Hi Captain Bob,

I just wanted to give you an update on what Rob and I have been doing since we went to Trawler School with you last November.  So here is the story: Rob was dead-set on buying a trawler, and spent a lot of time researching and traveling around looking at trawlers.  First, he had his heart set on on Monk 36 but after seeing a few they just had way too much teak for my liking. The layout was good, and I like that, but in the end the one he wanted was too expensive and we just didn’t see eye to eye on it.

After we left you in Florida we did manage to see a Mainship 39′ Sedan which we liked very much (you originally brought our attention to the Mainship Sedan, thanks!)  The Mainship was all fiberglass and has the staircase and rails etc… very clean!

Rob ended up flying down to Venice, Fl. to look at one, a Mainship 39 called Outbound, that was new to the market and we bought it!  We flew down in March and took that sucker across Lake Okeechobee to Stuart, Fl and had her hauled out to put in all new electronics, Garmin GPS, Sirius Stereo, new speakers, radar the whole shebang!  We also had some minor repairs done and the folks at St. Lucie Marina were very good to us.

The trip across the lake was uneventful, as the previous owners had made the trek and we literally followed the bread crumb trail on the GPS and we maybe saw two or three boats the whole time.  The ICW was fun, we hit a few spots of bad weather where it was raining really hard and a bit windy, with little or no visibility, but as the only boat on the water we handled it, and actually had a great time.

As I said, we left the boat in Stuart for repairs, that we estimated would take about ten days.  Rob was pushing them on this timeline and had already bought airline tickets so we flew back down on March 19th with our daughter Cate (11) and our dog Daisy (5) and guess what?  The boat was not ready.  We stayed in a hotel one night and lost a day and half of travel time.

We took Outbound out on Thursday at around 2:30 p.m. just ahead of a storm and then spent the next six days living on the boat and bringing her up the ICW.  We went from Stuart to Titusville, then to Daytona, Jacksonville and then to Darien, GA. After winding around Georgia we headed out to sea and landed in Hilton Head where we finally rented a car and drove to Charleston and flew back home.  Our final destination should have been Charleston, SC. but we just couldn’t make up the lost time.

It was the greatest six days of our lives!  Rob docked the boat without incident, until we departed Titusville, where the wind pulling out was against us.  We managed to nick the end of dock and rip off part of the valance that holds the fuel and pump out but we stopped in Symra and pulled into to a repair dock where the friendly men told us that it was not life threatening and put some gaffer tape and white paint over it.  And I quote: “the only permanent repairs we do here are temporary” the guys were hilarious. So nice and very salty, indeed.

I must say, pulling into that dock was tight but Rob managed to get us in and then back out and with the help of the bow trusters, my man did a 180 degree turn and we squeezed out without incident!  It was very sexy indeed! Scary as hell too! The guys on the dock were all watching us and when I say it was tight – there were kayakers coming in and every slip was taken, I was totally freaking out! Rob turned that damned money pit on a dime!

Rob hired a Captain from Charleston to bring her the rest of way.  At the speed we were going we figured by the time we got up to City Island in the Bronx, NY (that’s the opening to Long Island Sound) where we purchased a slip, Rob’s vacation days would be gone and the season half over.

We talk a lot about the lessons we learned while aboard The Miami Mermaid and reference your lessons often. YOU gave us the confidence we needed to make boat ownership a reality.  Our family will have many fun days on the boat for years to come and it’s all because of you.  You gave us invaluable lessons, advice and much needed information.

Thank you! We hope to cruise the sound this summer and eventually purchase a boat that we will cruise through our retirement and take us to parts unknown. Maybe a Nordhavn?

Juliet and Rob Klug

P.S. I have been working on my knots.  I have a few but still can’t figure out how to tie the bumpers off.  So annoying!