Post Persuasion Equation discussions, we make an offer on the boat in Emeryville CA. I cannot believe after all of this, after traveling to South Carolina, after living in Port Townsend, we’re making an offer on a boat that’s in our previous backyard, but that’s how things work sometimes. The good thing is that having the boat down there, we can easily bring her back up to the PNW where we live.
One thing to note about living in Port Townsend is that it’s RURAL. I mean, RURAL RURAL. It takes us 2+ hours to get to the airport from here, which is a little bit more time than it takes to fly to Oakland from Seattle. Frankly, it’s a hassle to go to the airport. By purchasing a boat that’s not here, that means we have to fly a few times to look at the boat, sail the boat, survey the boat, and finally buy the boat.
The test sail is scheduled for Monday May 31, and the survey is scheduled for Tuesday June 15. David and I fly down to the Bay Area Thursday evening, and we get to reunite with all our friends whom we haven’t seen since September 2020. Also, David officially retired on June 1, so we have a retirement “party” with more friends where David announces his retirement.
On Monday, we take the boat out on a windy but beautiful day. It’s not clear the last time this boat has been out, but it’s been a while because nothing works on her. We can’t get the main sail up all the way. We can’t pull the jib out because it’s overridden. The traveler doesn’t work. Basically, we never do take her sailing, so she fails the test sail. But, still we forge along because all of this is stuff we can fix.
I fly back to the Bay Area for the survey on Tuesday, June 15. The survey goes well, with some minor issues and one major issue, but still not a huge deal. We can fix all of it. And then, as we leave the yard, the engine won’t start. We have to leave the boat at the yard and hitch a ride with the other broker back to our cars. But, still we forge along because all of this is stuff we can fix.
I’m giggling to myself now, because we are still going to buy this boat.
The negotiation on the purchase took 6 weeks, 2 of which included us being back in the Bay Area for David’s spring break and crashing out on Dustin and Holly’s airbed in Point Richmond. Finally, on Saturday July 3, we turned the engine over on Pru402 and moved her to Richmond Yacht Club from Emeryville.
It made sense to have the same delivery crew that moved Old Pru from Alameda to RYC. We toasted, we sailed, and we put her into her new slip without hitting anything. Even Ernie doesn’t seem bothered by her, as he wandered all the way to the bow of the boat (he hated walking on the decks of Mid-Pru).
And then, just like that, the party was over and we had to headed back to Port Townsend on Sunday, leaving our beautiful new boat behind.
Leave a Reply