Multiple personality disorder

Sitting across Jeff Merrill tonight for dinner in Long Beach, I asked him to give me details about our Nordhavn 76; it was built in 2005 and was the very first 76 Aft Pilot house with bulbous bow and wide body. She was a stock boat and was sold and delivered to Dana Point, she became "Aurora". The  owners then asked that she be delivered to their home ground in Vancouver. Unfortunately in the middle of the night by San Francisco, in a very foggy July night, whoever was at the helm (or not at the helm) ran into a freighter.

 Her anchors mangled, her port side scratched and bruised, she was looked at in San Francisco but it was decided that she continue on to B.C. where she would get repaired. When Aurora regained her dignity she was put up for sale, but even though she was better than new the stigma of the shameful accident left her unwanted for a couple of years before she was sold and then became "Inside Passage".  The Washington owners took her to Alaska, after that  I venture to guess that it was around 2008 when "Inside Passage" failed to impress her owners, and she sat in Lake Washington, for sale one more time, until we came along... March 21st 2013.

We had our eyes on another 76 but we were the backup offer, so Inside Passage was second best. By now this boat had to be feeling (if it could have feelings) like an orphan or a bad foster child tossed around between homes. But a slow and studious walk-through revealed her heart, body and soul to us. The aches and pains from lack of use since its birth had all indications for a slow and expensive recovery, but we were determined to adopt and love her. And so she became "SpringDay" for when things are made new again, and because just one year ago on March 21st we purchased an outdated orchard that Don transformed into a beautiful and happy and productive orchard and named it SpringDay.

Today she has a chance at life again, to forget the past and live in the moment, with her skipper and first mate. Dolphins seem to welcome her back by racing along her imposing yet amiable bulbous bow, they peer up at us between the shiny anchors she wears like heirloom jewelry around her neck. She belongs. SpringDay will do what she was born to do, to sail and journey through waters and keep us safe. She carries around 1200 gallons of fresh water, 4100 gallons of fuel and weighs 270,000 lbs. Thank You SpringDay.                                                                                                Don is home overseeing projects and paperwork, home is where Uma the cat stayed behind with Nancy our house sitter, but with Nancy came Dolly the cockatoo.  Uma is confused.
SpringDay sees that the skipper she so proudly carries has a bird on his head. SpringDay is confused.



Thinking of you...