Antioch Bridge

It's been hours and hours of this; meandering along at 4 knots. We are almost to the Antioch Bridge.

Carquinez Bridge

The Brothers

Just passed the Brothers.

Finally underway

 

 Captain Greg Snead happened to come by while we were leaving the marina so he offered to take a photo of us underway. What a nice guy. Thanks Greg.

 

 

We left the fuel dock about 9:30 and just passed through Racoon Strait. You can see the Richmond Bridge up ahead.

Aground!

We haven't even left the dock and we are already aground. With the summer solstice come extremely high tides and extremely low tides. Last evening the gangplank went uphill to the docks. In the wee hours of the morning the tide went out and we settled onto the bottom. I don't know if you can see it in this photo, but that's our dirty waterline above the water.   

We made the best of it though. We filled our water tanks, washed the boat, and had breakfast. Which we had to cook in the microwave because the stove isn't working. We think both tanks are empty, but the safety switch doesn't seem to be working either. Well just have to sort it out later.

Settling In

We arrived at the boat about 3:00 and loaded all our stuff aboard. It took 3 more hours of playing "Tetrus" to get it stowed away. Malcolm also fixed the running lights, some cabin lights, and safety wired the anchor shackle. We also walked to West Marine for a few things. Now we are finally relaxing and thinking about cooking dinner. 

Mobile Blogging

I downloaded the Blogger app on my IPhone today. This is a test.

Here is Katie as a wee lass in our powerboat at Lake Tahoe.

Paperwork

Although it's not nearly as bad as buying and selling the houses, we have been doing lots of paperwork this week to make the boat ours. Just today we wired the final payment to the broker and we should actually take possession of her on Friday. We plan to drive over with enough gear and food for four days, get settled in Friday night, and leave Saturday morning for home. We have made the trip in as little as 11 hours and as long as four days with bad weather and/or mechanical problems.We will anchor early Saturday evening and finish the trip on Sunday morning.

We have a slip arranged at the Sailing Club, but it's not really long enough for this boat. However because there are no slips directly behind the slip and we have a bow thruster, we think it will work out okay. Of course, 8' of the boat will be sticking out the back of the slip, but we are on the list for an end tie.

Buying Exile

So we gave an offer on the Alden 44 Exile that is for sale in Sausalito. After going back and forth a couple of times, we settled on a figure and arranged for an engine and generator inspection, general survey and haulout, and trial sail. Yesterday we arrived at the broker's dock at 9:15 and made the short drive around the corner to KKMI where she was hauled out.

We were able to lift the boat high enough to lower the centerboard to see how that works. We also had some zincs installed. We were relieved to see no huge problems; just the usual for a boat this age that hasn't been hauled out in two years.

By 12:30 she was back in the water and we and Greg Snead the "captain", Rick Whiting the surveyor, and Joe Biondo the broker headed towards the Bay. Considering that the boat hadn't been sailed in over a year and none of us had ever sailed on an Alden 44, it went pretty good. I'm not sure I like that in-the-mast furling. It didn't work very smoothly, but that could have deferred maintenance and dirt in all the hardware. And the sails are so old and stretched out looking I'm not even showing them. But it looks like we are buying this boat.

Sold the House!

Four days after we got back from the East Coast, we had a huge yard sale and six days after that we listed our house. Then we had an Open House on April 14th and got an offer right away. We accepted it and thought things were going good until the buyer backed out. So we had another Open House on April 27th, and got three more offers. We selected the cleanest one (all cash, 30 day escrow) and started thinking about where we were going to live until we take off cruising. So we bought a little condo and after signing our names about a bazillion times, we have sold our house and bought a condo. Escrow has closed on both properties, and we will be moving on June 4th.

It is with mixed feelings though. Even though the house was originally built in 1950, we literally rebuilt it ourselves in 2000. We raised our kids there, entertained the families several times a year, and lived there for 17 years. It was a beautiful property with heritage oak trees, an established neighborhood, and great neighbors. However, while most folks clean their gutters once a year, we cleaned ours every month. And with every season came another thing falling from the trees. And the water bills were getting out of hand. And we were just getting tired of spending all our spare time maintaining a house where only two people lived. The condo has a home owner's association to do all the outdoor maintenance and repairs. Yippee! So we can go off for several days at a time and not worry about the yard.

And so now we can concentrate on getting a boat.

Boats Back East

On March 28th we flew back to Annapolis, Maryland to look at boats. The first was a 46" Alden named Cara Lynn. While it was a beautiful boat and large and comfortable below, we were concerned with its size and condition. And it has been on the hard for more than 2 years.

Then we drove to Tiverton, Rhode Island and looked at two Shannon 43s: Chance and Ceilidh. Again, they were well built, and comfortable below, but they just didn't thrill us.

Then we drove across the river to Portsmouth, Rhode Island and looked at two more Aldens; a 48' boat named Serenade, and a 44' boat named American Beauty. The 48' Alden has the same hull as the 46', but with an extended transom which provides a larger lazarette. Again, we decided that 46'-48' was just too big. And too expensive; not only to purchase, but to maintain.

However American Beauty, at 44' long, had the best layout ever! A large airy salon accessible from the cockpit, a small quarter cabin to port, galley to starboard, traditional settees with centerline table, double bunk up forward, and a watertight bulkhead between the forward cabin and the chain locker. To access the chain locker, you had to descend a ladder from a deck hatch, but it was a great place to store not only anchors and rode, but other bulky, wet things. And a bright red hull! But they were asking over $300,000 for it so we scratched it off the list. 

After spending the night in Mystic Seaport, we drove to Old Lyme, Connecticut to see the last boat; an Alden 44 named Pilgrim. This boat was affordable, had a newer rig and sails, had been hauled out every winter and professionally maintained, but how would we get it home to California? There are companies that transport boats, but not only is it expensive, it is nerve-wracking to have your boat on the road for a week and there are fees on each end to de-commission and re-commission the boat.

So, in the end, we were happy that we went back and checked on all these boats, but we keep coming back to the 44' Alden in Sausalito.....

Alden 44 Pilgrim

 Nothing is happening on the boat purchase because nothing is happening on the business sale, but I'm still looking at what's for sale. This Alden 44 is very nice and already fitted out with lots of gear.

 The arrangement below is nice for two people to live aboard (read not just a lot of bunks for racers).

The forward cabin has a double bed which seems nice, but then one person has to crawl over the other to get in and out of bed.

 The galley is nicely fitted out, just below the companionway to starboard. It has a freezer and a frige. The frige is accessible from the top and the front.

 And it has a shower stall in the head. The head is to starboard just forward of the saloon.

 And it has a guest cabin at the foot of the companionway which could be used as a safe and comfortable berth on passages.

Here are the plans of the two Alden 44s that are presently on the market. I drew these, so don't bet your life on the details, but I think that Pilgrim is more livable than Exile because of its openess, the stall shower, the enclosed aft cabin, and the U-shaped settee.