CALLISTO: Final Note

Friday, December 29, 2017

Final Note

December 29, 2017
It would appear that we are no longer boat owners. Some people say that the best days of your life are when you buy a boat and sell a boat but I am of the opinion that buying Callisto was a much better experience than letting her go.
We have been dark for the past month or so and have made no further entries for quite awhile as we were advised not to do so by our broker.
So just to fill in from early May, here goes.
After we left Virgin Gorda, we spent a few days in Soper's Hole in BVI. It was a bit crowded and touristy but we managed to anchor up in about 20 meters of water. We wandered about and drank some Painkillers at Pusser's Landing.
Then on to Isla Culebra in Puerta where we cleared in to the USA. The Dept. of Homeland Security and customs were very easy to deal with and issued our $20 cruising permit without problem.
Isla Culebra is delightful and strongly recommended. Easy anchoring in about 5 meters and a very protected bay.
There are some of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen and we hope that the island was not too devastated by the recent hurricane activity.
On leaving Isla Culebra on May 8, I noted that the turbo boost/air pressure sensor had failed despite having been replaced in Thailand in 2014.
So instead of going to San Juan as planned, we went to Puerto Marina Del Ray on the eastern coat of Puerto Rico. The marina was very big and full of American sport fishing boats. It was well run and clean if a little expensive.
The admiral flew back to England and Joel and Vela Potter arrived for the final cruise to Fort Lauderdale. The air pressure / turbo boost sensor arrived from the US and took just a few minutes to replace and off we went. The final leg was uneventful and we were able to sail the first half and then the wind died so we had to motor for the rest. Joel had found a berth about 3 miles up the New River and after an interesting run up the river and its many bridges we were berthed outside of a house on Tangelo Isle.
The Admiral returned from the UK and we spent the next few days cleaning and unpacking all of our personal belongings from Callisto and losing them on to a Dodge caravan for the trip back to California. We bade a sad farewell on June 2, 2017 and set off for the road cruise via New Orleans and San Antonio arriving in San Diego on June 6.
The boat did not sell as rapidly as we thought and process was full of ups and downs. Hurricane Irma was also a huge concern but fortunately, at the last moment Irma turned west and clobbered Tampa/St. Pete instead of Fort Lauderdale as originally predicted.
Callisto survived without a scratch and was finally sold today. Thus ends a very exciting and pleasant period in our lives, one that I would not have traded for anything.
Now that we have swallowed the hook and plan to live permanently on dirt we will have to find other things to do for the next decade or two. So many options, so little time.
We wish the new buyers well and we hope they have as much fun as we did over the last ten years.