Bonnie Blue -- 2010-2018 RIP

-->

Bye Bye Bonnie Blue

As they say, all good things must come to an end. The winter two seasons ago was very hard on our RIB Bonnie Blue (continuing with our theme around Gone with the Wind that we unwittingly got ourselves into some 30 years ago when I bought Scarlet). When she was delivered to the boat she looked very weather worn and she also had some leaks. We found a patch kit for 30 or 40 euros and we tried patching her up and, for the most part, it worked. Our new routine became before we used the dinghy, we pumped it up a little bit … or a lot … depending on how long it had been since we had pumped it up last. We also got used to sitting on a very soft RIB in the evening … like really soft ... like butt nearly in the water soft

Bonnie looking a little bit deflated

This winter we resolved to purchase a new RIB and bid adieu to Bonnie Blue. When we got to Cleopatra however, Marina unpacked her and she actually looked OK, she pumped her up with our trusty Dewalt Vacuum (turned around it becomes a blower) and hey … maybe we could get another year out of her … or at-least sell her for 100 or 200 Euros. We had her launched along with Tara and we docked into our spot … and Bonnie was floating between the laid mooring lines. A couple of hours later it became woefully apparent that Bonnie Blue – Blew up. She was a sad sight and a mere spectre of her former glory. That dinghy has sailed 20,000 miles with us, been in big storms, been horribly overloaded, rescued other dinghys and was actually rescued herself once on the Island of Gaios when an unnamed M242 sailor didn’t tie her up tightly enough, She outlived 4 propellers, two outboards and several gas tanks … she was a real trooper.

We then tried to figure out what to do with her. Can we sell her quickly became .. can we give her away. We didn't want to land-fill her ... and we weren't sure we could sink her ... make an artificial reef with her had some charm. In the end we fashioned a sign “Free” in Greek and we pulled up at the fishing dock. There was a fisherman on his boat there with his wife and a deckhand. It took a minute or two to get through that we were giving Bonnie away.

Turns out his son works at Lefkas Marina and has the time and inclination to repair these older RIBs … so there you go. Bonnie is off to her new home, we have a new dinghy … now what to name her?