About three years ago almost to the day I sold my last boat.
Since then life has been a blur of work, parenting, and collapsing on the couch with a glass of cheap wine and scouring yachtworld every night.
So where we at?
Most boats in Sydney that meet a rough description of what we want seem to be either ridiculously overpriced or non existent.
I had begun to ponder our cruising plans and realised that having already cruised the East Coast of Australia the next step for us is basically in the Pacific or Asia.
EXCEPT… at the same time amongst some of the blogs I was following and sailors I knew/spoke to I saw a theme developing. Australians were buying boats in Europe and sailing them back en masse.
I could understand why. A downhill run from Europe would be the makings of a pretty swell cruising plan with plenty of scope to be flexible.
As if to seal the deal….Ummm Josie has always wanted to sail the Med.
I have promised her repeatedly that one day we would get there. The last charter we did in Italy far exceeded our wildest expectations and the food and warm water had my dearly beloved in heaven. Of course to get to Europe by boat from Australia is somewhat of an ordeal. Besides given the boat market seemed far more buoyant in Europe it would also be a little bit akin to taking tea to China perhaps.
So over wine and yachtworld a rough plan was formed. Buy a boat in the Med and bring it back to OZ.
What kind of boat do we want?
It seems that compromise is key when it comes to selecting the right sailing boat. We have owned and sailed everything from solid, slow full keelers to modern cruisers/racers. All have their pros and cons.
So we have firmly landed on a boat selection mantra. Moderate everything. We want a mid sized, mid priced, moderate displacement, modern, cruiser.
We’ll have to be flexible and keep an open mind of course.
Our wish list:
- A 10 – 15 year old boat.
- Centre Cockpit
- GRP
- 41-50 foot
- Reasonable performance.
- Ready to cruise, no refits thanks.