Hi Guys !

[Geminiguy]

We've all had those moments when you've just pressed the wrong button only to see the last 400 words you typed disappear? Well I just found out what it feels like so here goes, again.

My name is Les and I'm 53 years old. I live in Townsville, North Queensland which is just down the road from Cairns and sits inside the Great Barrier Reef. Like most "baby boomers" I've watched and heard of numerous friends,relatives and aquaintances die from a variety of illnesses and injuries. I don't know about you, but it certainly made me re-evaluate my priorities and I realised that I'd better start living that much cliche'd dream.

After always owning a home since I was 21 years of age it's taken a lot of soul searching to finally decide to sell my home and buy a boat to live on. What finally tipped me over the edge were two things, the first was whilst being anchored over at Magnetic Island which is about 5klms offshore a month or so ago I was sitting in the cockpit of my current boat, a Ross 650 trailer yacht, nursing a hot cup of tea whilst my 14 year old son still slept. It was about 6am, the bay was mirror calm and a turtle swam by the boat as I watched dark clouds scudding across the mountain tops. It was breath-takingly beautiful and I thought 'I could do this' being live on a boat anchored in a bay on an island.

The other thing was being told last week by his father that my nephew was not expected to see this Xmas as he had advanced cancer. Some things are just life changing. This, together with my own scare last year when I was sideswiped by a four wheel drive whilst going on a motorcycle ride with some friends which left me in hospital for two months and off work for four months has left with with a real sense of my own insignificance in the big scheme of things.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. I've been sailing for some 27 years and in my earlier (and fitter) days I did a lot of offshore racing on multihulls, mainly cats and have also owned a little Seawind 24. I've always loved the speed and level sailing, not to mention the stability at anchor and the roooom.

With that in mind, I've started preparing my house for sale (if you're in the market for a lowset 3 bedroom home on a very low maintenance block of land which is fitted with a full solar electrical system which actually makes money by feeding electricity back into the grid to gether with a brand new solar hot water system, please email me) and started the search for a suitable (and affordable) boat.

Like a lot of people, with the Aussie dollar so high I'm looking overseas for a bridgedeck cat in the 38' to 44' range <$300k Aud and have found a couple that would possibly meet my needs. Most seem to be in the Carribean, which is a long way home but I'm sure the journey will be great.

If anybody has any personal experience (either good or bad) of any bridgedeck cats in this size range I'd appreciate the information. I've noticed in another thread that there seemed to be an osmosis problem with some of the Fountaine Pajot cats?

Any information about boats / Pacific crossings / transiting the Panama canal / crewing / provisioning / dealing with customs / paying duty etc. etc. Would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, back to work. I've got a house to sell and a dream to live!
Ciao for now.

[simonmd]

Welcome to the forum and well done with completing the post!

Sounds like a late 'mid life crisis' to me but hats off to you and I hope you do indeed get to live the dream. As a wise old man once said to me, 'Carpe Diem' or, 'Sieze the Day'. Good Luck!

[MarkJ]

Is Steve Price still on the radio there?

All the world is fun Come and enjoy it


Mark

[Geminiguy]

Originally Posted by simonmd

Welcome to the forum and well done with completing the post!

Sounds like a late 'mid life crisis' to me but hats off to you and I hope you do indeed get to live the dream. As a wise old man once said to me, 'Carpe Diem' or, 'Sieze the Day'. Good Luck!

Hi Simon,

You may be correct about the "mid life crisis" thing. I haven't been able to determine what constitutes the proverbial crisis as opposed to just evaluating whether your life is heading in the right direction and whether you have your priorities sorted out.

As you mention, whatever it is, I'm happy about my decision and am excited about the challenges ahead. Also, many thanks for your welcome.
Cheers,
Les

[Geminiguy]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Is Steve Price still on the radio there?

All the world is fun Come and enjoy it


Mark

Many thanks for your welcome. Yep, Pricey is still going strong over here.

102.3 4TOFM | Facebook is a link to 4to radio on facebook if your interested in catching up on what he's up to.

What's life like in the Carribean and did you buy youur Benetau over there?
Ciao.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you posting here.
kind regards,

[beetlejuice30]

Good luck with the boat remember don't think to much!