[barbarousrelic]

It was a lesson learned for the Stearns, and Mindy also notes that in hindsight “another important factor is to gather multiple bids. Often when outfitting or purchasing items for a ‘luxury yacht’ the bids increase in multiples. If a vendor thinks they are the only one in the game,” she explains, “they don’t tend to price competitively.” Their captain also abandoned ship midway through the refit. “Like yachts, captains also need to be on the water,” Stearns advises. “Being landlocked is a big challenge to deal with, but we now have an incredible captain who we’ve had from the end of the refit, and he’s assembled a top-notch crew too.”

[Minsc]

Although, if they were to do it again, she laughs, they “probably wouldn’t do a refit that cost more than the whole boat!”. In Minderella’s case, it was individual people, rather than technical issues on board, that complicated the project. [links]

[Binford 6100]

When Mindy and Glenn Stearns bought the 57.3-metre Feadship yacht Calixe, and rechristened her as the magnificent Minderella (named after a musical that Glenn had commissioned from the Orange County School of the Arts for Mindy’s 40th birthday), the plan was to do “a few quick touch-ups” before taking her around the world on a 15-month family adventure. “She had beautiful bones, but she hadn’t been on the ocean much in the two years prior,” Mindy explains. “She needed a little TLC.”

[xcikni]

What started out as a little TLC soon turned into a full-blown refit, with no stone left unturned – from a new paint job, teak decks, exterior awnings, tables and seating, to a complete overhaul of the engine room and control room, a new custom-made stainless-steel galley shipped over from Germany, new generators, new air conditioning and sewage systems, audiovisual kit, interiors – the list goes on… Along with two new tenders and a Viking sportfishing boat, there was even an aptly named helicopter: Glass Slipper, which had a paint job to match the mothership.

[aaaa]

“We were excited to have our yacht, and we really wanted to use it, but it took us almost two years to finalise,” Stearns says of the family’s impatience to hit the water. But, she explains, it was all worth it – there’s not a single change that she would make differently second time round. And the couple and their two young daughters (now almost 11 and 14 years old) did get their grand tour in the end: yachting in India and the Maldives; hopping between tropical islands in Raja Ampat, Indonesia; and feeding raw meat from their tender to dragons on Komodo island (one of whom tried to join them on board), among other memorable experiences.

[taypan]

“There was definitely drama,” Stearns says, explaining that the couple initially hired a contractor for a much smaller refit. As the project snowballed, it became clear that the scale of the work was significantly larger than the contractor was set up for.

[Bitcoinz]

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[mjohnson]

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[QuietDad]

Some of the technologies we use are necessary for critical functions like security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and to make the site work correctly for browsing and transactions. [links]

[cdb000]

Get inspired by these ideas for decks and turn your outdoor living space into a family room and area for entertaining.

[AT-LOW]

A pergola with a large swinging daybed is the perfect spot to relax in this urban outdoor living space. An outdoor kitchen area leads around to a dining table that seats eight — perfect for entertaining.

[soultcer]

By day, this deck is ideal for entertaining, providing a space for guests to relax. By night, the fire pit area offers a warm and cozy respite even on the chilliest evenings. [links]

[GeorgeH]

The record for the most expensive sports collector's card of all-time is now a Honus Wagner baseball card.

[ankostis]

The card, printed in between 1909 to 1911, was on display at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, Illinois, in July when nearly 100,000 people were in attendance.

[gridecon]

Robert Edward Auctions President Brian Dwyer said in a public statement Monday: "This is an incredible result that speaks to this card's status as one of the world's most iconic collectibles. The rarity and the legend of the T206 Honus Wagner, coupled with the quality of this example, excited bidders who recognized it may be a very long time before an opportunity like this came around again." [links]