we are almost there. After the trials and tribulations of the Greece debacle, it looked like we were going to have to start the search again, and we were looking towards a boat in the USVI.
However, fate has taken a strange turn.
In October 2005, whilst I was in the US on business, I had only really seen the Hardins on the web, which doesn't give away too much. I viewed 2 in Ft. Lauderdale, but they were the wrong layout(there are 2 layouts) and I didn't like them. I had planned to view another one a couple of days later, and in between, I went to view a Vagabond in Ft.Myers on the other side of Florida. Whilst a nice boat, I decided it was too dark inside, and returned to Ft. Lauderdale.
Next day I went to view 'Walkabout' deep in Ft. Lauderdale and what a difference!
I loved it, and even although SWMBO was not with me, I just knew that she would too. At this time we were just viewing boats to find something suitable and not seriously into buying until the house was sold, and we still had to put the house on the market. I left the owners in no doubt as to our situation and left saying that I hoped the house would sell before the boat was sold.
The owners were really nice and kept us informed as things progressed. However, in January, just as we put the house up for sale, the boat sold and that was that.
Or was it?
Not long after the wasted trip to Greece, 'Walkabout' suddenly reappeared on the market, and I immediately called the broker in the US. This was a different broker and he told me that the boat had indeed been purchased in January and that he had helped deliver it to it's current location in Moss Point, Mississippi. It turned out that the new owner had bought the boat, knowing he had an illnes, but thought he would be able to enjoy several years of sailing it before having to give up sailing. What transpired was something very different and during the early summer, his illnes took a sudden turn for the worse, and he has had to give up on his sailing dreams. Bad luck for him, but good luck for us. It seems that apart from the delivery trip, the boat may have been hardly used at all since it was purchased in January.
Anyway, from this point things just snowballed. We accepted a full asking price offer on the house and the deposit is paid on the boat, just got to organise the survey and agree the final price. It should all be tied up by the end of September and the house done with by the end of October, after which we will be liveaboards in the US until we get across to the Med next year. Just hoping for a gentle hurricane season now.
Incredible....................................... | 