1967 Columbia YAWL

"Sandy and I purchased Mystique in 1986. She wasn’t the boat we were looking for but at first sight we both decided that she was it. For the first two years we moored in Tacoma and explored the South Sound waters. In 1989 we moved to Anacortes Marina and remained there until we moved aboard in 1998. During those years we explored the San Juan and Gulf Islands and the BC coastline as far as Desolation Sound.

We loved the NW for gunkholing but wanted to travel much further and to many new countries. In 1996 we removed the old Atomic 4 gas engine and installed a Universal M-35A diesel with the assistance of North Harbor Diesel in Anacortes. In 1998 we re-rigged in preparation for full time cruising. During these years we also upgraded all sails to cruising sales from Port Townsend Sails.

We replaced the alcohol stove with a Force 10 propane stove, installed a larger frig and freezer and added a Sigmar diesel cabin heater. We both quit our jobs in 1998 and moved aboard full time to get ready for long term cruising.

That first year we spent on further upgrades, including radar, and exploring Pacific NW and BC waters as full time cruisers. Then in August of 1999 we pulled the plug and headed down the US west coast for Mexico. We decided early on to cruise at a very leisurely pace so
harbor hopped down the coast with only 2 or 3 overnight passages. We had joined the Anacortes Yacht Club and really enjoyed our stops at many large and small yacht clubs. We spent a month in the San Fransisco Bay visiting friends and family and testing our heavy weather sails. Then it was on to San Diego for more upgrades. There we installed two solar panels and a marine single sideband/ham radio for communications outside the States.

Just before Thanksgiving 1999 we left the US and began the real adventure. Our trip down the west coast of Baja was a real eye opener. We spent 18 months in the Sea of Cortez, including a very hot and thundery summer.

We survived 17 heavy thunderstorms which always seemed to arrive at 2 AM. The snorkeling was great and we made many new cruising friends. After Mexico we spent 5 months in El Salvador and 6 months in Costa Rica before heading to Panama. We stayed more than a year in Panama enjoying the lush flora and fauna. Six months of our stay was at the Pedro Miguel Yacht Club in Mira Flores Lake.

The Club was at a wide spot in the Panama Canal and a meeting place for cruisers from all over the world. After exploring the San Blas Islands we completed an overnight sail to Cartegena, Columbia. Thankfully we were buddy boating with two other cruising boats as our prop shaft broke. We had a slow sail for the last 12 hours and an Island Packet towed us into the Cartegena anchorage. Columbia was amazing for many reasons but the inexpensive nature of everything really stood out. Replacing the prop shaft cost us $200 US including the diver’s help extracting and replacing the shaft. We had a great six months in Columbia before departing for the east coast of Mexico via stops in Isla Providencia and Honduras.

We stayed a month at Isla Mujeres near Cancun before sailing to Florida and the Indian River where we spent the winter getting ready for an Atlantic crossing. At that time we installed a Kiss wind generator and a roller furling jib to replace our hanked on jib setup.

May 2004 we departed Jacksonville, FL bound for Bermuda and then Portugal. We had a very slow passage to Bermuda marked by little wind and adverse currents. Our crew members were suffering from seasickness the entire voyage and decided not to finish the Atlantic crossing. Without the crew and due to the nearing hurricane season we decided to return to the US and ship Mystique via Dockwise. We had an eventful hurricane season on the East Coast surviving 2 tropical storms and 2 major hurricanes. During the last one, Jeanne, we feared for Mystique. We were in San Augustine, FL and numerous boats at the marina and anchorage sank including two at our dock. Mystique survived with minimum damage to one cleat and the wind generator. The trip down the Intercoastal Waterway for our departure from Ft. Lauderdale was rather depressing due to the extensive damage from the hurricane. After a short stay in Ft. Lauderdale we boarded the Dockwise ship and departed for a 3 week crossing to Majorca. Our crossing was a great experience as we got to stay on Mystique and saw the Atlantic from the relative safety and comfort of a 500 ft ship. We ate with the crew and had the run of the ship.

We disembarked in Palma, Majorca and spent a week exploring the island before doing a short overnight passage to Tarragona, Spain which would be our home for 18 months. Tarragona was a wonderful introduction to life in Europe. Expenses, surprisingly, were less
then many places we visited in the US. This proved to be the case throughout our 9 years in the Mediterranean. The hardest adjustment was to the late dinner hour. Subsequent years were spent mainly in France, Italy, Greece and Turkey. In the latter we did a lot of boat work
including re-coring the foredeck, complete two part polyurethane paint job of hull and top-sides, refurbished non-skid and installed a larger holding tank.

We shipped Mystique back to the East Coast in late 2013 and spent the next 2.5 years sailing the US eastern seaboard. In 2016 we trucked Mystique to LaConner and took a year putting her back together from the overland trip. Since then we have spent time in the Blaine area,
Anacortes and the San Juan Islands.

She's been a wonderful boat". 

- The Owners

This is a classic fiberglass yacht that has the double pedigree of being a Morgan design and built by Columbia Yachts.  She was built before the chopper gun when boats were hand laid and literally overbuilt because nobody knew how strong fiberglass is and how long it would last.

If you want to go sailing this Summer, Mystique is ready to sail Salish Sea and BC to Alaska. If you want to go South, there is some recommended updating to do but she is worth investing in for offshore sailing and you could be in Mexico next winter. 

Mystique will not qualify for bank financing nor are the owners willing to carry a loan.  This yacht is a cash sale.

- JS 

The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.