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The $10,000 Islander 36 in the Med

By Richard | December 19, 2007 | Pisa, Italy |
Not having a lot of money didn’t stop Northern Californians Eli and Sara from enjoying a summer of cruising their own 36-footer in the Med.

Geja
© Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Does everybody remember Eli and Sara Botrell? A year ago October the Northern California couple responded to a story in ‘Lectronic for the Islander 36 Geja, which had been cruised most of the way around the world by Dick and Shirley Sandys of Palo Alto. After Dick died, Shirley put the boat up for sale, where is, as is. She just happened to be in Spain, and the price was just $10,000 to move the boat quickly.

You meet the nicest people while cruising the Med. Yes, that’s Tom Perkins’ Belvedere-based 289-ft Maltese Falcon that Sara and Eli are posing on. They met the captain, and he gave them a tour.

Geja
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

Sorely tempted to buy the boat ourselves, we announced that it would be a great deal for a young couple wanting to have a low-cost cruising fling before continuing on with their lives. Because they were quick, the Bottrells, a young couple indeed looking for an inexpensive cruising fling before continuing on with their lives, quickly made an offer and got the boat.

How did it turn out? "My wife and I recently returned home after seven months of sailing the Med," writes Eli. "The trip was incredible, and we’re extremely pleased that we made the decision to drop everything and go cruising."

It’s going to be hard for the couple to resume normal life after enjoying many romantic ports – some of them with free berthing – along the Italian coast.

Geja
©2007 Latitude 38 Media, LLC

We’ll have a long report from the Bottrells in the February 1 — not January 1 — issue but, other than a temporary problem with the autopilot, the boat was trouble-free. They did, however, do quite a bit on her before setting out.

With the couple about to charge into ‘real life’ mode, they’re putting the boat up for sale, where is, as is, for $20,000. She just happens to be up a river near Pisa. True, it’s twice the price they paid for the boat, but they did a number of improvements, and the price may or may not include an inflatable and outboard.

If you see any spots on the screen, it’s because we’re drooling again. Let’s see, if we got three other partners, that would be only $5,000 each — for a boat just a short distance from Capri and Elba, and not all that far from Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Spain and France! To be fair, we’ll give everyone until the New Year to do a deal on the boat. If she’s not sold by then, we don’t believe we’ll be able to stop ourselves.

If interested, email the couple. But don’t wait, because a lot of sailors will see it as the perfect present for under the tree — figuratively speaking, of course.

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