After we got home, and after I checked my bank balance I headed over to my girlfriend Emma, who also told me I was crazy when I told her I was going to buy a boat called Moonpenny.
It's true, I've never sailed a boat, I've never set foot on a boat apart from Stephs, but my view on life follows along the lines of 'Whats the worst that can happen'. I know myself, I like to learn new things, I like to try out new activities, you have to get a survey done before buying a boat so again 'Whats the worst that can happen'.
Moonpenny was on the market for £10,000 , some people buy cars on credit, and we all know how much cars devalue, well this boat had been around for 27 odd years, I couldn't imagine a boat devaluing much further.
Another thought I had at the time was that until I spent a considerable amount of time sailing, I would have no idea of what makes a good boat, or a bad boat. There's no point buying a boat with lots of fancy toys, only to find out half the boating community hate furling mains because of their unreliability for example. I knew what I was buying was a simple boat, though it has to be said if I had had just a ounce of knowledge I could have got a boat with more kit on but hey ho. this was a boat for cutting my teeth on and obides by the KISS rule (Keep It Simple Stupid).
Monday, 21 November 2011
What made me buy a boat
I arrived back from Zurich 8 months after moving abroad with a company I had worked for. Zurich didn't quite do it for me, there's quiet then there's quiet, so I decided to head back to what I knew.
So I'm back in London, spending time at my girlfriends place and my parents. I had a friend of a friend living on a boat in London and decided it was high time me and Ben should go and see her, kestrals packed we went down to the marina and had a great night of beers/bbq and blowdart practice (dont ask)
Tired of living at my parents and not wanting to house share I thought it would be pretty cool to live on a boat. Things seem so simple sometimes to me, I like to think I think in a logical manner which perhaps only makes sense to me. The only thing that holds you back is your own fear. Logically thinking I thought; I like learning new things, I like being out doors, I've spent a week in Austria in my campervan covered in snow in minus temperatures....heck lets go have a look at a few boats.
So a few weeks later, with permission from the girlfriend, I invited my only boaty friend to come up with me on the back of my motorbike to Ipswich to just have a look at a few boats. Steph was more than happy to oblige, though 'sailing' through a roundabout thinking we had a green light when infact there were no lights was not my high point and the trip could have stopped there.
Well its true to say I didn't do any research, I couldn't tell the difference between a fin keel or a long keel. The first boat yard was full of wrecks, boats that hadn't seen salt water for about 10 years, with interiors that appeared to have been abandoned in haste. Steph convinced me that that the best boat of a bad bunch was really really bad, so I put my money away..with much annoyance.
The last place we visited was Burton Waters in Ipswich, I had still not bought a boat and felt pretty downtrodden. Things suddenly improved when on the hard standing we saw a brown racing boat called Moonpenny. Moonpenny had been standing for 10 years while the owner refitted it, spending copious amounts of money on things that I had no appreciation for at the time. Still it made no real difference, we climbed up and sat down in the boat, I could envision living on Moonpenny, so for me it was a done deal. I took down all the details, we got back on the motorbike and as we sped off I shouted to Steph "I'm going to buy that boat" Steph laughed "YOU'RE CRAZY!!"
So I'm back in London, spending time at my girlfriends place and my parents. I had a friend of a friend living on a boat in London and decided it was high time me and Ben should go and see her, kestrals packed we went down to the marina and had a great night of beers/bbq and blowdart practice (dont ask)
Tired of living at my parents and not wanting to house share I thought it would be pretty cool to live on a boat. Things seem so simple sometimes to me, I like to think I think in a logical manner which perhaps only makes sense to me. The only thing that holds you back is your own fear. Logically thinking I thought; I like learning new things, I like being out doors, I've spent a week in Austria in my campervan covered in snow in minus temperatures....heck lets go have a look at a few boats.
So a few weeks later, with permission from the girlfriend, I invited my only boaty friend to come up with me on the back of my motorbike to Ipswich to just have a look at a few boats. Steph was more than happy to oblige, though 'sailing' through a roundabout thinking we had a green light when infact there were no lights was not my high point and the trip could have stopped there.
Well its true to say I didn't do any research, I couldn't tell the difference between a fin keel or a long keel. The first boat yard was full of wrecks, boats that hadn't seen salt water for about 10 years, with interiors that appeared to have been abandoned in haste. Steph convinced me that that the best boat of a bad bunch was really really bad, so I put my money away..with much annoyance.
The last place we visited was Burton Waters in Ipswich, I had still not bought a boat and felt pretty downtrodden. Things suddenly improved when on the hard standing we saw a brown racing boat called Moonpenny. Moonpenny had been standing for 10 years while the owner refitted it, spending copious amounts of money on things that I had no appreciation for at the time. Still it made no real difference, we climbed up and sat down in the boat, I could envision living on Moonpenny, so for me it was a done deal. I took down all the details, we got back on the motorbike and as we sped off I shouted to Steph "I'm going to buy that boat" Steph laughed "YOU'RE CRAZY!!"
My Background
Seems logical to start by setting the scene with a bit of a background to who I am and what I do...
I've been working in London as a programmer for various digital agencies since about 2004, its a bit of a w*nky world of long hours, overdue projects, where staff parties are managements way of getting you so drunk you forget about pay rises and career goals. Days are spent explaining programming issues that are the equivalent to teaching the ABC to pubescent project managers straight out of nursery school.
Like many 20-30 year olds (and over), I spent most of my time in the summer months getting out of London, which usually involved taking my VW T25 Camper to festivals, European road trips, snowboarding, kyaking, mountain biking and hiking with my dear old friend Ben and anyone else with a passion for fancy dress and beer.
So its fair to say I really enjoy being outdoors and trying new things, coming from a small village I've adapted to city life pretty well, but it's nice to get out sometimes. I've heard many people compare heading out of London back to see the folks like having a heavy weight lifted off their chests, for me it definitely feels this way, perhaps its the silence at night, or the fresh air I can't explain.
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