Boat may have capsized, but couple’s dreams of sailing remain afloat
“I’m not going to give up now” after keel ripped off
A Colorado couple who sold everything to buy a sailboat so they could sail the Caribbean aren’t going to let their boat’s sinking capsize their dream.
Tanner Broadwell, Nikki Walsh and their pet pug, Remy, escaped injury when the 28-foot boat hit something and capsized Wednesday in the Gulf of Mexico near Madeira Beach, Fla. The couple say just about everything they owned floated away, according to The Associated Press.
“I’m not going to give up now,” Broadwell, 26, told the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m going to get another boat down the road.”
“We can’t just give up on our dreams,” said Walsh, 24.
But for now, the couple are planning to use a GoFundMe appeal to raise the money they’ll need to spend to remove their sailboat from John’s Pass off Madeira Beach.
That could cost up to $10,000, the Times reported. The couple have no insurance.
The couple, who had been living in Breckenridge, where Broadwell marketed timeshares, decided to sell their belongings and pursue their dream of sailing the Caribbean and ultimately, maybe the world, the Times reported.
The couple, who had no sailing experience, bought a 28-foot sailboat in Alabama for $5,000, the Times reported.
Broadwell’s father helped the couple travel to Florida, teaching them to sail along the way.
They spent months refurbishing the 49-year-old Lagniappe (pronounced lanny-yap), which is Creole for bonus, the Times reported.
They set sail Feb. 6 and anchored off Anclote Key. The next day, they made their way to John’s Pass to dock for the night.
It was dark and foggy as they tried to navigate the channel, the Times reported. Broadwell steered while Walsh stood at the bow, lighting their path with a spotlight.
The navigational buoys seemed out of place and the shoal wasn’t where their 2016-17 navigational charts said it should be, the Times reported.
The couple wondered if Hurricane Irma had altered the channel.
Then they hit something underwater, and Walsh nearly flew off the deck.
As the sailboat dipped from side to side, Broadwell realized the keel had been ripped off the bottom.
As water poured into the cabin, the couple put on their life jackets (Remy, too).
They called for help, and then Walsh ran to the flooded cabin and grabbed what she could — social security cards, cash, identification and the dog, reported WFTS, the ABC affiliate in Tampa Bay.
For now, the couple are relying on family and friends.
They may live with Broadwell’s mother while he looks for a job, the Times reported.
They’re thankful to be alive. and they’re not giving up their dream.
“The boat sank,” Walsh told WFTS, “but our dreams didn’t sink with the boat.”