ISABELLA'S PASSING

We did not expect to gain new friends when we bought our cruising boat nor did we plan to gain more when we sold Isabella. And yet...

Our first hint that we might have a common bond with Suzanne and Pete was when they drove up in the car on the right, and Chip drove up in the car on the left.

The four of us spent a warm, springlike day on Isabella, working together to pass her from one hand to the next, a farewell and a maiden voyage in one.

Suzanne and Pete plan to take Isabella south to Beaufort -- one of our favorite ports in North Carolina -- to live aboard and sail her on weekends with their kids and grandkids.

"Are you sad?" Suzanne asked, just as I had asked Nancy about our new boat Good Company.

Of course, I'm sad, but at the same time I'm so happy that she's going to people who will honor her -- and sail her.

I've already written an Ode to Isabella, and now I can only repeat:

She will surely sail away with a new owner on water mingled with my tears, tears of sadness that she sails without us, tears of hope that she will always sail on fair winds and kind seas.

We have not told Isabella goodbye yet. Pete and Suzanne will be here to take her south in April. Until then, even though we do not own her, we're still on watch.