SV Quirky

Where to start? Sailing obviously requires a boat and who knew how many makes and models there were. It is also a bit like buying a house or choosing a husband you start out with Chris Hemsworth and end up with Ben Stiller. Reliable but not quite the look you were after.

What to consider?

A.       New or second hand. New everything is shiney, with all the latest mod cons and under warranty. Second hand, slightly dented, musty smell but we know it floats.

B.        Size of boat. Too big requires more people to sail her, larger berths and  a very large wallet. Too small, can’t stand up downstairs and far to bouncy in the middle of the pacific. ( What looks large in the dock looks and feels tiny in the middle of the ocean)

C.      Cost of the boat. ‘How long is a piece of string?’  You can spend a lot on a boat or you can spend an obscene amount on a boat. You just have to pick your budget.

With these things in mind we started looking. Chris had always coveted an Oyster a beautiful boat, fitted A and B but definitely not C.

Found a lovely old Amel Fitted A and C but not B.

(Something to do with the amount of water it drew? Another new fact, who knew boats draw different amounts of water. Nothing to do with pens and pencils but more with the amount of water they need below  so they don’t hit the bottom. Important to know. A bit like those truck drivers who forget how tall their vehicle is when they go under the harbour tunnel. Bad result

After looking at hundreds of boats and attending numerous boat shows we found her. A+B+C= perfect. Flew to New Zealand spent a few hours looking over her, second hand, good condition and in budget. We flew home happy and excited we had found the one.

Wrong. We may have achieved perfect but we had not anticipated D, the human factor. Negotiations, promises made and forgotten led to goodbye to perfect. It did however help us decide. We would buy a new one of the same model and not have to deal with this type of disappointment again.

Boat ordered. Well actually part of a boat ordered. This is the opposite to house buying. When you buy a house you turn up 6 weeks later to find that things you thought were included are gone, or the front door has been changed. Buying a boat is more like buying a bicycle where after you have picked it they ask you if you would like to buy pedals and a seat. Mad but true.

What we had actually bought were the absolute basics and then there was a long list of additional items that you could add or upgrade. Still in budget….just. as long as I didn’t have to downgrade my coffee machine and there were enough fridges and freezers for the bubbles and the ice I was happy. At this stage in my sailing career sails were more about their colour, radio more about music and flotation devices were stand up paddle boards. I had a lot to learn.

Now we have a boat on order its time for that impossible challenge. You have to name it. The beauty of a second hand boat is that it comes with a name. This can be a blessing or a curse dependant of course on the actual name. You can go various ways with this something to do with the sea and sailing  eg.Salt, fair winds, or something to do with cost eg stillowen, Callosal debt                 \

or profession related ?????????????. Some even use ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

After numerous suggestions we settled on QUIRKY. Meaning oddity to most but with a more personal reference for us. So now there were 3 of us Chris Ruth and Oddity. Let’s hope she floats.