We Bought A Liveaboard Boat -- How'd We Get Here? (Post 5 of 6)

The Viking owners finally made it down to Port Aransas the first week of September, driving from the east coast, about mid-week or so. Hurricane Harvey was moving north of Louisiana at that point, but they had to navigate around the flooded areas of Houston to get there. As stated earlier, the Viking's fly bridge hard top was ripped off, and all the canvas was torn off. Plus the boat had some dock rash, but no holes thru the hull. They said the engines and generator started right up, and there was no damage on the inside of the boat. The flat screen TV, which was just sitting on a shelf, didn't even fall over. This was all great news, but the logistics of everything had us questioning what we should do. The owners asked if we wanted to back out on the purchase, and we said "Yes". The logistics would be a nightmare, and they gave us back our earnest money.  Hurricane Irma was hitting the Caribbean islands of Barbuda and the Virgin Islands during this time as a Category 5 hurricane (Sep 6).


And, oh by the way, Tom and I had already put in our notice at work to quit on September 15, with our house scheduled to close September 18. We would be homeless & jobless, come the 18th.  So we had to come up with alternate plans. Plan A was to sell the home and buy the Viking in Port Aransas, TX.  Plan B was to look for other boats, away from where Hurricane Harvey hit. Tom found another boat on the east coast of Florida, close to Stuart FL off the river of the Okeechobee waterway. Now here comes Hurricane Irma, not sure which coast of Florida she's going to hit at that time.

Hurricane Irma's warnings before she hits the Florida Keys

Where Plan B boat (a 43' Marine Trader) was located, at Indiantown Marina on the St Lucie River. This area is considered a hurricane hole, which provides protection from storm surges, due to a river lock system.

On Friday Sep 8, Tom text the Viking owners and told them that we were praying for their 2nd boat in Fort Lauderdale Fl. At that time, Irma was tracking toward the southeast coast of Florida. During that text, the owners asked if we would be interested in a project boat, and they would "practically give it away", depending on what the insurance adjusters would do. We called them the next morning and they said if they get at least $50K for the boat from the insurance, and if they didn't total the boat, they would just GIVE us the boat. After strong consideration, we were back in on getting the Viking, pending insurance info.

 

The evening of Saturday, Sep 9, after Hurricane Irma hits the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, she hits the Florida Keys, north of Key West as a Category 4.  At that time, she makes a path to the west coast of Florida. Plan B's boat (a 43' Marine Trader), was tucked in the St. Lucie river, east of Lake Okeechobee, but still vulnerable no matter which coast of Florida Irma decided to land.

Let's make a Plan C. Plan C was to go to Ohio, where Tom's brother and family is located, and wait for all these hurricanes to pass, and maybe have to look at boats on the northern east coast of the United States. This would depend on where all Hurricane Irma decided to leave her destruction.

 

After Irma hit the Florida Keys, it changed paths and headed toward the SOUTHWEST coast of Florida. It made landfall for the second time on the state around Marco Island as a Category 2 (I believe). It was a large storm, over 400 miles wide, so it brought widespread flooding and heavy winds to the whole southern part of Florida, before it traveled up the west coast of Florida. It battered the state through Monday Sep 11, before heading north to Georgia. Half the state was out of power and millions of people were evacuated out of the state.

 

 

 

When Florida residents could go back home to the areas that weren't hit the hardest, we heard from the broker who Tom was working with about the Marina Trader in Indiantown Marine. It faired well with only 1 cracked Plexiglas window. So the plan was to quit our jobs, sell the house, head to Florida to check out Plan B boat, and wait to hear from the insurance adjuster on Plan A's boat. Tom's former employer has a vacation condo in Sebastian FL, which is located on the ease coast, mid state, off the Intra Coastal Waterway. He allowed us to stay there, free of charge, for 2 weeks so we can look at boats.

After closing on the house, and staying in town for a few more days with friends, we were waiting on yet ANOTHER hurricane that was threatening the east coast again. Hurricanes José & Marie. Luckily, they did not hit the coast, so we finally started our road trip to Florida. Before we got to our first night hotel on the road, the Florida broker called Tom and said the Marine Trader just received a contract for her. Boy, was Tom mad! He had been talking to this broker for weeks now and he knew we were on our way to Florida to come look at THAT boat. And the next morning, when we got on the road, we found out that the insurance adjuster DID total Plan A boat, the Viking. It was no longer available either.

So here we are, late September, with ZERO boats as an option. We drive ahead and go to Sebastian FL, to try to find another boat to live on......