WATERLINES
I’ve just returned from
Solomons, Maryland, site of the
15th annual Trawler Fest at that
location and the fourth TF event
of 2008. After spending six days
with boat owners, PassageMaker
University and seminar attendees,
and marine industry professionals,
I have two insights to share with
you, two bits of advice to help
focus your planning for 2009.
First, don’t believe everything
you hear about “tight credit” and
how it will affect Main Street. If
you’ve been planning to purchase
a new boat, there isn’t a better
time than right now. Money
is available to qualified buyers,
there is brand-new inventory
at the dealerships, brokers have
a good selection of desirable
cruisers to offer, custom builders
are busy but highly interested in
talking with potential customers,
and rates are not out of reach.
“For those that can qualify
to buy a boat, there is money to
lend,” says Cindy Lewis, a marine
lending specialist for Newcoast
Financial Services. “And, for those
that have available cash to buy a
boat, the banks are very willing
to lend. For many, keeping a
liquid position and choosing to
finance will keep their reserves
available for other opportunities.
Many buyers that planned to
buy boats this fall or next spring
are still in a good position
to purchase. Rates, although
trending upward, are still low.”
Cindy went on to explain that
tighter credit guidelines have
always been, and should be,
Down With Doom
expected for recreational loans,
just as they are for any major
purchase now. Following basic
“best practice” lending, banks
are requiring income verification
even on smaller loans. In addition
to tax returns, they will want W- 2
income statements, current pay
stubs, and account verifications.
Second, don’t put off until tomorrow
what you ought to do right now. Or,
as Earl Hinz, a former colleague
of mine and author of Sail Before
Sunset, said to me often enough,
“Go now. Sail soon. Go before
it’s too late.” At age 55, Earl and
his wife, Betty, slipped the lines
and cruised throughout the
South Pacific for two and a
half years. With 17,000 nautical
miles under the keel and enough
experiences to fill several lifetimes,
they returned to California and
threw out the anchor. Earl went
on to pen many feature articles
and books, including Landfalls
of Paradise: Cruising Guide to the
Pacific Islands, an authoritative
reference that is in its fifth
edition, updated by Jim Howard.
Throughout 2008, I talked with
many new boat owners who took
delivery during the year, let loose
the docklines, and began to fulfill
their cruising dream. At Solomons
Trawler Fest, I met Kathryn and
David Besemer and their daughter,
Ayla. The Besemers first dreamed
of a family cruising adventure in
August 2000. They read widely,
attended Trawler Fests, tested
the waters and their resolve
with several charters, and finally
purchased a Nordhavn 43 this
year. They have a five-year plan
to circumnavigate the globe, and
their mission is well focused.
In her blog on threeatsea.com,
Kathryn defines their plan “to
travel with Ayla during her
middle-school years on a boat that
can safely take us anywhere we
want to go. So much of world
history happened near the water,
it will be a great education and
adventure. We understand all too
well that we only have a few years
left with her at home, and we plan
to savor every moment.”
Ayla, who is 12, will be home-schooled beginning with a middle-school curriculum. She already has
a blog on the website and plans
to create video clips detailing
her family’s adventures along the
way. When Ayla talks about the
upcoming voyage, she can barely
contain her enthusiasm, and you
sense that, with the world as her
classroom, she will come away
from the circumnavigation with a
great deal to offer cruisers both
young and old.
Kathryn and David sold their
home and cars, and secured a
sizeable marine loan, to make
their dream come true. As a
family, they are facing a brand-new reality, disconnected from
the daily pronouncements of
doom and gloom that dominate
the news these days.
Those of us who have not yet
slipped the lines should wish
them bon voyage and Godspeed,
as they carry our hearts and
desires aboard.
John Wooldridge
Editor-In-Chief
