Boat Makes Four?

© Will McLendon

More than a year after buying Annabel Lee, our lives are still in a constant state of change. We're moving forward with buying a house in St. Augustine, which is huge for me – I only started living on land a few years ago, and wasn't sure how long I'd last; now I'm going to own a piece of it. The biggest change of all came a month ago when I found out that I'm pregnant. Suddenly, everything has new meaning. Life isn't about Will and me and the dogs and the boat anymore.

Pregnancy came with small changes, like giving up wine and coffee and undercooked meat. But those are minor sacrifices everyone woman has to deal with when she becomes pregnant. For the past month, there's been a larger sacrifice looming on the horizon. Her name is Annabel Lee. 

The boat isn't a huge financial burden, but lately it has produced a steady drain on our bank account. And then there is the issue of trust. As much as I want to trust Annabel Lee, I'm not convinced that the mast will stay up this time, even though we've replaced most of the fittings. And even though the bilge has remained dry (except for a few places where water has leaked from the topsides) since we’d replaced the centerboard bracket, I always expect something major to happen and a geyser to sprout beneath our feet each time go sailing.

With the mast back up, it was almost like nothing had happened to Annabel Lee. Will and I went sailing the following weekend, heading up the Tolomato River where we anchored for an hour and sat in the cockpit reading and relaxing, and I thought about how much fun it would be to have children on the boat, jumping into the water and playing and swimming. But as hard as I tired, I couldn’t picture that happening on Annabel Lee.

So Will and I had the talk. He wasn't convinced that selling Annabel Lee was the right thing to do, and frankly, neither was I. But it felt right. We're going to have our hands full over the next few years, and the attention that Annabel Lee demands is sure to be more than we will be able to give. So after that last sail up the Tolomato River, we listed her on Craigslist.

I want to teach my kids to sail. I want to teach them how to work hard on a boat and how it feels to be rewarded for that work. But not Annabel Lee. She is Will's and mine alone.