Mix Thoroughly
While our old life had ended when we sold our home nearly a year prior, we had been living in a state of flux ever since.
However, once we made this new acquisition, both our new life and the new life for this boat were born.
Just as we breathed new life into Ah Bon, so too did she birth the Sailing Infidels.
Names
The first order of business was names. It did not take too much thought to decide on Cosmic Debris. We are long-time fans of Frank Zappa and felt that the song “Cosmik Debris” conveyed the right feel. And so it was.
We followed the traditional ritual and christened her “Cosmic Debris” soon after our arrival at the dock in Pender Harbour.
For us, we decided upon “Sailing Infidels” with an irreverent nod and a wink to the late Osama bin Laden.
Summer on the Sunshine Coast
We began our new lives––Cosmic Debris with her new home, and us––with Cosmic Debris as our new home. So began the process of the long refit ahead. It was a steep learning curve. Many hours were spent researching everything related to sailboats. Neither of us had much knowledge of sailing or sailboats at that point. Our experience began with a day-sail excursion out of Puerta Vallarta in 2005 and ended with a ride on my brother’s McGregor 26 in 2011, with nothing in between.
Upon the purchase of our new boat, our insurance policy was granted under the condition that we both successfully complete a certified CYA (Canadian Yachting Association) sailing course, that the boat be moved to its permanent mooring by someone with experience, and that she would not leave the dock until we had completed our courses.
