So, one day in Mexico City, a couple of weeks back, Ali and I started talking about what we wanted to do this next year. We had been planning on traveling around the Southwestern U.S., and popping down into Baja for a few months. But honestly, neither one of us was super amped by the plan. And if we’re not excited about it, then what is the point? The kids aren’t getting any younger. We’ve only got so many years to give them the experiences we want to give them.
By the end of a couple of hours of back and forth, we knew it was time to pivot sharply. We always have some loose plan of the future in mind—constantly in flux, but still there tingling in the back of the brain. A boat had been about a year away on that plan. But now, with no pressing short-term plans in place, the idea of having a home on the water seemed like the obvious option. And with that decided, it was time to move on to the boat search.
We’ve known for a while now that we didn’t really want a sailboat the next time around. We don’t have any 2,000 mile crossings in mind for the next few years, which makes having sails on our boat redundant. As far back as when Ali was pregnant with Ouest, we had been looking at the 42′ Grand Banks trawlers (well, we looked at one crappy one in Mazatlan). Again, last year right before buying the Airstream, we looked at one up in Maryland (filthy engine room did that in). So, after bopping around for a couple days on the internet we found a good looking GB42 in Florida.
I booked a flight, flew out of Mexico City solo, climbed around the boat, marveled at the incredible engine room where I decided I would be taking my meals in the future, absorbed the beauty of the interior wood, checked out the huge bedroom the kids would get to take over, and knew that was it. Another one-day boat search was over. I shot some videos, took some pics, and flew back to Mexico City to talk it over with Ali. The next day we made a deal.
So, that’s that. We’re headed to Florida soon, where the next adventure begins. Don’t know exactly what that will be yet, but this boat will easily handle the few things we’d like to do with it—Bahamas, Great Loop, the Caribbean Islands, and more.
Unfortunately, we don’t have many pics we feel like sharing just yet. Like all boat owners seem to do when it comes time to sell a boat, they grab their phone, and proceed to snap a bunch of crappy pictures with their garbage lying about all over the place—and then they scratch their heads when it doesn’t sell, or sells for way less than they were asking. Fortunately, it was easy enough for us to see through the mess with this one. We’ll get on it, unleash Ali’s OCD upon it, and start from scratch.
Of course, with the start of a new adventure, the old must come to an end. We have no desire to do the six-months on, six-months off thing, so Apple the Airstream is up for sale. You all know us pretty well by now, so you know that this thing is spotless. And you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t had anything to complain about all year. I guess that’s one of the nice things about Airstream trailers—they are so simple that there is just nothing to go wrong.
Anyway, please go have a look at the Airstream For Sale page, share with all your acquaintances on MySpace, and then mail out a chain-letter to everyone in your family. If you are interested or have any questions, shoot us a note.
89 Comments on “So This Happened”
green with envy
Nice boat..but I would have brought a VERY nice cat in Grenada or T&T for the same or less money and sailed north taking my time for a year or two…with the winds at your back an easy sail. More stable, more room, less gas money and teach the kids to sail!! OH well..a stink potter can be nice too!!! :)!!
No, you definitely would not find a nice cat at this price. You might find a cat, but not a nice one. And it wouldn’t have more room than a 42 Grand Banks—not even close. It might have four cabins, but cabins are a far cry from enjoyable living space. Less gas money? Sailors often forget that sails and running rigging should be added to the fuel costs column. Believe me RB, we’ve done enough sailboat miles to know the realities of sailing. For what we have planned we think this is the perfect boat. Time will tell.
I love Ali’s OCD, it makes everything look so well put together. Im OCD also. LOVE the boat and when its done we’d like to come and see it some where on its voyage.
I love it, too! And yeah, we’d love to see you guys anytime. We were supposed to come see you later this summer, but then this darn boat came along. 🙂
Speaking of pics. Is that a tree growing out of the bow? lol
It cost extra, but we like to have a palm tree with us everywhere we go.
Great news for your familly! Looking forward to your next adventures!
So what’s going to happen with the Travelall?
We’ll be selling it once we get settled on the boat and are ready to take off. Shoot us an e-mail if you’re interested.
Congrats guys… we bought our boat in the Florida this past Spring, shifting after 11 years of full time RVing ourselves. Starting out (slowly) on the Great Loop! However, we are doing the switch back and forth from RV to boat as we get more northward.
Currently in the Keys and will soon be cruising up the ICW. If our paths cross, it would be awesome! Wishing you guys all the best in the next chapter!
Great! We’ll be crossing paths for sure. Shout when you get to north FL.
Glad to see your family getting back to the water. Maybe we’ll see you around Florida or Bahamas this fall/winter. ☺
I’m sure we will. Looking forward to it!
There is nothing so satisfying as scratching an itch for change. Congrats. Given that your kids are merkids, it seems right.
Can’t wait for the next chapter’s stories to commence. Congrats on the switch back to water. A beautiful boat!
Ditto here. What a beautiful boat, Pat!!!
Yay! I’m so excited for you guys! Here’s to “pivoting”; I don’t know what life would be without it!
(the great loop is on my to-do list too!)
Congrats!!!! It was your original boating adventure that got us hooked (in following you and in checking out of the rat race!!). Excited to follow along on this trek!!
Just make sure to take the professor, Maryanne, Gilligan, …… I feel like singing all of a sudden?
Looks like a beauty. I hope you kept that teak work book I gave you guys.
Congratulations! We are on Sarasota. I would love to meet up with you all.
After the deal, can you share the price? My husband and I have been talking about buying a powerboat for living aboard here.
Yes! I love reading about all your adventures, but I have to admit: I’m SO EXCITED you’ll be back on a boat. Especially a Grand Banks… we have a few friends with GBs here in San Francisco and they are fantastic boats. Congrats.
You may already be aware of them but back when we fulltimed (RVing) we followed http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/ once they started (we RVd 2004-2007 and then lived in Mexico until 2016 and now we’re living in MN so our youngest two can go to “American highschool”). They have (what looks to me to be) the same kind of boat. I think. Anyway, happy trails! Love your travels!
Bullet proof engine and incredibly simple to maintain! Great looking GB
Let a new, epic adventure begin. Sometimes, you have to switch gears (rudders) to embrace more of what this world has to offer! Congrats and we REALLY look forward to being behind you in the dinghy, bringing up the rear!
Very popular cruising vessels – well built and comfortable underway. great Choice!
Now I hope to finally meet you here in The USVI and show your troupe a fine Welcome!!! Capt Doug
We’ll have to do that, Doug. Looking forward to it.
Pat tell Ali that when you come to Florida I would LOVE to finally get our girls together. Congrats! We just sold our sailboat a couple of months ago and as any live aboard knows…that is never the end just a chance for a new beginning!
~Shawna, (Matt & Cadence)
For sure. It’s been a long time coming. 🙂
Awesome! Eighteen summers…..adventure on!
Beautiful!
Cant wait to read about your great loop adventures. Since i get sea sivk easy I will be doing the loops soon.
Great! Kind of reminds me of Jaws.
Back to ‘rockin and rollin’. Congratulations.
After this adventure, you might consider a canal boat in Europe.
LOL…now I see why you left Mexico, which I questioned in a previous post. 😉 Yeah, yeah, I know Pat’s tourist visa was up, but I’ve been following you for many years, long enough to sniff out when change is in the air. She’s a beauty. Can’t wait to follow along in your next adventure!
Glad to see you on a boat again! Grand Banks are beautiful boats! Wanna send Ali to unleash her OCD on our boat? Sure could use it!
Well I thought something was cookin’ when we hadn’t heard from you all for a while. Sounds like a great new adventure.
I am so exited about your next adventure, wishing you the best.
I keep thinking you guys should get a seaplane one of these times for a new adventure.
I’ve had our vintage Otter seaplane picked out ever since we flew on one up in Alaska 9 years ago. 🙂
Wow !! Congrats on the GB !! So excited to continue following you guys !! My wife and I have been traveling from NC to Florida and Bahamas , over winters for the the last 6 years or so and love it !! You guys will have a blast on the east coast . The only thing I can comment about the pics is
CQR “Bad”. ROCNA ” only choice ”
Have fun , If you make it to Southport Nc look us up !!!!
Yeah, we’re well aware. Need new chain anyway—the Rocna is a certainty.
A trawler is the obvious choice for the Great Loop, sails would be down for such a large portion of the trip and you would be motoring anyway. Congratulations, what wonderful adventures await you! When you hit the Great Lakes give us a wave!
Yay! I love you guys on a boat! Can wait to read all your new adventures!
Glad to see I’m not the only one that looks at engine room cleanliness. When I’m looking at boat porn as soon as I see an engine or engine room that is dirty and unkempt I immediately stop looking and move on.
As for the trawler, great move! As much as I love sailing I do like looking at trawlers although not nearly as big as 43′ as I am single but some day it would be fun to have a small trawler and do the Great Loop.
Looking forward to your new adventures and if you end up doing the Loop instead of taking the Erie Canal continue North to Montreal where free meals and drinks away you! 🙂
hope to see you on “the loop” , Bahamas or Keys! currently building my boat in Fl. Goodonyas ! It does a fathers heart good when you are snorkeling around a reef when one of your young’uns blows past you to 50′ and hangs around with some of the divers for a minute or so, ha. You see the divers checking their depth gauges in amazement. Go get’m tiger(s)!
Bahamas, Caribbean, Keys? Sure, I get that. But what about the Gulf Coast of Mexico? Cuba? I’m guessing Sea of Cortez is out this time? Or is the Canal an option? Boat looks cool as heck to me. Motor is spotless. What kind of diesel is it? Looking forward to your future posts (Pictures are incredible, you wit kills me). Congratulations.
Lots of choices, lots of time. Two engines—Ford Lehman 135s with 5500 hours.
I love it when armchair experts tell you how what they would have done makes so much more sense… I guess your used to it by now…
I love that your trailer has sold quickly! Looking forward to you GB adventures!
Pat and Ali: So glad to hear that you are back into boating. I had always hoped you might come to the great lakes.
In the Canadian North Channel we see many loopers enjoying our crystal clear fresh waters where boat can last a very long time! Please check out cruisers net on channel 71. Link below.
Tim Mackinlay and Bice Schmitz du Moulin
S/V Pinnacle II
1990 CS 36 Merlin series
Home Port Gore Bay, Ontario, Canada
http://www.lcyc.ca/cruisers-net
Pat, I’ve got free dock space for you if you come through Fort Lauderdale. Would love to Meet you and your family after following your adventures all these years.
Thanks, Steve, we’ll look you up when we head that way.
So the Funbuzzle gang is pivoting again, its a full time job keeping up with your adventure. All the best.
Oh oh! Sea sickness again, for me at least! Oh well, I’ll just make sure to have a good supply of barf bags handy while reading about your great adventures at sea!
Love. Love. Love. Can’t wait to read about your next adventures! The GB will prove to be grand indeed. Love and blessings to your beautiful family. Keep keeping it simple. Your kiddos will learn so much messing about in a boat! Love it.
Wow, didn’t even get a chance to make an offer! Sounds like a good move to me. I was wondering when traveling back and forth from the coast would get old. You guys amaze me. If the sale doesn’t go through let me know.
I just got back from a 4 week trip to Spain using my car tent. We love it! We used it to camp on the way to Valencia, where wee stayed 2 weeks with friends in an apartment at the beach. I bought a 2 inch memory foam mattress to put on top of the original. We actually were glad to be sleeping on it again after the horrible bed in the apartment. I don’t know how you would have done it with four. It was tight with the 3 of US. I am looking forward to your new adventure.
Congratulations on your new home! Children are such natural water babies; it’s a perfect new adventure for Lowe and Ouest. There are so many wonderful places to see by boat in and around the continent. It’s going to be fun to follow along.
We currently own our “forever” boat. (At least that is what hubby keeps telling me) But he cannot resist cruising the boat sales sites. He is always sending me links to show me how our boat stacks up or to see what’s out there. I am constantly dumbfounded by the terrible pictures that people post. Dirty ashtrays, laundry, dishes in the sinks, unmade beds, dirty boats, crap piled every where. Do you really want to sell your boat? And realtordotcom is no different. Actual real estate agents take pictures of people’s homes with an Ipad! What the heck does it take to declutter for the time it takes for a decent photograph? Have you ever heard of a wide angle lense? LOL
Looking forward to seeing your new home after Ali finishes her magic.
We have been full-time in our RV for 16 years (doing art shows around the country) and we are now retiring from the shows and just showing in galleries, so maybe it’s time for a boat. We’ve never had one. Is there a steep learning curve?
Boats are easy. They only go like 5 miles an hour. What could go wrong? 🙂
Congrats on the new boat, y’all! Looks like it’ll be perfect for the newest adventure.
Our own cruising adventure was actually inspired largely by your book–now we’re in the Bahamas, loving this new lifestyle, thankful we stumbled across the Bumfuzzle book a few years ago 😉 Hoping our paths will cross somewhere out there on the seas!
That’s great to hear, Brooke. Maybe we’ll catch up in the islands.
Long time lurker, cloak up. Great to see you heading back to sea. Steady on.
Looks like a sweetheart of a yacht. Looking forward to your new adventures. Best wishes to all!
Once again, I am excited for your new adventure. It sounds like fun and a nice change too. I love the wood interior, when you put the Bumtouch on it, I am sure it will be really homey! Good for you!
Magic
How soon do you anticipate leaving the dock? Hopefully it only needs Ali’s touch and you won’t have a total overhaul! Ha! This is big enough the kids might have their own rooms! That would be odd for them!
Hopefully we won’t be dock bound too long. Doesn’t need too much work—but you know how that goes. Kids do not get their own rooms. They wouldn’t want them even if they could. Ali and I get an actual room for a change, though.
Would like to know when the Travelall is going on the market.
Thanks
We’ll be using it to get around when we first move aboard. But will likely sell it before we take off. We’ve had a lot of interest, so we’ll be sure and give a bit of a heads-up before we list it.
Wonderful! Please say the GB42 is the fiberglass version, not wood!!
Fiberglass. I’m not a complete maniac.
My favourite (engined/non-bluewater) boat in the world. Big enough for comfort, small enough to be handled by a couple, stunning to look at. Congratulations.
Yeah, when it came to a trawler we didn’t even look at anything else. They don’t compare to the GB.
Incredible yachts. In college, brother and I detailed exclusively for GBNW…the gel coat is incredible, build quality, interior fit and finish. Just amazing yachts. Did not see the MotorCruise in your future, yet, this makes perfect sense for the family.
Bummed that we will likely miss you in Idaho this year, but, WOOT!
Great job!
You know, you have to leave Idaho every now and then. 🙂
So what year is she?
’86 GB42 with twin Lehman 135 hp diesels? Nice boat! Can you drop the radar mast and get below 19′ 1″? I’ve read that to do the great loop you need to clear the bridge south of Chicago at 19′ 1″. I’ve thought about doing it in my sailboat and lowering my main mast while underway with a small cable winch, but doing the trip in a trawler sounds like it would be more enjoyable.
Yeah, I think the mast is about 23′. But lowering—or even just tilting it down for a few minutes to go under a single bridge—a small desk stepped mast on a trawler looks like a pretty simple affair for a couple of people. I’d say The Great Loop seems infinitely more enjoyable in a trawler. We’ll see. 🙂
Enjoy the blog. Good move on the trawler. In my many years around boating and cruising, I find that 90% of people would be happier with a trawler vs a sailboat. As most motor everywhere anyway.
Congrats!! Power boat & the east coast/Bahamas is the way to go! Throwing in the Great Loop, Cuba, the Caribbean you can be exploring for years.
Since heading out on 10/10/10, we’ve cycled thru sail cat, RV & now a Powercat – MUCH happier!
Don’t forget to antagonize all the armchair cruisers – still love the story about discovering your 2-speed winch half-way around the world! Hope to finally catch up with you guys somewhere between New England & the Bahamas!
You ought to consider a mantus instead. We changed from Rocna to mantus and found it to be superior setting and holding especially in soft stuff. but both are far better than a CQR
So care to share the purchase price..
This is a gorgeous boat and I like the hull design. Don’t rule out the Florida panhandle and the Alabama coast as a potential destination one day. It is absolutely gorgeous. If you ever make it up this way there is a cove at the east end of Perdido key at Pensacola pass on the intracoastal side that is remarkably beautiful. I see many large sail boats, catamarans, cruisers, trawlers, etc anchored in the cove sheltering from the Gulf. Kids jumping of the sailboats into the crystal clear water, the day boaters and lunch crew anchored along the white sand beaches enjoying the equivalent of a private beach you can only reach by boat unless you are up to a long hike for several miles the east end of Perdido key. There are many Marinas and fuel docks stretching from Destin to Orange Beach, Gulf Shores and Dauphin Island, AL. I wish you the best and will be following your travels. If you every make it to FL panhandle we will definitely motor out and say Hello! BTW, I agree with the poster above. Mantus anchors are the way to go. Their scoop design will set effectively in type of bottom condition. They offer their products in stainless and galvanized so you have different price options.
Man, I cannot believe the transportation you pick! If I was ever to own a motorboat, that is exactly what I would have picked, for a bunch of reasons. Well done! Can’t wait to see it finished.
And just like that, back to the sea life! Ha – You guys keep everyone on their toes. Great looking boat.
We’ve been following you guys from afar as we are evaluating whether we can pull of a year cruising with our current 5/7 year olds in Thailand/Malaysia/Indo. We are kind of intimidated, and were evaluating the airstream/Mexico route so your posts have been very appreciated. We are still trying to properly add up the pro/con list….
Trawling the great loop sounds like a cakewalk for veterans like you. Hopefully your draft is shallow enough to really explore the Bahamas, which I have very fond memories of cruising with my parents.
Good luck!
Excited to read of your experiences and feelings on living with a stinky boat vs the cat, and this one looks nice and taken care if slightly, nicely patina’d by age. What a classic, but with stabilizers???
Eh, as for the ney-sayers.., monos can be cool but holes, cats are the best for staying flat but most slam on big waves enough to unnerve any fiberglasser, and Trawlers have huge room if you don’t mind them being tippy.
The perfect boat has not yet been built.
Hey LD, I must be in a mood because your comment just rubbed me. Really, “stinky boat”?? Like you say there is no perfect boat, and we should know having tried three in the last 15 years. But I have come to realize everyone wants/desires something different – McMansions to Tiny Houses; Power Cats to wooden Monos; very expensive to very inexpensive — and you know what I really don’t care. If you are happy, I’m happy. By the way, what do you have?
That made my day! Hey! lots of room for pet food on that boat! Yay! I still want to be adopted and the clock is ticking! Have fun!
Much love!
Magic