April 21, 2007
The Old Boat - Update
Closing was Friday April 20th. With very fond memories we hand Solace to another family and now look forward to being the proud owners of only one sailboat.
April 15, 2007
Visit to the Yard
On Thursday and Friday, April 12th and 13th, Dave visited the Hallberg Rassy yard in Ellos, Sweden. Ellos is on the west coast of Sweden, a very picturesque coast line, very rocky and many islands. The weather was absolutely perfect. On Friday morning I met with Rolland, the sales manager for Hallberg Rassy. We had met Rolland in 2001 when we visited the open house that year. Rolland helped us with our 34 and now is helping us with the equipment, layout decisions on the 40. First though we spoke about cruising grounds, where Rolland noted that the best he has ever been too, and the one he must get back to, is the inside passage to Alaska. So there you have it, better to stay close to home after all!
For the main event, it is true that we had not actually looked at "our" boat live, at least in terms of layout. Overall, I left with 1) more options, so more money spent 2) very positive feeling that we made a great decision 3) confidence that we have found the right mix of size and manageability for our family. I looked at 4 different 40's all in different stages of production from bare hull to floating in the water. Storage area was good, especially under the bunks, the salon felt roomy and comfortable with the arm chairs and the cockpit secure.
A fun experience.
For the main event, it is true that we had not actually looked at "our" boat live, at least in terms of layout. Overall, I left with 1) more options, so more money spent 2) very positive feeling that we made a great decision 3) confidence that we have found the right mix of size and manageability for our family. I looked at 4 different 40's all in different stages of production from bare hull to floating in the water. Storage area was good, especially under the bunks, the salon felt roomy and comfortable with the arm chairs and the cockpit secure.
A fun experience.
April 07, 2007
Why we chose a Hallberg Rassy
The story starts many years ago at the Seattle boat show in 1996/1997, when browsing all of the boats we stepped on a HR 42, complete with arm chairs in the salon, it was exquisite. Later that year I read the "Log of the Mahina" about John Neal's first blue water cruise. The combination of these two items had us very convinced what our eventual cruising boat would be.
When we were living in Brazil, after a couple of chartering vacations and much research on alternative boat types (Pacific Seacraft, Swan, Morris, Island Packet, Beneteau) we decided on ordering a new HR 34, of which we took delivery of in Singapore in 2001. In summary, the reputation of HR is exceptional and we felt that the cost/value equation as compared to the other boats we considered highly favored the HR.
For a little over five years, we sailed our HR 34, Solace, as much as possible, nearly every weekend in Singapore (not much of a winter) and throughout each summer while we lived in Connecticut. During this period of time which include a little racing, some coastal cruising, a couple of very serious blows (50+ knot Sumatra in Singapore) two babies (Jake and Isabelle), Solace taught us to sail, forgave all mistakes (too much sail for the conditions, going aground) and never suffered a major or minor break down. As we sailed with other boaters, we began to deeply appreciate the fineness of the HR both for the sailing as well as the execution of systems which were reliable and free of anything other than routine maintenance.
So there was no question for us what boat make was going to take us cruising. We looked at a couple of used HR's but ultimately decided to order again from the yard. In terms of size we believe the 40 is a good compromise on storage/tankage and size (not so large as to need electric winches or be overly intimidating in a tight marina). I will go into the outfitting plan for our HR 40 in a later post, ordering new gave us the peace of mind that our requirements will be executed flawlessly by HR. All in all we expect that the HR 40 will make a good home, a strong and reliable sailing vessel and a great place to raise our family.
When we were living in Brazil, after a couple of chartering vacations and much research on alternative boat types (Pacific Seacraft, Swan, Morris, Island Packet, Beneteau) we decided on ordering a new HR 34, of which we took delivery of in Singapore in 2001. In summary, the reputation of HR is exceptional and we felt that the cost/value equation as compared to the other boats we considered highly favored the HR.
For a little over five years, we sailed our HR 34, Solace, as much as possible, nearly every weekend in Singapore (not much of a winter) and throughout each summer while we lived in Connecticut. During this period of time which include a little racing, some coastal cruising, a couple of very serious blows (50+ knot Sumatra in Singapore) two babies (Jake and Isabelle), Solace taught us to sail, forgave all mistakes (too much sail for the conditions, going aground) and never suffered a major or minor break down. As we sailed with other boaters, we began to deeply appreciate the fineness of the HR both for the sailing as well as the execution of systems which were reliable and free of anything other than routine maintenance.
So there was no question for us what boat make was going to take us cruising. We looked at a couple of used HR's but ultimately decided to order again from the yard. In terms of size we believe the 40 is a good compromise on storage/tankage and size (not so large as to need electric winches or be overly intimidating in a tight marina). I will go into the outfitting plan for our HR 40 in a later post, ordering new gave us the peace of mind that our requirements will be executed flawlessly by HR. All in all we expect that the HR 40 will make a good home, a strong and reliable sailing vessel and a great place to raise our family.
The Old Boat
Of the many things we need to do to prepare for the next chapter of our life, one of the priorities was to sell our current boat, Solace, and HR 34. On Wednesday April 4, 2007, we received a firm offer, subject to standard survey and closing. This made our day as we can begin, (fingers deeply crossed) to think we will not be the proud owners of two boats for much longer.
The Decision
We have been planning to go cruising for many years now, but the decision to go, the commitment if you will, is still an earth moving day. For most, including us, it is marked the day you buy the boat you intend to go on. At this point you have committed your heart, mind and finances to the endeavor. On March 8, 2007 we ordered our boat, a Hallberg Rassy 40. This boat will be a new build to be delivered in December 2007. We will have the boat delivered to us on the east coast of the U.S. (Essex CT) and begin our cruising from there in the Spring of 2008. Please see the Hallberg Rassy link posted on this site for more information on the boat.
Welcome
Welcome to our cruising adventure. We intend on sharing as much about our planning, preperation and actual adventure as possible. We hope you enjoy. The picture of above is sistership of the Hallberg Rassy 40.
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