The first real dissapointment

How can a great day of looking at boats turn out disappointing, especially after being able to walk around on this beautiful Hunter 40.5 on a great sunny day, and talk to the owner about the boat he loves?

We found it.  We have been looking at this boat for months.  It's simply stunning inside and out.  Pat, the owner, is a former USAF pilot who overbuilt everything on this boat.  While most Hunters aren't considered so, this one is truly offshore capable, with examples of this boat scattered all over the world -- they sailed there.

The S/V Ste Marie was it.  Inside and out, it's the boat we want.  

Therein lies the rub.  This may sound a little bitter but, bear with me.  As we arrived Pat was showing it to another couple.  They seemed a little confused about all the systems, asking questions that clearly belied the fact that they knew *nothing* about boats.  Now, don't get me wrong here.  We all know nothing about something when we start.  It was clear though that, they had never moved about a boat before and, as I confirmed with the broker, never sailed a boat before.

So Kerry and I gave them space and waited out turn to talk to Pat.  He was a great guy.  He had improved the Ste Marie in ways that I would have, basically doing my work for me.  We had a frank conversation with him about how much we liked and and how we are in a holding pattern until our house sells.  He even said he'd drop the price 4K when we were ready.  Just let him know.

As we were walking away, after wishing him well, we heard that the first couple had made an offer, a cash offer, and were taking the boat.  They were writing a check.


We saw a very happy Pat on our way back out.  Congratulating him, we went on our way.

Later, on the drive home, Kerry said, "want to bet they don't even haul her and get a survey?"


"True," I replied.  "It's likely they are treating this purchase like their BMW and, when they get bored with it, or scared by it, it will be on the market again, worse for the wear."

There were a lot of feelings around this event that I've yet to process.  We found the perfect boat and, someone with over 100K to burn, cash, just bought it.  Until now we hadn't really wanted a particular boat, found a boat we actually thought we could or should get.  It was perfect.


Kerry and I reminded ourselves that boats grow on trees as we headed home.  We confirmed that by finding about 20 Hunter 40.5 boats from Vancouver B.C to Mazatlan Mexico.  


Still holding...