After a month of hard work out of the water in a boatyard in Virginia, we felt ready to set off towards our goal of crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Europe. We had made all the necessary repairs, checked all of the critical systems, amassed supplies, inventoried provisions for the long journey ahead, and planned for the transit and import of the pets. The icy cold winter had begun to subside, as we headed north towards New England. There we would rendezvous with my parents one final time stateside, before setting off for the Azores, mainland Europe and eventually the Mediterranean and Adriatic.
Through our explorations of both sides of the Americas over the last 5 years, we learned a great deal about humanity, our own selves and made countless wonderful memories and great friends along the way. Certainly there is so much more to explore on the great continents of the so called “new world” but after 5 years on-the-go, Rua Hatu and our own bodies needed to recuperate. Our intention was to set off towards Europe, haul out there to alter and upgrade the ins and outs of the boat, but also to take care of ourselves and our health in preparation for another long term adventure in the future.
Unfortunately during our final preparations to cross the Atlantic, we ran into a major stumbling block that will prevent us from taking our sailboat along for our intended journey. As an old, unique, and rare U.S.-built vessel we will not be able to comply with the necessary bureaucracy required to officially import our sailboat into Europe for the length of time we had hoped. Rua Hatu has safely carried us over 17,000 nautical miles and is ready to make the journey, but import requirements being what they are, we have decided to stick to our plan to move to Europe without our beloved floating home.
To that end, we will linger in the US for a bit longer as we seek to sell Rua Hatu to sailing enthusiasts who can fully take advantage of all that this wonderful sailboat still has to offer. Being that we’ve gotten everything ship-shape for a major ocean crossing, we feel confident that we offer a turn-key liveaboard, long distance cruising sailboat ready to take on the world (unless you plan to stay put for more than 18 months in the EU). In the meantime, we will take the opportunity to revisit some of our favorite New England hangouts before eventually crossing the Atlantic by airplane. By no means is this an end to our explorations on-the-water. I expect we’ll soon find another suitable sailboat that’s already permitted to reside in EU waters for our next adventures.
