Category: A New Lifestyle

Well folks, today, Monday April 25, 2016 begins our last week in the Eclipse Condo.  We will have all furniture and misc. items removed by Saturday and the final items (for our personal use in the temporary quarters and later on the yacht) will be totally out by Monday, May 2, 2016.  We will then take a walk about, checking for cleanliness, then prepare to turn over keys and access fobs along with pertinent information to the new owner.

Our focus then will turn totally toward the acceptance, re-fitting, and re-commissioning of the new water borne home.  The anxiety involved in uprooting, packing and removing our belongings from the apartment is strong, and I can certainly appreciate those feeling among the female partners in my life ( I of course refer to my life partner, Charlotte and to the two fur babies who share our lives, The Duchess and Penney).  I am hoping that once the apartment is cleared, the keys turned over and we close that page of our lives, we can all look forward to the new adventures awaiting us aboard the soon to be named Misty Lady.

We already have a new address, soon our land line phones will no longer be operative and the television/internet connections will become disabled.  We will use the hotel’s internet for the time being, and then will switch over to the internet and TV systems that are being installed for the yacht.

While this week will continue to be chaotic and anxiety filled, I am confident that by the time we actually do the settlement/closing on the 4th for the condo transaction and pivot toward the settlement/closing on the yacht, our focus will be on the adaptation to living on a yacht and enjoying the freedoms from land borne obligations.  Such things as a mortgage, condo fees, property tax, multiple levels of insurance policies, and multiple utility bills will be a thing of the past.

Stick with us folks, it will soon get very interesting and FUN!!

 

As most of you, who may have been following our adventures with this new lifestyle, know, a major hurdle for our future depended on becoming members of the Capital Yacht Club of the Washington, DC waterfront.  Well hip, hip, hooray, effective yesterday, I received our official acceptance along with the new member packet for full Active Membership in the CYC!  Now the Lady will have a temporary berth to be followed by a permanent berth once enough slip bids have been processed and our number comes up.

The process for acquiring a permanent slip is a competitive bid process based on your membership number.  You must be constantly searching the slip vacancy postings and when one opens that your vessel will fit into, you fill out a bid interest slip.  Once the period of open bidding has concluded, the senior bidder is awarded the slip.  Until that wonderful day comes when our bid wins the day, we will be tied up to the “T” at the end of the docs.  But the same services will be available there.

At least now, we have a home and one that is very convenient to Charlotte’s office, plus the added advantage of very close access to the DC subway system for both home and her office locations.

So, we begin the final steps to vacating our condo home and preparing for life on the water.   In a few days, we will move the remaining furniture and boxes from the condo, loading them on a truck and hauling most of them to the West Virginia home of my son Cliff and his family.  Once that is completed, we can do a final sweep through the unit to make certain all of our things are gone and the apartment is ready for the new owner.

Once we are technically homeless, we will relocate to the Annapolis, MD area and reside for a few days in a hotel while the Misty Lady undergoes her upgrades, refitting, and face lift.  New flooring in the salon and master stateroom, new countertops, new appliances, safety inspections and certifications, bottom anti-fouling paint job, new holding tanks and upgraded electronics, including internet access while underway.

Once the work has been accomplished, the appliances installed and the new furniture delivered and in place, we will put her back in the water on the South River.  We will then begin the journey down the Chesapeake Bay, and up the Potomac to the DC waterfront, our new home!

More later, we are getting down to the final steps of financial actions and the actual possession of the yacht.  We will complete the Coast Guard required Documentation and then the name will be official.

Stay tuned folks.

 

 

April 16, 2016 – On Saturday thinking about the week that passed and the activities in the Weeks ahead.  On the 20th the Board of Directors for the Yacht Club will meeting to either accept the Admissions Committee recommendations for new members (we are among them).  On the 30th we will load the majority of our remaining condo furniture on a truck and haul it to my son’s home in West Virginia.  The remaining items will go to a charity on the 3rd of May.  And we will become homeless the morning of the fourth.  Actually we will move into a hotel on the evening of the 3rd and remain there until the Misty Lady is ready to be fully re-commissioned and returned to the water.

During the period from the point we close on the yacht (expected to be the 7th, to the 15th of May we will be involved heavily in making safety, mechanical and cosmetic updates to the Lady.  The day of Closing we will receive the keys and title to the yacht, we will then head up to Dundalk fire up the diesels and sail the Lady down to Edgewater, MD (just outside of Annapolis), to a shipyard on the South River.  She will have several tasks initiated immediately.  These include, evaluating, maintaining and recertifying the fire suppressant system, “polishing” the fuel in the tanks (will explain more about this later), installing a set of holding tanks to meet the requirements of the DC waters, and laying in some teak flooring on the sole of the salon and the Master stateroom.  These are the first tasks, before we actually haul the Lady out of the water.

When she is hauled, the bottom will receive two coats of anti-fouling paint, she will be washed, waxed and polished from bow to stern, and a couple of surface scratches will be repaired and retouched.  We will, after the flooring is installed, move the TempurPedic mattress into the master stateroom and onto the bed (gonna sleep well on this yacht, ya know).  Appliances for the galley and the laundry as well as Salon furniture will be shipped to the shipyard and installed.

At that point, the Captain (that’s me) and the two sea cats (Duchess and Penny) will take up residence.  The first mate will most likely still be at a conference.  Upon her return, we will (if all tasks are completed) have the Lady restored to her natural habitat (the water) and the preparations for heading out to the Bay and south to our home berth at the Capital Yacht Club on the Washington DC waterfront.

On May 9th, I will hold a moment of remembrance for the passing of my son Mike and will install an engraving on the Chart Table that dedicates the Misty Lady to his memory.

As these things take place, I will try to post both descriptions and photos as the Misty Lady evolves from being the Roving Retreat to her new name and becomes ours both in fact and in look.

Stay Tuned?

 

 

While the Misty Lady is a beautifully maintained boat, she does have some warts and we will be working her over in a few weeks to clear up things, including her complexion.  When we finally take possession, expected the second week in May, we will start her engines, take our leave of the marina where she was home berthed for several years, in Dundalk, MD.  We will motor out of that waterway, past the entrance to Baltimore Harbor and on down to Annapolis, MD and up the South River to the shipyard we have chosen to do the upgrade and facial for our lady.

At that point, the Bride (oops, the First Mate), our two fur babies and myself will hie ourselves to a hotel outside the town of Edgewater, MD and oversee the work on our yacht.  Unfortunately, the 1st Mate will have to miss much of it, because she will have to fly off to a professional education conference for five days.  By that time, me (the Captain) and the two newly named Sea Cats, Penny and The Duchess will have hopefully taken residence on the yacht, even while the external work is continuing.  The girls have both indicated with their attitudes (they do not deign to speak to lowly humans unless absolutely necessary), that they are most displeased with the changes that are occurring.

The Misty Lady will have some important upgrades and some safety maintenances at the outset.  She will receive new holding tanks (the waters in our home port do not allow any discharges overboard), the fire suppressant system will be evaluated, weighted and recertified.  Our portable fire extinguishers will be checked and their certifications ascertained.  Then the new teak flooring will be installed in the salon and perhaps in the master stateroom.   We will have a new sofa and at least one side chair delivered once the flooring is installed in the salon.

A TV antenna and an Internet connection antenna will be installed on the Arch over the bridge.  We will be removing the 20 foot antennas from both sides of the upper superstructure and will replace them with new digitial high gain antenna “sticks”.  This will improve the overall look AND will eliminate the need to lower the antennas when we go under bridges that to not have enough regular clearances.  The new washer dryer combo unit will also be installed at this time as well.  We have not finalized the plan for other appliances or the installation of quartz counter tops in the galley.

Once these upgrades and safety items have been accomplished, we will put the Lady back in the water and then launch her toward her new berth at the Capital Yacht Club on the Washington, DC waterfront.

Also, I was required to take a Boating Safety Certification course and have a passing grade to be awarded a certificate.  This certificate must be available on demand by the DC Harbor Patrol.  This old man is proud to say that I ACED the course.  I was shocked.  But proud.  Now the certificate will be inserted in the Misty Lady’s log book for display on request by the authorities.

We are trying to move our condo sale closing date back a couple of days to enable enough business days to record all documents AND free up the funding for my accounts.  Then we will transfer the final payment for the Yacht Closing and finally take possession of the boat.  Her name will be changed to The Misty Lady immediately for the Coast Guard Documentation Process, but we will still hold a renaming gathering after she is back in the water.

 

April 3, 2016- As many of you are aware, Char and I are blessed with two (not one but two) fur babies.  A Tortie named Penny and a Grey Tabby named The Duchess.  Now also understand that kitties are normally a staunch landlubber species.  So, my need was to forewarn these two that in the coming weeks they would become valued crew members of the Motor Yacht (MY) Misty Lady.  I beseeched them to grant me the honor of listening to my reasons for uprooting them from their comfortable condo living, with large windows on the world of bird and other critters, and forcing them to abide with us on a floating home.

They were not amused.  Penny stared at me for a long time (four nanoseconds, which is an eternity for kitty time), then flicked her tail and strolled out of the room.  The Duchess, as is her wont, sat there staring without blinking for a considerable pause.  Then then gave out with a huge yawn and the resulting look was the equivalent of “What Ever”.

I am going to assume that the transition from land based life to living on a large yacht in the waters of the eastern coastline and related waterways of the United States will be one of resignation and eventual adjustment by these two.  One must continually bear in mind that the feline world looks upon us lower lifeforms in a condescending, yet affectionate way.  At least the two who inhabit our life are that way.  It only took them about 18 months to forgive us when we moved them from the large town house in Loudoun County to the smallish condo apartment in Crystal City.  NOW?  Who knows.  Living on a boat will be considerably different, they will have to go up and down steps to transition from one resting place to another, from their litter box to their food and water stations, and from a soft bed cover to the bridge where abundant sunshine will be available for their sunning competition.  Alas, the horrors!

Optimist that I am, it is my belief that in short order the rumbling of the diesel engines, the sound of waves slapping against the bow and an ever changing scenic view will win them over.  I know the idea of living and playing on a large waterborne craft is the epitome of coolness, but considering that Kitties are already the coolest of the cool, perhaps they will not view this as a contributing factor to their increasing level of cool.

I mean, just look at Penny in her coolness, chilling on the floor.

Duchess hasn’t even deigned to arise from her comfort.

Perhaps once they are at sea, their attitudes will change and they will bestow upon the Captain (me) and the 1st Mate (Char), their acceptance of our new home.

Afterall, they still have slightly less than 4 weeks until closing on both the house and on the yacht.

Keeping an optimistic view.

 

March 23, 2016

This afternoon we received an offer on our condo. By the evening time, the buyer’s agent and our agent had worked through electronic means to prepare, submit and obtain acceptance signatures to ratify the Contract.  Of course there is still a buyer’s home inspection and appraisal process to complete, but we are confident that these will not be problematic.  Once these two things have been accomplished it is on to the Closing or Settlement date.  Not going to happen tomorrow unfortunately, because nothing in the financial world moves efficiently. If nothing happens to hang the entire situation, we will most likely be in settlement/closing the first week in May.

Yeah, I know, why couldn’t it be tomorrow? Anyway, soon we will see a final path to beginning our process from land based humans, to seafaring wonders….

Once we have this process fully implemented, we will then begin the process of closing on the yacht.  It will also require some formal steps including a settlement date.  We hope to schedule that date within two days of the condo’s settlement.  Would like it to be sooner, but things have to happen in a process.

Fingers crossed everyone, this is taking a long time, but I am convinced all the hurdles are going to be worth it.

At any rate, unless some catastrophic event happens, by the second week in May, our little family will become seafaring folk.  I am preparing the Misty Lady’s re-commissioning list, so far there are 23 items on the list, some very important, and some good to have done.  Stay tuned.

 

Now that we are committed to the acquisition of the motor yacht, we will be taking some classes.  A few will be new, while some will be refreshers.  Today, Monday the 21st of March, I will be visiting with the Washington, DC Harbor Patrol offices to obtain reference material for taking the Safety Certificate testing.  This certificate is similar to a drivers license for the waters under the jurisdiction of the DC Harbor Patrol.  This certificate indicates that we have shown knowledge of the requirements to operate our vessel safely.

Other courses that we will be taking over the coming weeks include piloting, line handling, navigation and course charting, NOAA and Coast Guard regulations for motor yachts our size.  Much of this is a refresher, been quite a few years since I was involved in boating so much has changed, but also many aspects have faded from the memories.

We also meet with our second sponsor for the yacht club membership process.  The admissions committee will meet on the 30th of March and we hope for a strong acceptance.

Another item of education will be the possible laying off in anchorage should this be necessary.  There is always a possibility that we will not be able to secure a permanent slip for a few weeks or months, so we will tie up at the “T” or lie at anchor in the Washington Channel.  Instruction and guidance for these actions will be provided by the Rear Commodore of the Yacht Club.

Friday March 18 we concluded the acceptance stage of the MY Misty Lady. This involved executing a document that spelled out the remaining things that the current owner would need to get accomplished for our acceptance. This was called a Conditional Acceptance Certification. In this stage, we identified the last few things that we wanted performed by the current owner and once accomplished, we would fully accept the yacht. All of the parties have signed off on this document and we are now committed to the acquisition of the yacht. The only thing remaining is the sale of our condo and the payment of the remaining funds. At that point, the Misty Lady (currently Roving Retreat II) will be ours.
Praying for a buyer for our condo soon.

This morning, Sunday March 13, 2016, we again traveled to Dundalk and took the yacht out for a re-trial.  The day was overcast, but the temperature was comfortable.  Once again the current owner impressed me with the handling of this large vessel.  Onboard this time were my 1st Mate Charlotte, my son, Cliff, my daughter-in-law Becky and my two grand daughters, Hattie and Cammie.  Also aboard were Ken the surveyor engineer, Walt the broker and the two owners.   A full crew.

We left the slip at about 10:30 and headed out toward the bay.  We brought the yacht up to the cruise speed and the RPMs for both engines were showing well within the curve.  The temperature and oil gauges showed the previous problems had been corrected.  The surveyor was in the engine room for the majority of the run, after evaluating the instrument panel and determined that the engines were both operating well within tolerances.

We ran on for a few minutes more and then turned back toward the marina.  The second sea trial was a success.  Ken the surveyor will have the final report for me by Monday and we can then finalize our “pick” list of items to be either corrected by the owner or accepted by us for later attention.  All in All, she is a terrific vessel and we look forward to the finalization of the purchase.

Of course that also depends on the sale of our condo, and we are hopeful that this hurdle will be behind us in a couple of weeks.  We had another prospect tour the apartment yesterday and the real estate agent indicated that “We liked the Condo”.  My thing is now, let’s see some offers and a contract!

But on the bright side, one major step has been put behind us!  On to the next step.

 

Well, we are going to take the Misty Lady (currently the Roving Retreat) out for the second attempt at a sea trial.  The other items for the survey of our soon to be sea going home, are duly recorded and I have my pick list to ensure that we miss nothing prior to her commissioning as the Misty Lady.

We will gather at the marina where the vessel is currently berthed and after a short planning session will board the boat for the sea trial.  This time the boat will have my 1st Mate, Charlotte on board.  She was in Nashville at a meeting the last time.  My son and his family are also going to try to be aboard when we take her out for the trials.

Once the sea trial is completed, we will begin to lay in the supplies, tools and scheduled workers to put her right for our acceptance into the Capital Yacht Club.

Keep your fingers crossed for us that all goes well.  Our condo is on the market and we have had one expression of interest so far.  Once the condo has been sold, we will bring the yacht down to Washington and begin our life as “cruisers” aboard this super neat vessel.

Both Charlotte and I will also be going back to school.  We have to pass a test for a Boating Safety Certification before we are allowed to ply the waters of the Washington DC area.  We also will be taking additional course on ship handling, navigation, and other yachting related courses.  Many of these I had taken in the past, but after so many years, a refresher course of study is certainly warranted.

Looking forward to the next entry in this log, when I talk about the sea trial and perhaps post photos from the voyage.