He gave up 4 guitars for a sailboat. Now this Fredericton man has plans for adventure

Most guitar collectors selltheir guitars for cash or trade for other guitars, but not Chris Mercer.

In 2020, he soldfour collector guitars to pay for a 27-foot C&C 27 sailboat, named the Blue Lotus, which he is restoring and plans to sailaround North America.

"This is going to sail down to the Gulf of Mexico and then all the way back up to the Great Lakes and back home," said Mercer, standing in the cockpit of the Blue Lotus. This route is known as the Great Loop, and anyone whosails itis calleda Looper.

Mercer is a full-time musician and has been givingprivate guitar lessons to people of all ages in his spare time for close to 25 years. Hesaid he was invitedtosail with one of his students and fell in lovefrom the moment he got on the boat.

"I remember thinking, 'you are going to be thinking about this every moment of your life for the rest of your life,'"he said.

When offered the opportunity to take the rudder, Mercer said he could feel the "connection of the wind coming down from that sail, hitting myhand with the line and then the rudder,"describing it as a visceral experience.

After that, Mercer knew he had to do whatever it took to get his own boat.

He spent hours on Kijiji the week following thatsail, eventually stumbling upon onefor $7,000. He thought it was a great deal, but a little out of his price range.

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Hitting the high notes: How this musician made a deal and set sail

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Chris Mercer knew he couldnt let the opportunity go when he saw his dream boat pop up for sale online there was only one problem. He didnt have any savings.

A week later, it was reduced to $5,000, but againMercer decided against buying the boat.

Only in the third week, when the price was downto $3,000, did he realize that he couldn't pass it up.

"Man, I have to have this thing," Mercer remembersthinking, after first seeing the boat online.

With no savings and no money that he could get easy access to, hecame upup with theidea to trade some of his guitar collection.

Mercer had a few guitars that were paid off and knew they were worth some money. He called a friend, a seasoned guitar reseller, and asked him how many he would have to give up to get $3,000.

The answer? Four.

Unlike other collectors, Mercer thinks of his guitars as tools, like "hammers to a carpenter," so parting with them wasn't too difficult.

He sold two Gibson acoustics, a Sigma by Martin and ahollow-body jazz guitar.

The money he made then paid for the Blue Lotus, which was crafted in Canada in 1976,the same year Mercer was born.

He doesn't regret sellingthe guitars for a boat. Mercer calls it a lesson in humility.

His first night out on his boat, the engine stopped working, leaving him stranded on the water.

As he curled up in his sail, he thought to himself, "tomorrow this thing's going back on Kijiji."

But the next morning was one of the most beautiful he had ever seen, with the sun glinting on the waterand bald eagles fishing close by. He decided to keep it.

"You just leave your stress behind," he said, explaining that his favourite sound is when the motor shuts off and hecan hear the waves lapping on the side of the boat as the sound of the engine echoes off into the distance.

When Mercer turns 50 in two years, he saidhe will embark on his Great Loop adventure, with a guitar in the cockpitand a blue plastic bird named Polly as his copilot.

"The Blue Lotus will sail again."