Back to Sailing and Blogging

It's been almost a year since we returned from our trip to the Bahamas.  A lot has changed for Sal and I as we returned to life back on land.  The first change was that we sold what was our 'home' for the past 9 1/2 month.  It was a rushed decision to sell Second Wind. Fall was approaching, and if we wanted to sell then we had a better chance to do so while it was still relatively warm out.  I thought that since we would be moving to Ottawa and both have jobs, our sailing time would be minimal to non-existent. There were also some feelings that sailing back in Ontario would never compare to sailing in the Bahamas.  So the decision was ultimately made to sell. I spent about a month cleaning and fixing up the boat, getting her polished and back into good shape.  Living on her for 9 1/2 months did take it's toll, but a bit of sanding, varnishing, polishing, cleaning, painting, and replacing a few parts had her looking almost like new again.  We listed her on a few websites and were pleasantly surprised with the response.  She was sold a few days later to a young guy from Toronto, who we think will take good care of her and get good use out of the boat.  Driving back home without a boat was sad and I admit I did feel some regret. My parents yard looked empty without Second Wind parked there. 

So off we went to the City, Sal started work the end of August, and I started the end of October.  We got an apartment and settled in bracing ourselves for a long, cold, Canadian winter.  We would often reminisce about the trip… “Remember when we were so cold in Florida?”  “Remember swimming in the Bahamas?”  “Where was it that we anchored and saw the Manatees?” Our answers would be followed by a brief sad silence.

I can’t recall exactly when I began surfing the Internet for boats again, but in no time I had a short list of boats that I thought would be a great next boat. The criteria or wish-list contained many of the great features that we enjoyed on Second Wind.  Our next boat would have to be:

-       Small and easy to single-hand

-       Shoal draft to tuck into the best anchorages

-       Trailerable to keep costs down (no marina fees, storage fees, etc)

-       Lots of storage room

Some of the upgrades that we really wanted were:

-       Standing headroom

-       A fixed keel with good ballast for more comfortable heavy weather sailing

-       A built in icebox

I had narrowed the list down to a Vancouver 25, Pacific Seacraft 25 and Voyager 26.  Both looked to have a lot of what I loved in the Rob Roy and contained a bit more room (standing head room was top priority after being hunched over for 9 ½ months).  So when a Voyager 26 came up for sail in the New York area, we got really excited and the dreaming and planning began. After a couple trips down to see the boat, the deal was finalized and I became the proud owner of a gorgeous Voyager 26.