Cruisers....Beware the first year!

[Nostrodamus]

For anyone planning on going cruising in the near future beware of your first year.

Most cruisers spend their first year treating it like a bit of a holiday. If you do all those hard earned pennies you saved will soon disappear

We can look back now with hindsight and wish we had done things a little differently.

Hopefully a few of these points may help.

1) Stay out of marinas where possible. The costs will soon mount up and be your biggest expenditure. If you do go into one haggle. They will often reduce the price. If you are in France then go in after 20.00 and leave before 0800 the following morning. It seems to be standard practise by the French to avoid costs. If you can anchor then do so.

2) Be aware that you will motor far more than you thought you would. You will make excuses that the wind is on the nose or there is too little of it. Keep those sails up! You may arrive an hour or two later but so what. You save fuel bills and wear and tear on the engine.

3) Get sufficient means of creating electricity. In this laptop age they will suck your batteries dry in no time.

4) Avoid restaurants. You can cook better food yourself at a fraction of the price.

5) Take Anti foul and as many spare parts needed for servicing the engine with you. They are up to twice the price abroad.

There may be many other ideas other cruisers will have but beware your first year. If you don’t watch out that five year cruise will become a 5 month one!

 

[mikewilkes]

Buy your wine in a plastic "cubie" container you take to the bread shop or the cave.

Find out and use the local markets for fresh veggies etc.

 

[OldBawley]

Hello Nostrodamus,

I like your writing style and always read your posts, real life writing.
A year ago, I thought “ Must be a millionaire”, now it turns out you are human.
Our first year was expensive also, mainly because of lots of engine hours in the French canals.
Pilots, charts, laundry, all expensive. Good cigars ware difficult to find so the first “Luxury” to go. Since I dive a lot deeper.
Now, the web provides all information for free, we have a hand washing machine. Our laundry is cleaner washed by me than in some laundrette, however a lot of work. Only getting the water for washing and rinsing, what a job, keeps me nimble.
Having all the time you want, learning the fine tricks of cooking was the best investment we made. Twice a year we invite a chef for one or two weeks of holiday. I pay for his hotel, in the evening he teaches us how to make every meal a feast. Sort of working holiday.
This giant of a man has to take of his shoes to wrench himself trough our companionway but then produces a multiple course supper using a two burner gas stove and the wood burning stove.
He can stir with one hand and cut vegetables with the other. At the same time !!
Swimbo and me love to make supper together, ( In summer I grant her the pleasure of cooking whilst I guard our anchoring spot from my cockpit throne ) Juggling with knives is for others.
We never do big distances so 95% can be sailed, our costs are now the same as fifteen years ago.
Sadly that made me into someone who has lost all contact with “real” life.
Take care.

 

[capnsensible]

Our 16th year has been awesome.....

 

[chinita]

Take Anti foul and as many spare parts needed for servicing the engine with you. They are up to twice the price abroad.

I recall telling you this when you were still in (Brighton, I think) Marina.

Did you heed the advice?

My point is that, no matter how much advice is given, not all of it is taken. Everybody thinks that they know better.

C'est la vie.

However, all your comments are valid and should really be taken seriously by others. Well done for posting them.

 

[cliffdale]

Just out of interest, how much is antifoul in Med Spain. Is it really worth loading the boat when I pay around £65 for 2.5l.

Also on mind, would local anti foul be better than bringing my own?

Cliff

 

[SamanthaTabs]

Fair comments, most of us spent more during novice liveaboard time whether the first year or several.. We fairy'ed around the first year for sure and, despite cost, had a blast.
With apologies to the purist sailors, sometimes I'd rather run an engine and burn the 5 euro fuel per hour when exhausted simply to arrive somewhere, drop the hook and sleep.
Eating out, yes please on occasions! Failing that its akin to being at home and never affording a takeaway.. Ask local advice and be prepared to have great low cost food (last one was the best pizza ever plus wine, beer, coffee and dessert for 3 totalling 28 euro - Licata, happy to give details to anyone there).
Spares a given, more importantly knowledge of how to fix things. That said, as we found out in Ribadeao several years ago, without speaking to locals we would've been hammered for repairs! Anti foul, hmmm depends where you are. In the Algarve to name but one it cost the same as the uk.
Penultimately never underestimate befriending local people, their knowledge is invaluable. Ultimately use common sense, surely one understands ones annual budget?!

 

[jonic]

Don't go to the western wed if you can help it and money is a concern.

Head for the Caribbean and spend your sterling in a dollar economy. You can anchor pretty much everywhere for free.

Then head for the USA for hurricane season and cruise the ICW staying for free every night courtesy of skipper Bob's guide to anchorages on the ICW before finally taking a municipal mooring ball off Manhattan in NYC for 30 bucks a night.

At the end of hurricane season head south and do it all over again

Or head for the eastern med.

 

[Nostrodamus]

We are in our third year now and even though we came through the western med and survived we still managed to spend half the amount we did in our first year, mainly due to only going in marinas for three or four days this year, not eating out very often and sailing far more, even in very light winds. We still got to our destination all be it a lot later but enjoyed the journey.
We are ready to move on again today but the winds are light so we will wait till tomorrow, or the day after.
Some people have to be certain places or have to make progress but we are lucky in that we have time on our side and that makes a whole lot of difference.

 

[Cardo]

Can't help think some of this stuff is aimed at us!

Our biggest expense (Aside from loads of stuff on the boat breaking during our first cruising season!) has been fuel. We're only out for a couple of years and our first year has had a lot of motoring in order to get us over towards Greece. Also, our boat is relatively small and quite heavy, so we need quite strong winds to actually get moving! Maybe something for people planning cruising lifestyles to take into consideration? Though a AWB would have less insulation and could get uncomfortable in the heat of the day.

Fingers crossed our hopefully more sedate cruising next season should be a lot cheaper on the fuel!

 

[Nostrodamus]

Cardo, It is not at you. It is a reflection of what we did in the first year and how our savings dwindled away. With hindsight and the knowledge we have now we would have done it differently. We have met many people on the way and I am sure there are many on the forum who will say the same... that first year you have to get out of holiday mode. We were told this as well but it is hard to do. I hope others find the advice useful as it may enable them to cruise longer.

 

[capnsensible]

Nice to see you back posting!

Do you have an idea where you will winter?

Regards to all,

CS

 

[chasroberts]

Not sure about Spanish prices but here in France 2.5lts of Cruiser Uno is up at €167! Spain was always as expensive from memory.... We bring ours out from the UK and save around €180 per year on 5lts.

 

[Nostrodamus]

It will be raggusa or Licarter in Sicily. At the moment we are doing a circumnavigation so when we get to them we will look at both.
To be honest i need a rest. Anchoring is good for saving money but over the year it has drained me. I can never sleep the same being at anchor even though we have never dragged (mar Menor aside) and had some pretty strong winds. (Praise be to Mr Manson).

Nice to see you back posting!

Do you have an idea where you will winter?

Regards to all,

CS

 

[capnsensible]

Hope it gives you a chance to get your breath back.

Have only ever pit stopped in Sicilly, found it quite pleasant but expensive in Palermo. Guess being provincial will be much better.

Hope you can find some footie on a bar telly to enjoy!

 

[Cardo]

I can never sleep the same being at anchor even though we have never dragged (mar Menor aside) and had some pretty strong winds. (Praise be to Mr Manson).

Doesn't stop me! Although I was woken up last night by the neighbour's dinghy catching on our anchor chain. I guess they got a tad too close!
Original Bruce has done us well so far!

 

[OldBawley]

I did not wait for retirement to go cruising. Saved up, and at a relatively young age ( youngest son 18 ) quit our jobs and left.
For us that means no income whatsoever, so one has to rethink his way of life. The consumer society is ok for working people, not for us, I have no intention to stop cruising and look for a job. So the first thing to do is to let go the holiday mode, after all, this is your new lifestyle. You have plenty of time to enjoy the world.
One thing I learned is to be careful with impulsive buying. In the pre Euro days we learned a way to be smart with buying stuff. We adopted the “chicken “ as a general currency. French franks, Italian and Turkish lira´s, Greek drachma, it was all difficult so we calculated in chickens.
A dead plucked chicken is about four Euro nowadays. Steaks are no good for comparing, the price of a steak in Turkey or Germany is way to different.
So, two coffee´s in a waterfront café costs one chicken, a night in a marina equals about a dozen of birds and a taxi drive of ten minutes costs five chickens.
We like chicken, not the plastic “Plof” variety containing mainly water and fat but the big yellow Greek birds that are sold with feet and head. Almost as good as a poulet de Bresse.
Imagining five of those meals, the decision to walk twenty minutes is easy to make. Healthier to.

 

[SamanthaTabs]

Price of a Big Mac can be used to determine the economy of a country, Boss has used this example for years. Chickens are definitely the way forward, that's brilliant! So tonight involved a "Rockestra" concert (amazing orchestra and vocalists, 13000 people in the stadium) then drinks in Malta which cost roughly 4 1/2 chickens thanks OldBawley for your story.

 

[charles_reed]

Just out of interest, how much is antifoul in Med Spain. Is it really worth loading the boat when I pay around £65 for 2.5l.

Also on mind, would local anti foul be better than bringing my own?

Cliff

NO It's not.

I've found local antfoul in Greece, France and Italy - about €48/2.5 litre and 50% of the price of UK imports - just as effective.

 

[charles_reed]

Not sure about Spanish prices but here in France 2.5lts of Cruiser Uno is up at €167! Spain was always as expensive from memory.... We bring ours out from the UK and save around €180 per year on 5lts.

Of course it is - it's a foreign import sold to exploit the mugginses who can't do their local investigation.

One thing IS worth bringing out from the UK - Marmite.

The main thrust of Nostrodamus argument is valid - in fact it's cheaper, for me, to live aboard in Greece than it is to live ashore in UK, food prices are about 65%, providing you don't go shopping in the elevated-price, tourist supermarkets.