Bella Blue

We own a boat!

Tom flew down to Miami on Tuesday and then drove out to Key Biscayne to see Bella Blu, the Beneteau Swift 42 Trawler. What a beautiful boat and in great condition for 2006!  I met our broker Alex, and we went to the Key Biscayne marina where we met Roberto the current owner, Richard the Marine Surveyor, and Barrie who’s selling Roberto his new boat.

The Boat in Key Biscayne

The Marine Survey on Wednesday went off with only one hitch, the generator didn’t want to stay running (turned out to be just a fuel filter issue). Walking around the boat, it’s in great condition, a few stress cracks in the gel coat, and some minor wear and tear items, but it showed beautifully! The interior is in excellent condition with lots of cherry paneling and new leather cushions.

All in all an excellent day! Key Biscayne is a very exclusive island community. Very well-manicured streets, and expensive homes! English is definitely a second language, seems that it’s an Argentinian ex-pat community.

Miami at night

I did find some great food and a bar at a marina with an amazing view of downtown Miami at night! 

On Friday we received the Survey Report and it came back as clean as we’d expected. Engine oil analysis was clean, and there were only a few minor issues with oxidation and missing placards and fire extinguishers. For an 11-year-old boat, it was amazing! Roberto has taken excellent care of it and has added a number of very thoughtful upgrades that make it a perfect loop boat. Friday evening we signed the purchase and sale!

Halm and Salon panorama (click to enlarge)

We close on the boat on the 26th and go down again so that Brenda can see it on the 28th. We are going to bring it up to Palm Beach Gardens, FL once the paperwork comes through to have some of the recommendations taken care of. Also, while the electronics are ok, they are 11 years old, so we’re going to upgrade them while the boat is being worked on. The plan is to keep the boat in Florida for February and then sail it up to South Carolina in early March.

Our adventure begins!


Cheers!