| THE BACKGROUND |
Staley Weidman,
Yacht Broker
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After a year of searching, Lei Ellen and Paul Beck found their dreamboat. The Becks' new yacht is a beautiful 2002, Voyage 440. Prior to finding the Voyage 440 we looked at brokerage listings at the Catamaran Company sales docks and other marinas in Ft. Lauderdale.
In February we reviewed several new builders' designs at the Miami Boat Show to define some likes and dislikes of current features. After searching the US it was time to head to the Caribbean, where I had arranged several showings in Puerto Rico and the BVI. After careful review we found the right yacht. We presented an offer to the sellers.
Within a day the offer was negotiated on the fly via friends of the Becks' onboard Sailmail SSB email, the sellers' Global Star on board email, and my Blackberry.
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After we had the agreement completed it was action time. We flew in a surveyor from the BVI, the Becks' flew in from a sailing holiday in Bonaire and I cut a trip short at the Lagoon Factory in Bordeaux and we all met in Puerto Rico with the sellers for a smooth sea trial and survey.
With the condition of the yacht acceptable to the Becks' we proceeded to closing via Fed Ex in Puerto Rico with the help of our expert documentation team ASAP Yacht Documentation and our in-house closing agency (a must for quick and easy closings) Details, Details Inc . Although the yacht the Beck's ultimately purchased was not listed for sale at the time, I made use of our network of contacts with catamaran owners to find exactly what the Beck's wanted to own. Sometimes the process of eliminating possibilities and finding the right yacht is a short process. More often, it is an involved process of hundreds of emails and dozens of phone calls to arrange showing and gather information. The process is not insurmountable and I can help you make it an easy process, to proceed with peace of mind.
In a matter of only two weeks the Beck's went from 'just looking' to sailing off on their new catamaran "Gato Go". Their first sail was a nonstop 480-mile offshore passage from Puerto del Rey in Puerto Rico to Curacao in the Dutch West Indies. In only 64 hours. My wife Heidi and I had the good fortune to be invited to help the Becks' enjoy an offshore passage. Upon arriving in Curacao we met up with mutual, catamaran owner, friends Rick and Robin aboard "Endangered Species" in the harbor of Spanish Waters. Check out a few photos from our voyage here.
The Beck's, like most catamaran owners, got the idea to cruise the comfortable way after sailing on "Endangered Species" with their friends Rick Walker and Robin Willstien. Rick and Robin's catamaran is a Norseman 430 that was an ex-charter yacht. I represented Rick and Robin in the purchase of their yacht 5 years ago. I was happy to see them again, still enjoying cruising on their yacht, when we arrived in Curacao.
Like many of my clients the owners of "Endangered Species" are now old and dear friends. Check this link for details of our winning performance during the 2004 BVI Spring Regatta.
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