March 2001 - Two Years Later...
From our last log you would think we were perfectly satisfied with our life here on Jenny P and had things all figured out. Not exactly. Day in and day out, the majority of our thoughts consist of how we can't wait to set off cruising for good. We replay in our minds the moments of our Alaska cruise last summer and wish we could go back in time to those idyllic days gliding over the water in the precious Alaskan sunshine.
The same thoughts continue to possess our minds as they did two years ago, when our cruising dream began. We want to be in Mexico, far far away from computers, jobs, bosses, traffic... We wonder what happened. Why on earth are we still here? And with at least three years to go before we might be able to finally sail out the Strait of Juan de Fuca for good? What went wrong??
Last week, we read a story in Latitude 38 about a couple our exact age who spent $6000 on a boat and gear, sailed out of San Francisco Bay and are now relaxing in Banderas Bay, Mexico. What have we done wrong?
Of course we know the answer, and it's not a difficult one. Jenny P is a beautiful boat, the most gorgeous one we could imagine really. We love her immensely. But she is not a low-maintenance kind of girl. Or cheap.
So we find it impossible to ignore that advice of so many other, wiser sailors: Go small, go simple, go now. It is with heavy hearts that we must find that small and simple craft, but to do so, we must part with Jenny P.
We have come to other practical realizations. We plan to cruise on a very limited budget (about $1000 per month or less); to do so obviously would require a small, strong boat with very simple systems. Jenny P is in incredible shape now, but we would hate to see her condition deteriorate if we could not afford to keep up with her aging self. We also plan to cruise without insurance; not a wise thing to do really if all your savings are tied up in a $100K+ yacht. Even though she is listed as a 33' boat she really, at 24,000 lbs., is the size of a 40' yacht -- with all the rigging, anchoring and other equipment necessary for a 40 footer (i.e. fairly expensive). Another consideration we have realized is that we want to cruise beyond the normal well-worn cruising routes, where other yachts may not be present and lots of pirates are. Not the kinds of areas you want your brightwork to sparkle too brilliantly, in other words.
So, our task is now twofold: find a new owner for Jenny P that will love her just as all her previous ones have done, and find ourselves the almost-perfect 28-32' steel or heavy fiberglass simple and sturdy boat in which to leave our ties to the bank in the past, and head out for good.
After all, it is not the boat that makes the dream, but us.
-sdj-
For Jenny P's details, click here.
