We or should I say Craig had done volumes of research and narrowed down the search to one type of boat a "Hunter 49" it is a factory produced boat, built in the USA, this design ticked all our boxes, It had to be oceangoing, stable, 3 bedrooms - so enough space for family and friends, a good spacious galley (kitchen), the sail configuration was important as well as the engine, type.  49-50 foot was big enough to live on comfortably and it had to be within our budget. And not too big for 1 and a 1/2 sailors to manage.

The  Hunter is a USA built boat and there were none for sale in Australia, we also felt that starting our trip from Australia was a bit restrictive and buying in the US meant we could start from that side of the world, spend 5-8 years cruising and eventually head home.  One had come up for sale in New Zealand but it had sold as soon as it came on the market.  There are also tax benefits with buying outside Australia.

Craig had done a reconnaissance trip the exact same month in 2018, 12 months almost to the day he went to check out what the Hunter was like inside and what you got for your buck as far as do we buy new - spend lots of money or buy older, costs less but could be more work and not worth it in the long run.  He came home with lots of stories about the US and Miami and confirmation he thought the Hunter 49 was the way to go.  March 2018 we were not quite ready to make the purchase or the move but during 2019 circumstances shifted and we decided it was time.

We had found our perfect boat a 2009 Hunter 49 for sale in Florida called Santa Lacura and after lots of back and forward emails decided to pay a deposit to secure her for ourselves.
We worked with a broker and he had sent a friend to check her out and reported back she was a good boat and worth purchasing.  We knew we could get our deposit refunded if she was not the one.

We left Tullamarine Airport Melbourne two days after Craig's 56th birthday.  Steven my brother delivered us to the airport with 2 suitcases each and the hand luggage maxed out. Thank You Steven, 
Steven also followed through with the shipping of our 3 boxes of stuff from home -the boxes contained some smaller tools, a pile of sailing books that Craig had treated himself to when we sold the Garden Supplies business in 2010, some basic kitchen utensils, Craig's wet weather gear and although we were heading to warm climates I did throw in our thermals and a few beanies for overnight passages and of course more dresses and tshirts for me.

Our first flight was 16 hours Melbourne to LA   then  LA to Miami, Florida USA.
We had about  2 1/2 hours to get off the first flight, check in to USA, collect baggage and clear customs, then find departure gate for 2nd flight.  
It was stressful standing in lines that looped back and forward over and over with hundreds of people checking in, we started to panic we were going to miss our next flight,  but the line did move steadily until it was our turn.  
One of my concerns had been about checking into US we had heard lots of stories about other people landing, then not being allowed to enter or being detained for hours.  Funny the United States thinks everyone wants to move there to live permanently.
We had purchased return flights as it seemed we would have problems getting into USA without them and anyway the cost was not that much more than buying one way.  

We decided to tell the truth about what we were doing if we were questioned.
The gentleman who checked us in did ask us the reason for our visit but the fact that we had put a deposit on Santa lacura in Florida was enough for him to let us through  whew.

We collected our bags, nothing to declare and the connecting flight departure gate was not too far away.  
The LA to Florida flight had an hour stopover in Las Vegas so lucky me got to see the Nevada Desert and Las Vegas from the air, it was enough just to see it as I have never had any desire to visit, we missed seeing the Grand Canyon which would have been cool.