With nearly 40 boats in the anchorage, plus or minus, and more coming every day to join the big annual Regatta\Rally here in Musket Cove. We have enjoyed our stay here, babysitting a friends boat; SV Nirvana. We even got lucky and had our son Derek visit for the week!
A bit more on Fiji!! A Fijian Meke (prounced meh-kay) is the term for a traditional, communal form of spiritual folk dance Fijian men, women and children use to convey stories or daily life or long, epic tales of victory by the Gods.
We were warmly welcomed to Fiji, part of their customs here at Vuda Marina.
Now, the Beginning of Chaper two.
There are so many differences in cruising catamarans. An hour of surfing the net for boats for sale can hurt the brain.
As much as we have been “beach cat” sailors, mono hull cruisers and have been cruising with a multitude of great catamarans…..this is difficult.
Everything is a sacrifice. What do I mean by that? Fast performance cats are typically not as comfortable as heavier slower boats. Not only are the super comfortable boats slow, but most of the time they don’t sail well. (Angle on the wind, slow, and can be noisy)
Fast lightweight boats can sail really well but need expensive sails, don’t have as much room for big beds, couches, and water toys. One or our friends even ditched the water heater to keep the boat light. (Lol, you know who you are).
Fast comfortable boats are typically more expensive….(Think Gun, HH).
Finding a boat you want to live on and sail on is a balance of your priorities and $$$$s.
We don’t want slow. We really like our big couches and we have a good budget for the boat, but we still want to eat well.
And then there is alway “what does this boat need” and “where is it”. Sheesh….this might take some time.
This weeks boat (brand/designers) considerations below.
Not all of them are fast. Not all of them are comfortable.
But, they do prompt conversations…..and ultimately…..negotiations.
So, update on finding the new boat…..or in this case the not new boat. Very displeased to announce that we have failed to finalize an agreement on the Outremer 49, KALEA. Buying a boat internationally (without a broker) has proven to be very complicated. Without going into much detail, buying a boat in a corporate LLC in a foreign country and trying to reflag in a different country while managing international currency(s) requires multiple lawyers, in multiple countries and then lots of CYA to prevent taxes and leans from being assessed on either the buyer or the seller. I’m talking 100s of thousands in taxes in some situations…..and four (4) different countries in play.
Anyway, we wish the current owners well, but we will move on to less complicated boats with less financial risks and costs for us.
For the time being we are looking forward to spending October-November in the States with our family and friends. Then….the hunt for the next boat continues.
BYW, who heck drew this cat below? Must not have been a sailor.
Our World Adventure 