The Muse, the Muse, Oh Where Is the Muse??

Loyal friends and followers, I'm afraid that I have been awol. But, there is news!

Ten days or so ago on our way from Mile Hammock Bay at Camp LaJeune to Town Creek Marina in Beaufort, the Admiral told me she needed a break. Knowing that I'm not a big fan of Maine during mud season, she sweetened that by suggesting we go to our home in Key West for a week. I fell for it and bought myself a week's worth of home repair tasks interspersed with several nice dinners with good friends Joe and Susan Dyer and Leo Waters and Helen Walker.

The Admiral also had me over a bit of a barrel as, hold the trumpets, we were in the midst of negotiating for a new (to us) boat. Back while we were in Charleston, Craig Tallberg, the owner of Coastal Carolina Yachts whom we bought Katahdin from, offered us free dock space. Subtly, Craig put us next to a 2020 Sabre 45 SE that was for sale. I asked the Admiral if she'd like to look at it. That was my first mistake. Craig told us where the keys were hidden and invited us to inspect her at our leisure. Though only four feet longer than Katahdin, boats go up in size volumetrically as the length increases. The boat has a number of conveniences that ours lacks--among them a great guest berth with its own full bath, a much more spacious salon, and a home size washer and dryer. These comforts attracted the Admiral as did a number of features that were somewhat more upscale than what we have on the Back Cove. My second mistake occurred when, at dinner one night, Craig suggested that it would be fun to take the Sabre 45 for a ride--no fool Craig. Let me be clear, we love our Back Cove 41 and its relative simplicity, its electrical system notwithstanding. However, with its twin Volvo pods, 360 degree joystick control, the Volvo interceptor system which levels out the boat in a sea, and SeaKeeper which dramatically stabilizes the ride, the Sabre 45 is technologically a generation ahead of the Back Cove 41 built by its sister company.

All right, let's get out of Charleston, head north and get as far away from temptation as humanly possible. Done. But. Every so often the 45 would come up in conversation. First I would pine for it and the Admiral was the naysayer. Then she would pine for it and I'd spray cold water. A couple of weeks later, the Admiral pointed out that we are getting old and ought to enjoy what we've earned over many years. I texted Craig and asked what a deal would look like (my third mistake). He quickly offered to take both our Back Cove and our Edgewater (which has been for sale for a year) in trade. Along with that, he offered to have the boat painted the Admiral's favorite color (flag blue hull and an antique red bottom), install a Freedom Lift for our dinghy, and have a grill and icemaker cabinet built and installed just like the one we have on the Back Cove. With all of that, it was only a matter of a few pennies (??) to close the deal. I left Key West and flew to Charleston on Monday for a survey and the sea trials. All good and we'll have a new boat on May 1. So exciting!

So, where does that leave us. We are still headed north hoping to stick our nose into at least the southern reaches of the Chesapeake before we turn around and head back to Charleston. We were in Oriental, NC, last night after a very bumpy ride with 2-3 foot waves directly abeam on the Neuse River. Oriental is a great small town with a very protected working harbor. Today, we traveled down the Neuse River and up the Pamlico River--both broad expanses of water--with gray and gloomy skies and arrived at Belhaven (NC) marina. We're planning to anchor out tomorrow night and then spend what is forecast to be a very stormy three-day weekend in a protected marina in Norfalk, VA.

Stay tuned!