Adventures on Beannacht

Kel and I arrived in Virginia on Wednesday, with it’s state motto ‘Virginia is for lovers’,  bound for Deltaville to meet Janus de la Mer (soon to be Beannacht perhaps?) for the first time. The last week, as is our norm, was a mixture of sad goodbyes with friends and family, manic packing and last minute shopping. Actually on this occasion I’m proud to say that we had most of our stuff packed two full days before we left – channelling Dawn Brawn Crawford our favourite OCD organiser friend.

Our flights to Richmond were very straightforward, and we arrived at our hotel without event before heading across the street for some good old Southern cooking. Fried food is the local delicacy in these parts, and spicy fish is particularly good. Always one to stretch our culinary boundaries we even tried Budweiser’s new brew – a pale ale – which I’m almost ashamed to admit was really tasty!

Thursday was thanksgiving and we woke up to a ghost town, not unlike Christmas morning only one shop open on main street, few cars on the road. Realising that dinner prospects in Deltaville were almost non-existent we called ahead to the B&B and arranged some food there – lovely roast dinner as it turned out. A peaceful afternoon followed as we chilled in their lounge, walked along the docks, and reading cruising guides to the Inter Coastal Waterway and Bahamas. We tried to get to bed early that night to prepare for a big day, but we were both over-excited and lay awake chatting and pinching ourselves, and each other.

On Friday morning we headed to the boat yard at 9.15 to spend some time inspecting the boat before our surveyor arrived at 10 to head out with us for a seatrial. We were both really wound up, a mixture of complete excitement and anticipation, coupled with the memories of Rhode Island and an awareness that this boat also had the potential to disappoint. We met Jonathan and Ann, the husband and wife team who run the yacht brokerage, and got onboard the boat for our visual inspection.

Much to our relief the boat was great. We’re buying a 1985 boat, so it’s not going to be in perfect shape, but what we’re looking for is a robust platform from which we can build a boat that really works for us. Janus was just that. The electrical system, water and fuel tankage, galley (that’s the kitchen for all you landlubbers) and rigging were key areas for the inspection, and they all functioned well. The boat doesn’t have much by way of navigation systems or other electronics, a fantastic excuse for me to spend some cash, but the things that were there were adequate.

The seatrial was where we got to see how the boat handled. Don joined us for this part, and we headed out of the marina with Jonathan at the helm – partly because we didn’t own the boat yet, and also because he had previously entertained us with tails of customers who had phoned 5 minutes after leaving with their new boat to say they’ve just run aground just outside the narrow channel!. Kel had her eyes peeled incase we had to do this ourselves in future. We got out into the Chesapeake Bay, a stunning cruising ground, and hoisted the sails to get moving. The sun was shining, we had 15 knots of breeze, and we our breathing had returned to normal. It was wonderful.

Then we got the bad news. While travelling on Wednesday I had received additional pictures of the boat by email, one of which showed a substantial amount of rust on the keel at the joint between it and the hull, something Don had noted this in his survey. This was a high priority during the seatrial, and as Don and Keli inspected the bilge as we were under sail it became clear that the boat was taking on water. Kel and I had suspected that the rust was more than just a surface issue, and Beneteau’s steel keels are prone to this problem. 

We motored in to shore having checked over the instruments, engine, water system, and the faulty keel; to sit with Don and talk through the rest of his survey. Overall the boat was great. A good price, a lot of boat for our budget, and a layout and accommodation that we were happy with. It was a simple platform to build from and had better sails than we had expected. Don left us to think things over and headed home to finish writing the survey.

Over the weekend, with help from our broker Ian, and Jonathan and Ann, we agreed to split the cost of fixing the keel with the seller and have bought the boat. It’s amazing news, and we’ve been beaming from ear to ear all day. Both of us were starting to get a little stir crazy in Vancouver, and the snail’s pace approach to boat buying had placed strain on each of us. We’re both quite action-orientated, so sitting at home talking about boats, instead of being out there doing boats, didn’t quite suit our style. We’re breathing easier today!

And so tomorrow marks the start of a new phase of our life, our first boat and one less excuse as to why we’re not in the Bahamas already. It will take a day or two to swap over the titles on the boat and transfer the money, but we should be floating home owners by Wednesday. In the meantime we’re going to be busy pricing the keel job and other maintainence in two boat yards in Deltaville and one in Oriental, deciding where we will get the work done, and getting moving.

It feels like the blog will at last have some worthy content, and we will have no legitimate reasons to feel lazy or bored! People get your diaries out and book your holidays, this puppy has twin aft cabins and sleeps 9. Nearly enough space for the Lowly Knights!

We’ll keep you posted.