Introduction

 We are Kristen and Gary, who live in New Hampshire. We have enjoyed adventures on our 26ft sailboat, but in the fall of 2019 we opted to eschew New England's frozen landscape for crewing on someone else's boat in warmer climes. Perusing CrewBay.com and FindACrew.com, we chose skipper Rock and his Pearson 424 ketch 'Topaz', in Cape Coral Florida. 


But alas, Topaz was having engine problems. And Florida does not share New England's puritan work ethic that we were accustomed to. Rock found a mechanic, who would come out to the boat, bang around with a wrench for an hour or two, then quit for the day. Then he'd be back in about a week. As expenses climbed, the mechanic actually made things worse. And we got bored. We bought 2nd hand bicycles so we could get around town. We were still bored. We discovered Cape Coral's dance scene. Still bored. We helped on Topaz. Yup, still bored. We took Topaz's dinghy out along the canals. 


On board Topaz


And out there among the many boats and dock we happened to meet Heinz, a German-Canadian, snow-birding in Florida. He and his wife own a 36ft sloop, and has a friend wanting to give away a 34-footer. Would we be interested? Free? Did I mention we were bored?

Topaz was still going nowhere, and eventually Rock fired the mechanic and had the engine replaced. And we went to check out this free boat. The owner was in poor health, so we met with his neighbor. We have our 26ft sailboat back in NH, and we have been seriously thinking about a bigger boat, but looking more toward something around 40ft. Not our ideal boat, but the price seemed good. 

She's a Irwin Citation 34 from 1979. She'd been neglected for untold years, and rainwater had penetrated window seals and hatches. The interior woodwork was badly water-damaged. The engine ran, and the sails-while stained, were serviceable. Running rigging was UV damaged, and everything needed a thorough cleaning. We figured $5-8k would bring her back to life. Hahaha!


Motoring down Cape Coral's canals in our new sailboat!

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