We’re members of a forum for Antares owners, a group of fabulous people who own the same boat that we’re getting. What makes them so special is they have already been there, done that, and are exceedingly willing to share their experience, advice, photos and ideas. A few months back, we saw a former Antares owner was selling a bunch of equipment and gear and we jumped at the opportunity.
We planned a drive to collect the goodies at the start of the Fair Shares break, and before we solidified the plan, an Antares University was announced. This is a weekend where new and prospective owners get to spend a weekend learning all the systems and how to sail and dock the boat. The location and date were TBD. We put on our manifesting hats and soon enough, we learned that s/v Volare would be in Stuart on the exact weekend we wanted. Perfect.
On our first night, we picked up some oysters and local beers to shuck and enjoy in our sweet little efficiency rental. Naturally we sent a pic to our friend Otto in St. Louis, who was our fellow brewer at Schlafly and is now head of brewing at Brew Hub, headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Otto replied to the text asking where we were enjoying the Tourist Trappe, saying he hadn’t yet seen the photo because he was mid air on a plane to Florida for work. We asked if he would still be there for his birthday, which was in a few days. Without a prompt, Otto proposed making the long drive for a quick visit to Stuart. We had him meet us at the marina to join us for a little conviviality on s/v Vivacia, an Antares owned by our friends Elizabeth and Alan. The last time we got to celebrate Otto’s birthday with him was on our last catamaran charter two years ago on s/v Boomerang in the British Virgin Islands, before we hatched the idea of moving onto a sailboat. Life is so interesting.
One of the reasons we were so excited about this trip to Stuart is because we knew our friends Elizabeth and Alan, who we met at a the Annapolis boat show, and Stephen met the previous March in St. Petersburg, were here on their Antares s/v Vivacia, so as soon as we booked our accommodations, we contacted them to see if they might be available for a visit while we’re here. To our delight, their Marina was an 11 minute walk from us and we had a lovely time getting to know them and spending time on an Antares. They are a wealth of information and armed us with a long list of items to make sure we get or don’t get on our boat. We also got a little friendly competition practice on tying a bowline…
The AU events were particularly helpful because we got to gather with the other new owners who are having their catamarans built. This gave us an opportunity to discuss pros and cons of the options and specifications we all need to make for our boats. What made it more helpful was being with people who have been living on their boats for a number of years, and were able to inform our decisions with their first hand experience. We got to prowl around the boat, measure cabinets, ovens, sinks, drawers, take photos of where outlets are, and get an overall idea of how our new home is going to look.
Photo Credit: Lisa Caudill