Escrow (haul out, survey + sea trial).

This was my first big purchase, and with that comes a lot of emotions. Feelings of being overwhelmed and excited at the same time. I went into my broker's office to draw up the first draft of the contract, not knowing what I was doing. He would ask questions about what type of marine survey I wanted or how many days of escrow and I honestly had no idea how to respond. I just trusted my intuition and guessed my way through. Perhaps I should have had my dad teach me what to do first, but I guess you learn by trying on your own, right? I signed the papers to make it official that we were in escrow.

My broker told me all the things I needed to start prepping. I had to schedule a haul out, which is when they raise the boat out of the water to check the condition of the hull (bottom of the boat). A lot of times the paint on the bottom can blister and cause water damage or eventual leaks. I had to schedule a marine survey, which was really hard to do in a 10 day escrow because all the surveyors were booked months out (but I made it happen within that time somehow). I had to apply to the new marina, contact the old one to tell them I was leaving, find a captain to drive it over for me, set up boat insurance, apply for a new title registration and acquire a traveling letter from the coast guard. Most of those tasks were so much more challenging for me than they sounded. For example, it took me calling about 15 different insurance companies (and being on hold every single time) to try and find an one that will insure someone with no boating experience. haha.

BUT I got it all done!

And what a proud moment it was when I finally checked all the boxes on my to-do list!

How I found my boat.

I had been scowling the internet for listing of boats for sale in San Diego for weeks, obsessively checking to make sure I didn't miss finding the right one. Every time I saw a listing that looked decent, I would send it to my friend Janna, who grew up sailing and also currently lived on a boat. She was good at telling me which listings were worth my time. She and her husband Chris (who also grew up on boats) even frequented open houses or boat sale viewings with me. Chris would always pop open the hatch in the floor and crawl into the engine room to scope things out down there, since I had no idea what I was looking for. Some boats were too expensive for their condition, one had a wooden hull, one smelled like mold, a bunch felt too cramped. After a handful of disappointing meetings with boat sellers, I got a text from Janna with a listing from Yachtworld.com. The moment I clicked the listing, I knew I wanted that boat. More than all the other boats I previously wanted. The price was crazy low and the boat was big! But most of all, it was very different from any other boat I'd seen...different, like me. I immediately called the broker on the listing, Mark. When I inquired about the boat named "Happy Day", he seemed flustered and aloof, speaking the way a stereotypical surfer bro would in a movie--I knew right away that we was going to annoy me. He told me he had never seen the listing before or heard of that boat for sale, even though his name and number were on the listing. When I read the listing details to him, he laughed and said, "uhhh, the listing must not be real. Seriously, I mean, there should be an extra "0" at the end of the price." He tried to brush me off and said he would call me back after he got more info on the boat. Irritated that he didn't help me, I called my dad, who is a real estate agent. When I told dad the details, he agreed we needed to jump on this boat before anyone else was able to get ahold of it. Dad loves a good bargain. "The broker Mark is confused and trying to figure out where the boat is located, but I will let you know when I hear anything." Only about 15 minutes went by and I got a call back from Mark, who sounded really frustrated. "Your dad just walked into my office and is insisting I show him the boat right away even though I have other clients to handle today..." Haha. Turns out, my dad was magically just right around the corner from Mark's office when I called him, so he went over to see what he could find on his own, rather than wait on Mark's time. My dad never has been a patient man. Mark told my dad that he had other appointments and that he could not help my dad with the boat that day... but apparently my dad had his way with Mark. Next thing I knew, I was driving down to meet them at the marina to view the boat. I prayed the whole drive over.

As soon as I stepped foot on the boat, even though it was dark, cluttered and stuffy, I got this overwhelming feeling that I was home.

*I later found out that we called about the boat within 10 minutes of it being posted for sale. The broker's office received HUNDREDS of phone calls about the listing in just that one day, but thankfully, I was the first person to call!!!