the biggest single purchase - a love story
Allison, Apr 2026
It was love at first sight.
We were cruising the Detroit Boat Show, idly chatting with salesmen about electric boats, hoping to learn something and not picking up much. Anthony was determined to buy an electric boat to take down to Belize. He couldn’t bear the thought of dumping toxic emissions into the pristine waters of the world’s second-largest barrier reef, and so here we were on a frosty February afternoon, gleaning what little we could from a boat market that seemed wildly uninterested in the subject of electric boats.
But then I saw her, moss-green and gleaming in a clearing at the Cobo conference hall. A 2023 X Shore Eelex 8000, a demo model the marina was selling at a fair discount. “100% Electric,” her hull proudly proclaimed.
I stood and gaped, almost too shy to take off my shoes and climb aboard for a look around. She was a thing of beauty—a sleek black center hull with a cork deck and gunwales, natural tones throughout, 26 feet of serenity and Swedish technology. There’s no way she could ever be ours, I thought. No way we could ever afford her.
And we couldn’t. But after fervent talks with the marina reps, and anxious conversations between us, we decided to take the plunge. We back of the envelope figured that if we booked charter cruises on her during summers, and with the reduction in fuel expenses to the island, we could justify the cost. It was a rash financial move, but we were punch-drunk in love with the vessel and hellbent on making it work.
We named her Sycorax, the sea witch mother of Caliban, the villain from Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest.” (Click here for more on the island backstory)
A few months later when we dropped her into Lake Saint Clair for the first time, she continued to wow. She glided silently through the water, so silent it was almost eerie. When thrown into high gear, the torque was enough to give you whiplash. And despite four-foot chop, I—who’d puked on more boats than I can count—never once felt ill, thanks to the absence of diesel gas fumes.
The thrills continued when we pulled into our dock for the first time and plugged our Eelex into the 50-amp electric stanchion for the first time, using a thick yellow charging cord. Isn’t this great?! we thought smugly. We’re not like those suckers dropping $500 at the gas pump, or much, much more. We’re smart. We’re high tech. Goddamnit, we’re ELECTRIC!
Anthony Blair studied for and got a US Coast Guard Captain’s license, we invested in safety and other equipment, passed two charter boat DNR inspections, took CPR training, built a website and bookings app, learned about search engine optimization, published a press release, and so much more in a few short months. As our fledgling charter boat business, Sycorax Electric Cruises, took off, we had the added joy of taking folks out for cruises on the Detroit River and Lake Saint Clair. They were celebrating birthdays, or anniversaries, or work achievements, or nothing at all. They were always in a great mood. The sun sparkled on the green waters as we voyaged forward in peace, asking ourselves, Why did we ever have any other job?
As with all loves, time dulls the thrill. The rose-colored glasses come off. Reality takes over. And some days, love just hurts.
The savings at the pump are an illusion, of course, or they will be for a long time at least, considering the enormous upfront investment we made in this bleeding-edge electro propulsion technology.
For another thing, we were learning the pain of being beta testers. Owning this electric boat was like owning a first- or second-generation Tesla. Parts inevitably broke down, sometimes at a dismaying rate. There were only a few people in the U.S. qualified to repair the boat, and they were in high demand from the East Coast to the West. Business would grind to a halt as we awaited parts and online support from Europe. Anthony Blair learned a whole new world of boat repair.
On top of that, Anthony and I were first-time powerboat owners and were working through a first-timers learning curve. We both grew up sailing and were water babies in every sense—swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and diving—but learning to dock and anchor with a shotgun-like torque, plus navigating open-water boat traffic on one of the world’s busiest waterways, had us feeling like the Keystone Cops at times. There were times we swore we should’ve gotten an aluminum fishing skiff as a starter boat. Anthony became adept at patching dings in the cork gunwale.
Most distressing of all was the news that the manufacturer, X Shore, like so many tech startups, was going bankrupt. Without service support from the manufacturer, our electric boat was dead in the water. A three-ton paper weight. A $300,000 albatross around our necks.
As I write this post, in the dry season down in Belize, we have good cause for hope. A buyer was announced for the company emerging from bankruptcy. There may be service support after all. Over the years as we’ve tightened our death-grip on this island dream, despite the many challenges, some of them annoying, others terrifying, we have strengthened our shared hope—that somehow, some way, some day, by gum it would all work out.
We’ve matured past the first blush of love with the Sycorax. We have learned so much. We continue to learn. We have help. We have hope. When she works, she is everything I ever wanted in a boat. And I cannot help believing that it won’t be long before the Sycorax floats in Caribbean waters.
Fun to read..enjoyed it.
Hard not to fall in love with the Belle of the Boat Ball! And she’s cool 😎