Perspective, and Winchelsea's new owners

By Sailor Keddy -
I'll admit it, losing Winchelsea was tough. She was my home for nearly a year and for all intents and purposes got me into this world of boats and yachting. At the end of the day though, she was just a boat. Fiberglass and metal with some dacron for sails. Yes, those elements together in the right configuration could do some amazing things and change lives but, in essence, that's all she was.

Thanks to modern technology, I've been keeping up with some old friends and its amazing the changes we're all going through. There are a couple that stick out in my mind though. One of my good friends from back home recently gave birth to a pair of twins prematurely. Very unfortunately, they ended up losing one of them, however her sister was brought home for the first time just last week, a miracle! Another friend from Boston lost her mother very suddenly in the past couple of months.

Of course, I'm not comparing joys and losses. I know the past few posts have been pretty melancholy (a little drama makes for some interesting reading, right?), and yeah, it was tough, but like I said above: she's just a boat. It's necessary (and I guess it's also fitting that it's November) to remember what priorities are and what is truly important.

I met Winchelsea's new owners on Friday before I left Beaufort. They're a great couple who have always wanted to live aboard a boat but never got around to it. With their daughter now out of the house, they decided it was time. They live in Texas and flew out to see her after they had already purchased her on eBay. Their plans are to sail her around Florida and back to Texas soon. I fully disclosed the engine issues in the eBay auction and she wouldn't even start when I tried the morning they arrived. I just got an email from them this afternoon and they plan to drop a rebuilt Yanmar diesel in before the embark, a very wise, yet expensive move. I knew, deep down, that I was making the right decision letting her go, since I just don't have the money to repower a boat right now and that engine was not taking us any farther.

It looks like I already have a couple of deliveries and whatnot lined up for me when I get to south Florida later on this week. Things are looking up!

Comments

Bill said…
Hey Scott,
They say everything happens for a reason, you've gotta believe it sometimes, right?

Good luck with your delivery jobs!
November 9, 2010 at 3:46 PM
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