AN UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE

Delivering the 23-year-old Beneteau 381 La Reine taught us that even the best-laid plans are sometimes no match for fate.

- WILLIE MCBRIDE

"WILLIE, CALL ME AS SOON AS YOU CAN. I BOUGHT A BOAT. I haven't seen it yet. It's in the middle of Florida. We have to get it out of the boatyard by Monday."

When I received the voicemail, I was racing a Melges 24 regatta in Miami, and I knew adventure was brewing. My father-in-law, Chris, had started with casual boat browsing online and progressed to the sight-unseen purchase of La Reine, a 23-year-old Beneteau 381. In the process, he had set in motion a journey that would take my wife, Kim, and me on a 50-day, 1,000-nautical-mile shotgun journey into the unknown. Starting with getting the boat off the hard for him within three days.

Two days later, I got my first sight of the boatyard where La Reine was waiting. Row upon row of deserted boats covered in various shades of mossy growth stretched as far as I could see. Imagination turned to panic as I drove past the first derelict hulls and pulled through the front gate.

As I entered the boatyard, heads popped out of companionways covered in fiberglass dust and paint. The boats in this part of the yard were notably more seaworthy, and a ragtag crowd was lovingly working on them..

La Reine had a fresh coat of paint that made her shine, and a suite of new electronics gave her a modern feel. As a professional racer who has seen my share of collisions and repairs, I was very aware that the shiny new cosmetics might mask something far more daunting. I pushed the possibilities from my mind and set to work.