Originally my husband Douglas and I were searching for a boat in a warm location that would allow us to live there for a year while we figured out our long term plans. With the help of our broker, Lee Payne, from McNally Yachts, we looked at boats along the Eastern Seaboard. We became certain early on that we wanted a Hunter 420 center cockpit. We focused on this model because the layout down below is well suited for two people working remotely, plus we like the style of the rigging, and deck space. Also we have owned a Hunter for 7 years and wanted to stay with the brand because they generally are bullet-proof and are easy to work on.
After a few months of searching we were not finding what we needed in terms of price and overall condition. Lee told us to wait it out and not compromise for less of a boat than we wanted, “The right boat will come along.” One day while Douglas was online, a Hunter 420 popped up for sale in Racine, Wisconsin. Our first thought was, “Where is Racine and is there water in Wisconsin?” Once we figured out that it was on Lake Michigan our imaginations got the better of us. We got swept up in the possibility of getting to sail on the Great Lakes. We did a little research and decided that if we bought a boat there it would be a great adventure to get the boat to the South by way of the Mississippi River. So we decided it was a great opportunity if the boat was as good as it looked!
Lee set up a time for us to come look at the boat with a marine surveyor where it was being sold at Racine Riverside Marine in late March. We thought that we could do a sea trial at the same time, but when we got to Racine it was still winter and the boat was still on the hard. The boatyard staff were super helpful and offered to put the boat in the water, but there were no sails and none of us felt like freezing just to find out if the motor ran. The rest of the survey went really well, and we liked the boat. Douglas and I spent a few days in Racine getting to know the boat, the area, and Racine Riverside Marine; we were very impressed with everything. The staff at the boatyard are very competent and seemed very willing to help out with getting issues sorted, which was a huge selling point of buying a boat there. They also said that we could keep it at the marina until we were ready to cast off, so there was no pressure to head out in a boat that we didn’t know right away.
Douglas flew back to Racine in May for the sea trial and was impressed with how the boat sailed and maneuvered. Everything seemed to be in good overall working condition and some things were better than we imagined, such as the powerful bow thrusters and the feathering prop that makes it so much easier to handle in reverse. So we pulled the trigger and decided to set out on a totally different adventure with this boat! When else would we ever get the chance to sail on the Great Lakes and cruise down the Mississippi after all?
Once the boat deal was finalized we decided to put our house, car and old boat on the market and pack up the things we needed for a new life. We soon were confronted with the reality of how little you can take on a sailboat and had to spend a lot of time thinking and prioritizing. We didn’t know until we got there how much stuff was being left on the boat so we prioritized clothes, current books, board games, boat tools, good knives, foul weather gear, footwear, and Doug’s accordion. In the end, we sent out around 100 pounds of things ahead of us and maximized the amount of luggage we could fly with. We ended up with two huge suitcases and two army duffel bags for a total of 200 pounds, plus our carry on bags.
We arrived in Racine on June 1st and moved aboard Sail la Vie! We were delighted and intimidated to learn that the owner had left almost everything on board. Some things were extremely useful like the lifejackets, life sling, dishes, boat hook, barbeque, replacement alternator, new stereo still in the box, etc. Yet some of the things left behind just needed to be cleaned out like the massive pile of July 4th decorations, pieces of wood from a previous boat and all sorts of other odds and ends. When all was said and done I cleaned off 4 bags of stuff to go to the Salvation Army, about a dozen garbage bags, an extra barbeque, extra life sling, ice maker, 8 fire extinguishers, multiple life jackets, and a barrage of other things. The people around the marina were happy to take a lot of the extra things off our hands, and in pretty short order the boat was starting to look like a home.
Then the real fun started….
