When we first saw Ilari, in 1999, we knew we had to have her.  There was no doubt in our minds.  She was our dream, or rather the means to implement our dream, which is to circumnavigate our small planet.

Our original specification to brokers had been: "a steel pilothouse cutter, professionally-built, 42-50 feet, with aesthetic lines, dual steering stations, an aft cockpit, rigged for short-handed sailing, capable of going offshore."  Ilari satisfied every requirement, and then some.  (Press here to see her spec sheet)

We found her in Bellingham, a reasonably large town about half way between Seattle and Vancouver, on the US side.  We had come in February, to look at a small number of boats, having whittled down from an enormous selection culled from the Internet and from large telephone-book-sized boats for sale magazines.  At the beginning we had thought that our boat would probably come from Australia, being nearby, and having understood that boats were cheaper there.  However, as we looked harder, and narrowed our specifications, we found that the best responses were coming out of the Pacific Northwest.   Australia and Florida, the other main target of our search, seemed to be lacking in professionally-built steel boats.  So, in  mid-winter, we arrived in Vancouver, rented a car, and drove south.  The search was over very quickly: as soon as we saw her, everything else paled; she became the standard, and the others kept falling short.   Of course, she was expensive.  But worth it. 

The brokers on the purchase were Kris and Bob Ridenour, at West Coast Yachts.   They were great, and helped us arrange a deal that suited both the seller and us.

We finalised the purchase while we were back in Jakarta.  Then, in April, we came back to Bellingham for our first taste of Ilari.  The first few days were an orgy of discovery, as we went under every floor panel, behind every wall covering, to the bottom of every closet and every locker.  The previous owner(s) had gathered an impressive arsenal of spare parts, lines, shackles, grommets, fasteners, gadgets for every eventuality.  She was truly well-equipped.

On about the third day, we decided that we couldn't put off any longer our first foray into the bay outside the marina.  We fired up the engine, and out we went.  We raised the sails, but there was no wind, but it felt good.  We monkeyed around with the autopilot, and checked out our instruments and stuff.  It was great!!

Bob and Kris had coincidentally picked this time to start out on their odyssey to Alaska, and so, after our discovery phase, we met up with them, and sailed off to Friday Harbor.

This was our first serious sail in Ilari, and she was wonderful!  We raised our sails (actually, Ilari has roller-furled headsail and in-mast main furling, so apart from the staysail, there are no sails to "raise" ...)  For a good chunk of the way, the wind was perfect (about 20 knots), and we sailed at around seven knots. 

[More to come ...]