayed by only a day or two as our instructors have a small window of availability. We are coming up with alternative ideas in case we can't leave during the time our instructors are available. We have met a few people who have volunteered to help us with the passage, or, we can be brave and do it on our own. I have to admit, I am both excited and anxious. It is one thing to be a student in a sailing class on someone else's boat and something quite different to be sailing for real on your own boat. I know it will be fine, but... there is so much to remember!

These past few weeks on Aevitas have been great! It is so fun to learn new things (currently, I'm working on learning how to splice an eye into a rope). I love living this close to nature. So far, boat life is better than camping. It is more convenient and comfortable while still living in a beautiful setting. Rock Hall is a fantastic little town and the Haven Harbour Marina South is lovely. We've seen jellyfish, osprey and eagles, ducks and herons, bunnies and deer. The folks are friendly and helpful. Sofie is enjoying multiple walks per day and lounging in the sun or on her fluffy new bed.

We had our first overnight guest - my daughter, Camille. She will be going to grad school at MICA in Baltimore (MFA in photography, media and society). I am so proud of her and happy she will be closer to us. While I was in Baltimore with Camille, Dave and Sofie had our first bad weather encounter: 50 kts winds, lightening, rain and a tornado watch! The winds were strong enough to blow the mast off a boat that was on the hard. I'm glad ours stayed put!

Two days ago we were wearing shorts and washing down the boat in the warm sunshine. That night we had heavy rain and a thunderstorm. It was exciting! The lightening was never close enough to be of concern. The rain poured down and we didn't sink! Sofie handled it like a pro - she was born to be a boat dog. Today is clear and a bit cool. The spring time weather pendulum is in full swing.

So far, boat life is awesome. The sunsets in Rock Hall are incredible. I'm thinking it will get even better after we are settled in Deltaville and can start our excursions to explore and improve our sailing skills.