I received several emails today asking this same question:
Here’s what I wrote back:Ken, what prevents you from hiring a crew to bring Sans Souci back to Seattle on its own bottom? I must be missing something obvious but now that you’ve been thwarted twice, I can’t stand the injustice of it all & want to help 😉
William G
Seattle WA
Hurricane season, the fuel price, crew cost, having already paid for the shipping, potential damage to the boat, and existing damage to the boat.
Hurricane season – until Oct 15th
Fuel price – $5.50 per gallon – 5,000 miles, at 1.5 gallons a mile = 7,500 gallons, or approx. $35,000
Crew cost – I’d guess around $500 a day, times 20 days (weather delays) Another $10,000 plus food and plane fares
Previously paid shipping cost (which I could probably get back) – $57,000
Potential damage to the boat – Running in hurricane season? A lot. Plus.. it is very unlikely any boat can run 5,000 miles without something breaking
Existing damage to the boat – Not really much, but the boat has run 5,000 miles without being checked out. I’d like to see some things done to it before starting a trip of that magnitude. A few days of work.
So … if you look at it as the shipping cost almost matching the cost to deliver on its own bottom, then really the only reason not to have a crew bring it back is the potential hurricane damage. To get back the boat would have to cross the Gulf of Tehuantepec, and the Papagayo wind area (off Nicaragua); both of which would be no fun this time of year.
And, if those weren’t serious enough issues…
My insurance company doesn’t like the boat traveling in a hurricane region during hurricane season, and might not cover me.
And, then the biggest issue of them all…
I don’t want to do the run personally, which means a delivery crew. The only guy I trust to run my boat is Jeff Sanson (Pacific Yacht Management) and he has a conflict. He thought the boat would be safely in Seattle by now, and booked some deliveries for others – so he isn’t available. Plus, he is a relatively nice guy, and a good friend. I don’t think I want him bouncing around the pacific during hurricane season!
-Ken W