Wednesday 2 December 2009

End of an Era

1st. December 2009

Well, we’ve done it. Starquest is sold…and we’re still not sure we’ve done the right thing!

At six o’clock this morning I scraped the ice off the car windscreen and drove to Chichester. The air temperature gradually rose from minus three in the Cotswolds to plus three at the marina. It may have been three degrees above freezing but that did not stop the jetty being icy and treacherous.

I met up with the new owner and Ken from the brokerage. We started up the engine, did the checks, let go the lines and we were off. Well, almost off. The marina would not release the spare set of keys as “Mr. Taylor has not paid the mooring bill.” As I’d visited the marina office less than half an hour before and handed over a cheque I was less than chuffed. A phone call and they ‘found’ the cheque, it transpires there are three ‘Starquests’ in the marina – hence the confusion. But with time slipping away and the destination tide-critical we decided to pick up the keys later.

Quite a current floods in through the lock and Ken advised being locked-through even though free-flow was in operation. Clearly the right decision as we’d otherwise had been bounced all over the place and putting a dent in the proud new owner’s pride and joy would not be the best way for them to start a beautiful new friendship.

The sun was shining, the sky blue, it was a crisp morning with hardly a ripple on the water. If you have to move a boat in December we had picked the right day.

The destination was the Hayling Yacht Company which is tucked up a tiny creek with lots of opportunities to get stuck on the putty. Our delay leaving the marina meant that we now did not have a rising tide but were about to have a falling tide. One touch may mean a long wait. We managed to feel our way up the creek and tied up alongside a pontoon – although it was not at all obvious where we were supposed to go.

Sails were removed, keys were handed over, and I said farewell to Starquest. The old girl now has a new owner… I hope he looks after her.

It was dark when I left home this morning and it was getting dark when I got back. It was a dark day…. but we must look on the bright side. The search now starts to find Starquest II.

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The Crew

The Crew
On board at Lymington