Last night, while drinking rum, I had these thoughts.
What kind of boat can I make due with? For me, it seems to be age dependent. When I was 24, a $20,000 boat was plenty of luxury (none, actually). At 40, we bought Legacy for just under $80K. Now I’m thinking about boats that are $300K plus as a minimum level of comfort and convenience. It’s not that I have more money now and can afford more, it’s just that I’m less willing to suffer and make due.
At this rate, if I want a different boat at 65, I’d better learn to rob banks!
Related: the size I feel I need is going up – not exponentially like the boat cost, but rather a kind of steep line.
I’m not saying this is true for everyone – just me (and maybe there are one or two others out there that feel the same way). There are certainly people who don’t feel this way. We had a friend – and older guy – who was perfectly happy cruising in a 30 foot boat. When he started to share that space with his five foot tall girlfriend, he moved up to a 35 foot boat!
I guess a conclusion I’d draw from this (and one that’s too late for me) is cruise while you’re young. You are able to put up with more crap! -Rich
I can’t believe how excited I get over a new piece of gear for Legacy. The latest thrill is over our new refrigeration. If it were a new refrigerator for our house, I’d feel nothing but resentment over having to spend the money for a new one (it should have lasted another ten years, sheesh!).
But this isn’t for a house. It’s for our boat. It should allow us to keep stuff cold and fresh for years to come and for about half the energy our old one used – and with no problems or issues until it’s old enough to be replaced by even more advanced technology (cold fusion refrigeration, maybe? ;-).
I want to stay up all night and watch it cycle on and off.
I say over and over to Cyndi, “Can you hear it? Is it running?” I can’t hear it. It’s so quiet!”
I set up a spreadsheet so I can see just how energy efficient it is.
I order accessories for it to soup it up, like it was my first car!
Our first marina in Sydney, Rushcutters, had a great location amid of lots of city activity. It’s located next to beautiful Rushcutters Park, and was an easy walk to the nifty Kings Cross area. It was a hub of activity near other hubs of activity. The downside of all this activity were the wakes from the ferries as they went to and fro.
Now, we’ve moved to the suburbs of North Sydney. Our marina is located in the sort of area where houses cling to steep hillsides, where you park your car and then walk up or down a lot of stairs to your house, and you can rest assured that your mother-in-law will never come live with you.
Some houses have private docks on the water and a use a funicular to get to their boat. Our marina has a lot of stone stairs, a series of them that lead all the way from the shore to the street high above. It used to have a funicular, and we look longingly at the old track as we trek up those steep stairs. It’s quite a climb, 110 steps in all.
Luckily if we have a lot of groceries, the guy who runs the marina will drop us off or pick us up at a nearby park on the shore. I’d hate to think of carting a haul from Dan Murphy (the Aussie equivalent of Bev Mo) down those stairs!
Our reward for enduring the stairs is being in a very beautiful area amid tree-covered hills with lots of peace, quiet, and still water. The marina is very small, casual and low-key, and it just feels nice to be here. There are a few things we’ll miss about Rushcutters: the rooftop view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Yacht Club next door that made some pretty good pizza, the small chandlery right in the complex, and most of all, The Flybridge.
The Flybridge is the counter cafe at Rushcutters Marina. They make everything from sandwiches to more substantial meals and have really delicious specials: lasagna, hokkien noodles, quiches, and the best chicken Caesar salad we’ve ever eaten. They also make a good cup of coffee. And they have the nicest staff in the world, who we shall miss we shall miss very much, especially our friend Red. Our mornings won’t be the same without his smiling face and excellent flat whites! –Cyndi
The Flybridge has great food and it was only steps away from our boat. What could be better?!This is Red. He’s one of the best parts of the Flybridge Cafe. (Red, along with Sarah and Kid and all the rest of the wonderful people who work there!)
