December 28, 2009

We bought La Vida Dulce in September 2009 down in Bradenton Florida.  She's an Island Packet 420 cutter rigged sailing vessel (see the link All About La Vida Dulce), built in 2001, that had been in charter service in the Virgin Islands.  In need of some tender lovin' care, we brought her up to Rock Hall, Maryland for a refit/restoration.  Her teak bulkheads and trim down below were badly water stained, the hanging lockers smelled like fish (yuk!) and there was an overall dowdiness in the way she looked.  Island Packets are known for their quality construction and we knew there was some quality in there somewhere.  We just had to dig it out.

At this point we've had the woodwork restored, replaced the range in the galley, installed heating and air conditioning and got a pillowtop innerspring mattress for the forward stateroom.  We'll be living aboard for the time before we retire so we plan to make things as comfortable as possible.  This isn't going to be a camping trip!  We've also added Wi-fi  and cell phone antennas so we can work from "home".

There's a bit of a list for things to do in the coming months: rebuild the Max-Prop, replace the cutlass bearing, rebuild the hanging lockers, repaint the bottom, compound the gelcoat topsides, build a dam in the forward shower to keep the water from running out all over place, replace some of the running rigging, polish all the stainless (every bit 'cause the previous owners really let it go).  I also plan to install a raw water washdown for the anchor.

When the weather warms up we'll concentrate on bringing back some shine to the exterior.  We'll hafta compound everything from the waterline up because years of neglect have left a chalky residue on the gelcoat.  Bummer.  We also plan to repaint the bottom.  I've been looking into an epoxy based anti-fouling paint called Copper Coat which is supposed to last for ten years.  It's pretty well known in Europe but hasn't really caught on here in the US yet.  The guys at Gratitude Marina just about fell over laughing when I said I wanted to try it.  I'll make the final decision on that one in March.

We plan to have her back in the water in April 2010 at which time we'll move her down to "I" dock in Herrington Harbor, just outside of Deale, Maryland.  Our plan is to live aboard and hang onto the house until the market recovers, or for 3 years, whichever happens first.  We plan to retire in about five years and have decided that now is the time to begin making our dream come true.  We'll use the next five years to get ourselves and the boat ready for deep water sailing.

We  both have always wanted to sail around the world, or at least around to places that really interest us.  The Carribean is right at the top of the list.  We love Cozumel and the Yucatan.  We want to spend some serious time there.  I've heard there might also be some other nice spots to visit in the Gulf of Mexico : >) .  I've dreamed of visiting Peru and Chile.  Also the South Pacific.  I mean all of it.  I want to see every island between South America and Australia.  We'll have no time tables and no expectations.  Nothing is written in stone except the part about where we cast off our lines and head out.