New Year, New Boat

The last week of December 2014 was very busy with the purchase, commissioning and first charter of our new-to-us Beneteau First 40.  We purchased this fabulous performance cruiser from the Sunsail/Moorings company.  They had decided to not attempt establishing a charter base in San Francisco after the America’s Cup.  Their fleet of 8 identical First 40’s sailed for a few months around the time of the Cup events and were then mothballed at Svendsen’s in Alameda.

By New Year’s Eve we were ready to relocate Vanishing Girl to her new home in Ventura.  Mother Nature also approved of this 350 mile trip by providing clear conditions (albeit cold!) and moderate wind from the north and east.  Perfect smooth water cruising with Captain Jared Brockway and Lt. Colonel Mark Sanders.

We stopped just once – for maybe 30 minutes – to take on fuel in Morro Bay.  As the photos show, it was a lovely evening on the central coast.  We even let the ‘Girl sail herself while we sat down for a warm dinner.  Speaking of warm, one of the unique capabilities on this yacht is the forced air heating in the main salon and cabins.  It works almost too well, even when its 40 degrees on deck!

We arrived in Ventura at 2pm on Saturday Jan 3.  Total passage time of 50 hours. Not too shabby for a dead of winter coastal delivery on a new boat.  Here’s to many more.  Welcome to Ventura, Vanishing Girl… And to a long life of making customers smile while sailing the beautiful waters of the Channel Islands with us.