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I have decided to fulfill my dream of sailing into the sunset, perhaps, never to return. The dream started many years ago when living on our 32′ Mariner Ketch, “Golden Hands”. It was a wonderful lifestyle. Working at City Design Collaborative on Boylston Street by day, and sailing Boston Harbor by night, and on the weekends. At that time there were 80 liveaboards at Constitution Marina, a tight community of friends that looked out for one another. Race night was every Thursday, and we made sure never to be late for a start. Our first born, Jesse, joined us during our first year, and with our Shepherd/Collie we were four. A little over a year later, our second son , Grady, was born. With a bit of pressure from my wife, we moved ashore, but continued to sail on weekends.
The demands at home and work soon got the better of us, and our times on the boat diminished. We no longer kept it in the water year round, and after a while, the required maintenance that the boat needed became too much. Our overly busy lives consumed us, and our sailing and boating activities were downsized to a Hobie Island, windsurfers, and kayaks. Fun toys that could be car topped and stored in the basement.
Our third born son, Patrick, grew up hearing the stories of how wonderful living on, and sailing, the “Golden Hands” was. Never having set foot on the boat, he asked if I could fix up, so that he and his girl friend could follow in our footsteps. The ravages of time and neglect had taken its toll on our ketch. The cost of materials and time that would be needed to restore the “Golden Hands,” would be enormous. Instead, I proposed looking for a newer, used boat, in sail away condition. The idea being it would become the boat that I would eventually retire to.
Well, to make the story short, we ended up buying an 11 meter S2 racer/cruiser, which was not what I had in mind, but fit their criteria perfectly. They almost immediately went out and adopted a big dog, and a year later had their first child. Very closely following the pattern of his parents. Unlike us, they jumped ship well before their second child arrived.
But my dream of sailing away, after I retired, never diminished. I kept looking for the right boat and secretly bid on many without informing my wife. After several years of this, I brought my wife into the loop and I bid on a 37′ Prout, and won! Well under book value, we were soon to be the owners of our retirement home. Unfortunately, upon meeting with the seller, and inspecting the boat, too may things were amiss. One being a clear title of ownership. We backed out of the deal. More than a year later we made an offer on “Manana II.” The purchase of which is the subject of our first blog posting.
First Day Sailing “Manana II”