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by steve, on March 15th, 2013 ( Boree, Bristol Rose, Passages) Final sign offs occurred in the last hour (plus the time it took to write this). Dignity is effectively sold. Settlement is still to occur so there remains a small risk this won’t complete but we feel this is unlikely.
There is much I want to say about the whole selling process in Australia and much I shouldn’t. I need to think carefully. I will compose myself and say more at later date.
But for now I want to thank, publicly, those that helped us get to this point.
First, middle and last has to be for Sarah and Russ who looked after us through the dark days, weeks and months last year. It’s hard, even now, to think back to those days. They were truly difficult and you guys were so good to us.
Big thanks have to go to Trish and Peter Cronk for all the support they gave to Helen, working out what to do with the boat when it was stuck in Fiji and Peter for your support during the sale.
Huge thanks and admiration to Peter (and supporting wife Christina) for getting Dignity and especially our son Sam to Australia despite the dis-masting along the way.
Thanks again to Brian and Janine for all your help and friendship.
And thanks to all our cruising friends who helped look after Dignity and get her to sale. Special thanks go to Bert and Ingi (Boree) and March and Pam on Passages.
There’s a saying that the two happiest days of a boat owners life are the day they buy their boat and the day they sell it. There may be a big relief today but the phrase is not true. Our happiest days were all those we spent with our family and friends along the way. The exotic places, the sundowners, all of that helped of course but when we look back, it was always the people that mattered the most and brought the greatest happiness.
This was the third and final pending announcement, if you hadn’t already figured it out. Ben and Amy’s engagement has brought us by far the most joy. My hair, it continues to grow along with my health, strength and optimism for our future.
 We had another lazy morning in before readying to depart the anchorage just before midday. The Jacksters did stop by as we had a bit more dive gear for them so another round of goodbyes were had.
The wind was in the high teens to low 20s and ahead of us so we were on a close haul all the way back. We put two reefs in the main and headsail as we knew we would be close to and indeed the apparent wind was occasionally as high as 30 knots though mainly in the low 20s. Again we were against the current as we left earlier than before and low tide was now nearly 3 hours later than before. Despite this we easily averaged over 7 knots over ground (over 8 through the water) and later were doing 8-9 knots over ground around low tide.
We passed west of Mud Island and then had to tack 12 times to sail into port. I loved it. Helen did too, sort of. After a while she wanted to motor in rather than keep tacking so she could clean the boat. I did not give in to this as this could well be our last sail and I was where I wanted to be.
In the end we made it back with time to spare. At the dock we were met by Niel from Attitude, Jan from Anthem, Cornelia from A Cappella and Don from Freezing rain who all stood by to help with lines. With 20 knot winds squeezing into the dock next to Attitude was a little challenging. I aborted early the first attempt and nailed it the second time. Piece of cake.
View 2012-12-12 Moreton Bay in a larger map
In the evening Sam came over. We went out for a buffet curry in Manly and were later joined by Rob from Bristol Rose who happened by by chance. We ended the evening walking with Sam to the railway station then returning to the boat when his train arrived.
Now we’re back in the marina and back connected is back to our admin. We have one or two viewings coming up this weekend so want to be ready for those.
For your entertainment here is a video taken by one of the brokers and some pics of our time in the bay.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp_y1BAmEt0&feature=g-crec-u[/youtube]
Friday ended up a bit of a chore day. A lot of communications were required with the broker involved with the recent near sale. I am not yet ready to share the nature of these conversations as a little more time is needed to determine if it’s good or bad.
Friday evening we were joined by Sam. Helen had cleaned and packed the rest of his stuff as he has found a cheap and secure place in town. It was nice to spend time with him.
On Saturday we drove down to Trish and Rob’s home in Tumbulgum to join the crowd from Anthem, Inspiration Lady and A Cappella for a slightly delayed Thanksgiving Dinner complete with turkey, ham and all sorts of veg.
Trish and Rob are now CLODs (Cruisers Living On the Dirt). And what a fine piece of dirt they have. Set on 60 acres of land their home is idyllic. Much of the land is woodland with plenty of flower gardens. Their 11 year old home was built in a rustic style sitting on the hill with fine views across the valley.
We had our Thanksgiving dinner early afternoon and spent the evening chatting and playing cards. My swelling in my trachea and esophagus had become painful again so in the morning I tried half a dexamethasone tablet. I think it helped my symptoms but it certainly got me a bit euphoric. I chatted far too much. But at least I maxed every card hand I played. My side effects from the RT should peak soon and after then I can expect things to improve naturally.
The next day the other visitors left leaving Helen and I with Trish and Rob. I spent a few hours fixing our camera flash which had got jammed as a result of a recent accident. Their home felt like our home. We needed the escape.
Later, Rob and Trish took us around their property showing us many things not at first obvious. It was all very interesting and amazingly tranquil. It felt like walking around walking around private gardens / a private estate, which is unsurprising as that is what they’ve got.
After this we headed to the coast to where Rob spent time in his youth. A place called Fingle. We bought fish and chips and ate the at a small park by the ocean in the company of some of Australia’s amazing birds. We then walked along the beach and then along a path behind to where there was a rock formation aptly name the Giant’s Causeway.
Helen retired early in the evening leaving Trish, Rob and I chatting til late.
Despite intending to leave early in the morning, we eventually ended up heading back to Brisbane just before midday. We took a long way back to see the sights.
Back on the boat we finally got back in contact with the gas man who will be round tomorrow to bring our galley up to Ozzy standards. Communications with the broker resumed with mixed results.
This evening we had a left over turkey curry followed by a TV show. Great.
About 2 hours after my last blog entry I finally managed some sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking of things to now do both for moving forward with selling Dignity and the rest of our lives. I didn’t sleep long and was soon back at it. One of the big frustrations I am having is getting the gas certification done for the appliances we have. I’ve been told so many things by so many people my head sometimes feels like it’s going to explode. If it did, I might make a radioactive mess.
 Shortly before 6pm our friends, who’d beat the weather window down here, all arrived to join us aboard. Suddenly it was just like the old times. We blasted through cruisers’ midnight with ease with most folks heading home around 10:30pm. It was nice to have the usual boating chat (sea stories and whatnot) and of course share our experiences with my health, the dismasting and with selling the boat. A great had by all. With us were Jack and Jan from Anthem, Gary and Jackie from Inspiration Lady, Ed and Cornelia from A Cappella, Steve & Vickie from True Companions and Rob from Bristol Rose. Take a look at the category links to see some, but probably not all, of our interactions with these good friends of ours.
This morning we both got down to work. We’ve now rescheduled our trip up to the Sunshine Coast to spend Tuesday and Wednesday night with Ella and Granddaughter Bau. And the whole of Wednesday. We’re really looking forward to their company.
Helen did her detailed cleaning of the boat. I pulled apart all the gas fittings and took a load of photos so I could be better positioned to understand the ragged bunch of gas fitters, inspectors and government officials that circle around us. The admin continues. We’ve sold off a few more items from the boat which will allow us to buy a few more packets of crisps.
This afternoon I suddenly came over immensely fatigued. I’ve been running so high on anticipation, excitement, challenge and drugs for the last few days I think I basically got run over by the truck of tiredness. A couple of hours of interrupted rest and I was back going again. Sam’s arriving soon and we’ll be having quality time together this evening. In the morning it’s off to see most of the same friends again for a delayed turkey dinner at Trish and Rob’s home.
We’ve had time to reflect on the first offer good enough for us to accept on the boat and what subsequently transpired. Our thoughts haven’t changed much since yesterday. Although we have our opinions I don’t think it fair to comment on the other parties as, if nothing else, we still like them. For our part we now feel we got too wrapped up in the ‘story’ of our finishing our life aboard Dignity and handing her over to a couple starting their own. We became too emotionally attached which brought a few tears to Helen’s eyes when it was clear the deal was off. Not for the loss of the sale, but for the failure of the story to emerge. When we sold our home in New Jersey back in 2008 to start our adventure we took the emotion off the table. It worked very well. We’ve taken the lesson.
Muscle recovery and cold/wet weather kept us in yesterday except for my RT session. This was my first one without calibration so went quite quickly once I reached my turn.
Had some more Skype calls. Got a chance to chat with son John who’d getting on without Ella and Bao. He’s using Skype to stay in daily (if not more) contact with them. He seems well.
We also had great chats with the David and Marian on Kilkea, Stuart and Sheila on Imagine and again with John from Sea Mist who’s now recovering from a hip replacement in Singapore. He’s doing well and for once seems to know not to push himself too hard.
It seems they’ll all be up in Langkawa, Malaysia soon. The opportunity to swing by there on our way out of Australia (by plane) and see our friends again is irresistible, particularly with many offers to stay aboard with our friends. Many factors could influence our being able to do this but it’s very high on our list.
We’ve also accepted an invite and made plans to have a Thanksgiving dinner with the Bristol Roses. Sam will come with us and their sons Elliot and Owen will be there. We last saw them in the middle of the Pacific. Also there will be Jack and Jan from Anthem. The song of the sea is truly playing loudly this side of the shore.
We continue to dance a dance of courtship with Dignity’s buyers. We all need to be cautious but we’re making positive steps. Contracts are now signed, deposits deposited and inspections booked.
This morning Helen found one of the buyers’ website – Helene Young. She’s an author as well as a commercial pilot. She has mentioned us in her blog so I must return the compliment. We’ll continue our dance of courtship and hopefully all get together soon.
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