We were Fenders….

Some of you have heard the rumors and it’s true. We have closed the “Pellucidar” chapter of our adventures and opening a new one. We found a nice family from Nebraska that have fallen in love with Pellucidar and will continue the adventure beginning in the sea of Cortez and hopefully ports beyond.

If we were to name the first chapter of these last few years it would have started out titled “Fenders”. As the chapter opened at the beginning of 2015 we were the “fenders” Linda and I were between boats! Having sold Sound Decision, our Morgan 323, in 2014, we had been on a search for our next vessel for over a year. Traveling extensively across the US and up into Canada we looked at numerous vessels of various configurations and equipment. Thankfully Roger, at Port Gardner Yacht Sales, made us continue looking at boats even when we thought we’d found “the one”. He coached us to write two lists. One a list of “must haves” and the other of “like to haves”. These lists would change completely in the year and a half we searched as we narrowed down our perfect vessel. Finally while looking at a Hylas in Florida in much worse shape than advertised, we decided to look at a Moody that was listed with the same brokerage a few canals away. We did not know much about Moody’s but we loved the layout and sail configuration. This was a 1985 Moody 47. A bit older but had undergone some extensive upgrades. Our concern was shipping it across the country would be overwhelming and very expensive. Looking at this boat did prompt me to join the Moody Owners Group as a guest so I could ask questions. Through that group we met our dear friends Michael and Sara who we have shared multiple trips and adventures with both on land and under sail.

Upon our return to Washington, Roger mentioned there was a later model Moody 47 for sale in Seattle. I forgot I had been aboard this vessel at an earlier boat show but the salesman representing the boat had really turned me off so I had scratched it off my list. Roger convinced us to take another look at this boat so off to Seattle we went. One look at Pellucidar gently floating at the brokerage dock in Lake Union and we fell in love. The salesman’s demeanor had not improved so we let Roger deal with him! Pellucidar had been extensively outfitted at the Moody factory with a lot of upgrades and looked beautiful on the outside but years of waiting at the dock for an adventure left many of her systems in a sad state.

We purchased Pellucidar in December of 2015. Due to a mixture of inexperience and excitement on our part, the proper diligence was not followed through on the survey. Due to poor weather and poor decision making I called off the rig survey. Needless to say, in hindsight we would have done things differently but we still ended up with a great boat with solid bones! 

Over the last 6 ½ years Pellucidar provided us with experiences and adventures beyond our wildest dreams. We have continued to upgrade and maintain her systems so she is well prepared to fulfill her new owner’s dreams. 

We don’t have a title for this next chapter in our life but it won’t take us long to figure it out. We have several directions we’re looking at and you know we won’t sit still. The good news is we will not be repeating the fenders chapter as I’ve already bought another sailboat but I digress and we’ll talk about that later.

I’ve been very lax about posting to the blog as it’s hard to pause our adventures to write but my goal is to start a new segment sharing our journey with Pellucidar over the last 6 ½ years.

I hope you enjoy the journey as much as we have. 

Crew of SV Pellucidar

Walt, Linda and G2