2011-08-04 We own a boat!! :)

Yep, all the t’s have been crossed, the i’s dotted, the paper work’s done and the monies paid and we officially now own a Bayliner 3870.

All thanks to our Broker, Mike Dickens, of Paradise Yacht Sales for making the whole buying process so much easier and less stressful.

It’s been an emotional roller coaster these last few weeks – not just from the boat buying and insurance aspects – and now we just have to curb our patience until we collect her in October!! Let that countdown timer in the right hand panel keep ticking down

Of course, now there’s a hundred other things to think about and organise. For instance US visas. Now, generally we can apply for a visa waiver if we are going to be in the US for less than 3 months. So, arrive in October and leave for the Bahamas mid-December is less than the 3 month period. Unfortunately, travelling to the Bahamas for 3-4 months doesn’t count as “leaving” the US for visa purposes.

So we have to get an extended 6-month visa which requires a formal application with new photos as well as an interview with  the US dept here in Auckland!

But, no matter, we’ll just plod on and work our way through everything.