Sailing Big Lost: Our Story & Goodbye

At the Xquisite Catamaran Center in Freeport, the Malone family reached the end of their third week tied to the docks while waiting for escrow to close on the sale of their catamaran. Moving off a boat after months underway required organizing personal gear, scheduling notarizations, and preparing to hand the vessel over to its next owners. Connor and Kelly Malone, who document their voyages on Sailing Big Lost, worked through the final administrative requirements of selling their vessel while their children, Maddie and Finn, found ways to pass the time in the marina.

Closing the sale demanded a flurry of last-minute logistics. Connor and Kelly had to scramble to execute sales documents, cancel existing marine insurance policies, and officially remove the British Virgin Islands flag from the vessel’s registry. Finalizing the paperwork meant taking a quick bicycle ride down to the local DHL office to overnight the closing paperwork directly to the escrow officer. Because notaries in the Bahamas operate as justices of the peace, Kelly monitored each document closely to ensure no minor filing defect caused delays. Escrow proceeded without friction and closed 2 days early.

Specifications and Transition Metrics

The transition from a high-volume cruising vessel to a smaller platform followed nine months of practical voyaging experience across multiple international destinations.

Final Walkthrough of the Leopard 62

Before turning over the keys, the crew completed one final comprehensive walkthrough of the 62-ft Leopard built in 2002. Connor announced the milestone as the family prepared for turnover:

“All right, the Malone family is saying goodbye to Big Loss number one. We have had lots of awesome adventures, some challenges and difficulties along the way, but we are excited to turn her over to her new owners today and we wish them all the best and hope that they love her as much as we do and enjoy their adventures on her as well.”

The interior tour documented the generous layout of the 62-foot platform. Stepping down into the port forward hull reveals Connor and Kelly’s cabin, configured with a queen-size bed, a private head and shower, and a television. Just aft along the midships corridor sits the smallest cabin on the vessel, fitted with a full-size bed, a television, and a compact wet head. In the port aft section, Finn had his own spacious cabin equipped with a television and an ensuite head featuring a standalone shower enclosure rather than a wet head arrangement.

Across the bridgedeck on the starboard side, Maddie’s aft cabin matches the port side with a queen-size bed, television, and private head. Forward on the starboard side, another cabin provides a queen-size bed, television, and a wet head that connects through to the forward V-berth compartment. The family utilized this forward compartment primarily as a dedicated workshop and gear locker, housing a clothes washing machine. Up on the main deck, the central saloon features a comprehensive navigation station with electrical control panels, gauges, and switchgear alongside a domestic-scale galley fitted with refrigeration, a full-size propane cooktop, an oven, a dishwasher, and a microwave with an exhaust hood.

Lessons Learned and Downsizing Plans

Managing the expansive systems across five separate heads and five sleeping cabins highlighted the practical trade-offs of cruising in a yacht of this scale. Reflecting on the equipment footprint, Kelly noted:

“Pretty sure in our next catamaran we will not have six televisions or five heads or five cabins.”

During their 9 months and over 4,000 nautical miles at sea visiting six countries, the crew discovered that carrying surplus guest accommodations was unnecessary, as visitors arrived far less frequently than anticipated. The extensive footprint also created substantial daily maintenance overhead. For their next vessel, the Malone family established strict operational criteria: a platform under 50 ft that can be readily single-handed, offering three to four cabins, two heads, solid sailing performance on blue water passages, generous storage, and a modern solar array powering simple, efficient shipboard systems that Connor and Kelly can troubleshoot and repair independently.

While killing time around the docks during their third week in Freeport, the family balanced boat chores with daily marina life. Finn joked about his parents regulating screen time:

“They only let him play on his iPad like one or two hours a day.”

With all personal belongings packed into totes and staging gear stored until their return, the family said goodbye to the staff and facilities at Xquisite Catamaran Center. The crew planned to select their next vessel and return to sailing by May or June, positioning them to sail south ahead of the Atlantic hurricane season.

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