november 2017 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 43I
t was love at first sight and, like
a lot of infatuations, was soon
headed for trouble. A mental
block let me ignore the filthy
rigging, the grime on her hull,
the obvious leaks through the deck
and forehatches and an engine that
should have been converted into a
mooring block years ago. All I could
see was a beautiful boat that would
take us well into our declining years.
We had just sold Séafra, our
Voyager 35, and once the reality of
being boatless sank in, the fear of
becoming landlocked sailors had us
scouring boatyards and brokers lists
for a replacement. The basics were
clear: the ‘new’ boat had to be around
35ft, a deck saloon was imperative
and, of course, it must be withinBowling along the Welsh coast
at South Bishop and heading
for St George's ChannelBrian and his first mate enjoy some well-deserved R&Rour budget. All of this was agreed
between my wife Les and I. There was
one other essential condition: visual
appeal. I had to have a boat that would
give me that special feeling as you
stare at your yacht while rowing back
to the quay.
We had looked at Westerlies –
awkward to get from the deck to
the saloon; Moodies – the boats in
our price range were big without
being beautiful; French boats – none
suitable; Dutch steel boats – ideal
for voyaging in ice but outside
our budget; home builds and
classics. Nothing quite matched our
expectations. Nothing, that is, until
one day, while on an internet search,
Les spotted Pavane, a Seastream 34
ketch. Although a little shorter thanSéafra, she had considerably more
volume and, importantly, offered the
comfort and security essential to our
future sailing.
Could this be the one? There was
only one way to find out. Two days
later I was on a flight from Belfast to
Bristol and then to a boatyard on the
river Dart. I had only had a few hours
before my return flight but it was
enough. I was convinced that Pavane
was the boat for us.
On the downside she was clearly
in need of some serious TLC, not to
mention new instruments, possibly a
replacement engine and all that went
with a boat of nearly 40 years of age.
The good news was that the price
was within our budget and I felt it
reflected the condition of the boat.homewaters