Slow Cruise

In the months prior, I did a lot of research on the type of sailing yacht I want. Options are many, including design type, seaworthiness, rig type, length, weight, layout, headroom, history of issues, reviews, age, condition, location, price, etc.
In summary, when it comes to choosing the boat, there is no perfect one, but there is a perfect compromise, for you.

During the purchase process of our yacht, we had few car trips from our home in Whitby, ON, Canada to Annapolis, MD, USA. Traveled through Ontario, states of Western New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Interesting trip in itself.

Annapolis seem to be the best place (at least in North America) to shop for a sailboat - many options available in one area.
Our first trip to US East Coast was to view our yacht, along with other potential candidates. We have found her at Annapolis Yacht Sales.

Had another trip to Annapolis, to oversee surveying of the yacht. We had hired a professional surveyor for the job. The survey was done on hard, and we also had the see trial as well.
Overall, we were happy with the process and the results, and I think it was worth it.

Our yacht stayed on hard for more than a months while we were at home getting ready for the life change.

When we arrived to Annapolis, for the first several days we stayed at the yard. While the boat was still on hard and we had a rental car, we did main provisioning and some repairs. Had to hire guys to climb atop of the mast to replace the anchor and deck lights.

Once launched (Aug 26, 2014), we had few days to do final preparations before leaving the dock. It was a bit hectic at the yard during the days before departure. Quite few things needed to be done - last-minute repairs, equipment purchases, provisioning, etc. We have found and fixed few leaks. Apparently, Larysa is good at smelling-out the source of various leaks.