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July 3, 2009 Update and photos from Jim.
He writes:
...Well,
time has a way of getting away from you, but here are some updates...
Last I wrote we had just finished sailing her down the Chesapeake to
her new homeport near St. Mary's City, MD. In the last two years we've
continued to do improvements and bring her back to top shape. Biggest
change was last fall when she spent a month in a shed getting a new
coat of paint and varnish (nine coats of varnish, actually). I took
her back to her more traditional colors of white and burgundy. A few
other repairs here and there, but otherwise she's been fat and happy
at her new home on the Chesapeake.
We plan to run in the 36th annual Governor's Cup race this August. The
race is 70 NM from Annapolis to St. Mary's College (home of the 2009
National College Sailing Champions). Ought to be a fun time...
Best,
Jim Bonham
"Sea Spirit"
In October of 2007 we heard from Jim
Bonham, the proud new owner of Sea Spirit, formerly of Baltimore. He
wrote:
I guess it was about a year ago right now that I first found your website. My wife Valerie and I were considering the purchase of "Sea Spirit" from Michael Biss when we came across it. After spending a few days learning about the Sea Witches, spending a little time with the boat, and working through the sale with Mike - we became her new owners last October. I thought I would give you a little background, so you could update her listing on the website. I'll send some pics - but will need to upload them from another PC.
Anyway, Sea Spirit spent the winter where she was in Baltimore's Inner Harbor - with a few short excursions during last winter's unusually warm spells. In April we took her first cruise under our watch down the Chesapeake to her permanent home. The trip South will be remembered for quite some time - we left Baltimore with the tide at around 4:00 am, and were under shortened sail by the time we
reached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, with steady 25 knot winds gusting as high as 38! She took it like a champ, keeping pace with the barges and averaging over 8 knots the whole trip!
This past summer we've spent weekends doing some minor cosmetic work - lots of scraping, sanding, and re-varnishing. We hauled out for a week in August, power-washed and repainted with a double coat of Trinidad, and have been working our way through her looking for deferred maintenance to address. But, that said, she's a fine boat in top shape. In fact, when she was surveyed prior to the sale, the surveyor from Annapolis (notably one of the only surveyors willing to do wooden boats - he's done it for 30 years) cut things short because she was so sound. As part of his normal survey, he pulls six fasteners from various locations below the waterline to examine. He got to the third and stopped because they "looked like new" and it was a waste to continue.
I look forward to reading more on your website, and joining the community.
Best,
Jim & Valerie Bonham
Bethesda, MD
(Sea Spirit is kept in St. Mary's, MD)
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Spirit Photos |
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Photos by previous owners used on
broker's web site. |
Best of luck to Jim and
Valerie!
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