You read that right. Sundown is for sale! Click here (https://boatsforsalebyowners.net/106413) to get details and please pass along the link to anyone you think may be interested in buying her.
Now for the back story…
The last I wrote, Clay and I were beginning our six-week sailing adventure of the summer. True to form, British Columbia was beautiful and we were having fun exploring new-to-us ports and anchorages. We also experienced a series of events typical of boating that I find a bit unnerving, like waking up one morning to a loud thumping noise which turned out to be another sailboat that drug right into us. (How often have you woke up to find your neighbor’s house banging into to yours?)
Another day, with the mainsail and genoa deployed and 23 knots of wind on our tail, we were crossing the Strait of Georgia. The current was flowing in the opposite direction of the wind, so the seas were relatively big and uncomfortable in my definition (8 to 10 feet tall and close together). Sundown is a heavy displacement blue water cruiser, so she and her Captain Clay were loving it. (“This is just good sailing,” Clay likes to say.) I, on the other hand, was terrified as we heeled significantly about every fifth wave (to the point of needing to reef the main so we wouldn’t broach) and my keen imagination could see my husband falling overboard, leaving me to wrestle down the sails, turn the boat around in the steep seas and save his life. Additionally, the motion of the ocean was making me feel horribly sick. (Have I mentioned that I have a life-long history of motion sickness? And that even in our slip when the boat rocks about due to fetch from passing boats I’m plagued by nausea?)
Basically, I don’t like sailing. The best part of a day on the water for me is when we anchor or dock and I can get off the boat to go for a run or hike. I am admittedly and unapologetically a land lubber who will be much happier with a firm, unmoving structure to call home. I also will be overjoyed to be able to have a big dog again, like our beloved Serendipity who we had to leave behind and who has since passed.
How does Clay feel about all of this? I’ll let him speak for himself…
He says, “I know this is just another chapter in the adventures of Clay and Kim! I have already started thinking about the next boat project, and once Sundown is sold and we are settled I can start building a smaller boat, maybe a coastal cruising yawl that I can trailer.”
It’s been a grand four years living aboard s/v Sundown and we don’t regret this experience at all. We’ve made so many friends and seen so many amazing sights. Our lives have been enriched beyond measure, but it’s time for a new adventure of a more terrestrial kind that, for now, will be centered back in Colorado where our parents and all of our kids live.
Soon we’ll be hiking and backpacking in the Rockies, paddling our Wee Rob canoes across fresh-water lakes sans big waves and swell (Clay built them), and pedaling our bikes on the several-hundred miles of trails in NoCo. We’ll also be dreaming up the next grand adventure.
When we began our sailing journey, many people asked how long we planned to live aboard. We answered, “Until the time we don’t want to.” That time has come.
I have loved following your adventure. Thank you two for sharing that. Best of luck in NoCo.
Thank you, Rob, for keeping up with us. It’s been the adventure of a lifetime, but it’s time for a change. Perhaps we’ll meet up in Golden sooner than later. One of those reunion years is sneaking up on us again.
What an incredible adventure, I admire you folks so much for “going for the dream” and we welcome you back to land! Just sorry you didn’t make it to the California waters!
Good luck in whatever you decide what your turn life will take in the future!
Come visit!
Thanks, Aunt Judy! Yes, going out Juan de Fuca Strait and taking the “big left turn” just didn’t seem appealing. One could spend a lifetime exploring the Pacific Northwest and we really enjoyed the adventures we’ve had here. I hope to see you one day soon.
What a great adventure you two have had. I was just thinking about you and wondering what was going on. Best wishes.
I think of you so often here in Anacortes, especially when we go over to Mt. Vernon! What a beautiful place you grew up in. I hope to see you soon…perhaps on two pedal-powered wheels!
Wow! I have mixed feelings about this. Your willingness to try this way of life makes me so proud of you two. But, it will be great to have you back in Colorado where we can see you much more often. And I know how much you can miss not just your family, but having a dog in your life. See you soon!
Thanks, Susan! We have mixed feelings, too, but know it’s the right thing at the right time. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Yay for coming back to Colorado! We have missed you and look forward to seeing you on the trails, on your wheels and with your paddles! John and I toast your decision with a hearty drink of rum–Just because this adventure is complete, it means another amazing one is on the horizon! Fair winds, Kim and Clay
Mary & John Homan
We would love to get together and share that toast with you and John, Mary! We can swap sailing stories. Maybe we could even sail Carter Lake. Clay would love that!
As you know, I am thrilled to have my BFF back in CO! It was so much fun watching you live out your dream the past 4 years. So many adventures to look back on. Not many have the guts to “go for it”. So glad the two of you did, as you now have some great memories to look back on. Colorado eagerly awaits your arrival. That goes for me, too! 🙂
YES! I can’t wait to be back on the same turf with you soon. Thank you for all of your support over the past four years. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Thanks for your blogs. We thoroughly enjoyed your adventures and will miss them. We were good friends with Peg & Brad at UVM and kept in contact. Our son Mike and Shawn chat. Last time we saw Clay was in Blue Hill! Best wishes for your terrestrial adventures!
Blessings,
Durward and Kay
Thank you very much for following our sailing adventure!
Hi Kim, Now you can check one big item off your bucket list. We will be glad to have you back at knitting. Did you hear Mel passed away this week. Her heart just couldn’t beat anymore. Sad day. Every where I go new bike trails are popping up for you to check out. Of course, in my opinion, the best thing is GETTING A PUPPY ! ! !
On Wed, Sep 4, 2019, 8:04 AM Sundown Sailing Adventures wrote:
> Sundown Sailing Adventures posted: “You read that right. Sundown is for > sale! Click here (https://boatsforsalebyowners.net/106413) to get details > and please pass along the link to anyone you think may be interested in > buying her. Now for the back story… The last I wrote, Clay and I we” >
I did not know about Mel; that saddens me. It will be good to catch up with you and everyone else. Looking forward to it!