BOAT!

The next morning we went to see a Catalina 30 in Apollo Beach, FL.  We had pretty much written it off and were killing time until we got to go and see the Allied Seawind.  

We started to walk down the dock towards the boat, and then……. something happened.  Something happened that we were warned about and warned never to do…… we fell in love with the boat (and the owners.)

In front of us was a beautiful Cat 30 that had been immaculately taken care of and loved.  We tried not to show how smitten we were with the boat at first sight and walked away after telling the owners that we would contact them later.  

We didn't get very far.

5 minutes down the road Matt stopped the car and we decided to make an offer.

We raced back to meet the owners and made an offer that was swiftly declined.  Obviously.  We got their bottom line and Matt and I looked at each other and decided with that look, that we were going to make it work.  This was going to be our boat!

The following three days were an absolute frenzy.  Now that we had found our boat, we had to find a surveyor, get it surveyed, access our Canadian funds and transfer the title over with a Notary from the bank.  Stress!

Thankfully, we were dealing with the nicest boat owners you could possibly imagine.  Any fears we previously had about getting ripped offed or taken advantage of, diminished the second we had a conversation with Walt and Barbara.  I felt like they were my friend's parents and that I had known them for years.  Turns out Barb is a yoga teacher too!  And Walt and Barb are vegans!  What are the chances?  We met the co-owners, Bill and Toni a day later.  They were wonderful and eager to help as well!

For all the things that have gone wrong on our trip, we really hit the jackpot on this one.  

When we brought our stuff to move into the boat, a bottle of wine and some embroidered "Maranatha" towels were on the counter waiting for us.  Immediately Maranatha felt like home.  And home felt GREAT!