We all opened the link to this article with one question in mind: how much do you need?
Sorry, to say, therefore that this is a very disappointing article: why didn't the editor require at least some numbers..."I spent X in the year of 2007 for my CC footer and with three of us on board...we eat out with wine VV times a week and stay in marinas dd nights a month on average.."
OR " most cruisers in the Med report that they spend HH a year at current prices, eating out quite frequently with beers/wine/cocktails......"
It would have taken a couple of hours of work and made the article far more useful.
---"We all opened the link to this article with one question in mind: how much do you need?"--- When You've spent a little more time on this forum you will realise that "how much things cost" is classified information. You are not Inland Revenue are you?
Assuming you own your own boat which is in good running order;are just into live aboard-not partying every day;looking for a quite peacful life;into self sufficient power systems-then clearly it need not cost a lot ie. normal food bills plus any harbour ,fuel and repair cost. Worthwhile remembering that our government guarantees any couple with one partner over 60 years old a minimum income of about £180 a week.
Clearly depends upon lifestyle you are used to but personally would consider this adequate for live aboard expenses so long as you meet my above criteria.
I am sorry you are disappointed and I think your criticism is justified - to a point. The reason I did not insist on figures, as you suggest, is that it is impossible to generalise. How much does it cost to keep a yacht in this country? Thousands and thousands if you are based in a marina on the Hamble. Hardly anything if you are lucky enough to have a free mooring in Loch Ness like Phil!
How much does it cost to cruise the Med is equally varied. It depends not only on the size of the boat, but also on how many nights you spend at anchor and how many in marinas, how often you eat ashore and how much you cater on board, how much wine you drink (and whether it is local plonk or good stuff), where you are (France and Italy are generally a lot more expensive than Turkey and Greece, and indeed different parts of Greece vary enormously) and so on.
I think Colin set out the different areas that have to be considered, and any of us, making plans for a summer in the Med, would maybe give those different areas different priorities. I know from friends cruising out there that costs vary wildly from week to week according to where they are, what the weather is like (bad weather means more nights in expensive marinas) and also unexpected events including necessary repairs - again costs vary according to how far away from an engineer, sailmaker, travel hoist etc you happen to be at the time.
Marina costs vary from a fraction of the UK rate in more remote areas, to multiples of the UK rate in major tourist honeypots, even in the "cheaper" countries. We paid as much for a lunchtime shopping stop in Marmaris a few years ago as we would have expected to pay for an overnight stay in most UK East Coast marinas.
Colin is right to say budget as realistically as you can. But I think it would be unrealistic to suggest there is a simple formula for a universal Mediterranean budget.
Quote......... Colin is right to say budget as realistically as you can. But I think it would be unrealistic to suggest there is a simple formula for a universal Mediterranean budget.... end quote.
Fair comment, but there is little in Colin’s article that is helpful just a list of obvious facts, if I were marking his essay I would have to say " could do better".
PS, been cruising Greek waters all year round since retirement three years ago.
I agree with all that has been said and commented, at the end of the day though, If you have the courage to actually go and do it, what ever your budget, and based on Phil's post, even if your budget is tight, I am sure you will get by, because once you get to the point where you do have the courage, you will have planned and dreamed long enough and if you take that step you will have to make it work, you know, all the stuff about crossing bridges when you get to them, thats what makes the adventure real
Yes I would like to, but what is there to say that Rod Heikell has not already said in his books which are without a doubt the most definitive works on the subject.
However as my cruising is done on a very restricted budget I have to avoid expensive marinas in favour of the small boatyards at the annual haul out.
The first time that I used such a yard was quite an experience, the equipment employed would make a health and safety inspectors blood freeze back in the UK, huge diesel powered winches haul a network of unguarded steel cables that are attached to massive wooden cradles upon which the boat has been driven.
Baulks of timber liberally greased with sheep’s fat are placed under the cradle which is manoeuvred to the desired place in the yard by the brute strength of the yard hands using incredibly large crow bars, the yard hands wear flip flops and shorts, not a hard hat or steel toecap boot in sight.
The boat is then hydraulically jacked up, propped and the cradle is returned to the water, launching is a reverse of the procedure.
And the cost last year for the haul out pressure clean two weeks storage and re launch was 350 Euros for a twenty seven footer.
Why haul her out? Even on the South coast of England, leaning out on scrubbing post can cost only £15 per day. So if you buy a small pressure washer (about £40) and an extension cable to reach shore power - ( included in the £15 charge where I dry out), given two tides and a dry day (difficult to arrange this summer or last I accept), then you can do the sea cocks, grease the prop and scrub her off on one tide, antifoul the next. That would leave a heap of Euros to pay for the odd night in an overpriced marina. (Have just come back from a few weeks away - a whole week in Portrush harbour sheltering from gales cost £50 - great value; several nights at anchor (and underway) - no cost, great; one night in Dun Laoghaire Marina - cost £34 - not so great.
Unfortunately, or sometimes fortunately, we do not have the benefit of a tidal range like you chaps in the UK, just half a meter or so barometrical influence occasionally.
What will it cost-as far as personal living expenses are concerned I believe its a matter of what you are used to.Likewise in terms of harbours,marinas etc.
If like me you are used to paying hardly anything for moorings etc.,maintain and look after your own boat right down to engine repairs'minor sail repairs etc. and lead an inexpensive lifestyle at home due to limited finances then same will apply if living aboard BUT if you have been used to a good salary and associated lifestyle this may be a habit that may be hard and will take time to kick.Likewise if your boat has finance attached to it.
Because most of the time I pay hardly anything here in UK then given awful weather or similar quite prepared to pay out for a few days at an expensive marina if necessity arises.
So which comes first the dream, the boat or the money?
Is the dream the inspiration, the boat the facilitator and the money the tool? or is the dream the facilitator, the boat the tool and the money the inspiration?
Whichever way you look at it if you have the dream and get a capable boat the cost of eating at home or on the boat need to be spent, the moorings, maintenance, insurance, fuel etc need to be spent if the boat is used 24/7. Its comparable to driving to work everyday and having to pay carparking in some major town or commuting on the train at £150 a month (conservative cost).
I want to do it! We have saved and brought the boat, I have taught the wife to love sailing, Will we find the money ? I dont know. What will it cost? It may cost us our lives. But one thing is for sure if we dont have a go we will never know the answer.
I have been following this couple who are doing it. Take a look they dont say the cost in £.s.d. but I dont ask my neighbour how much his electric bill is.
Well I was minded to do a bit of detective work for all those who need to know the financial costs and on the "Do it" web site there is a clue to the cost in their "Clearance Charges" To quote:
"The authorities in Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador each relieved us of close to £100, and then there were the charges to transit the Panama Canal."
These are listed as 6% of the boat expenses so if we say that each cost £100 (rounding up for error correction) then 6% = £400 or 1% = £66.666r. We can again round up for error and call it £70 = 1% which when mutiplied by 100 = £7,000 total boat expenses.
But the boat expenses are only 56% of the annual budget therefore the boat expenses (£7,000) divided by 56 = 1% of the total annual cost. 7000/56 = 125 = 1% of total.
Therefore the total costs for "Do it" are £125 x 100 = £12,500 (as a rough guide) their annual spend, £1042 the monthly cost or £241 the per week.
Now before any one asks - Sorry folks go to the web site via the link and work the rest out yourselves.
If the figures are wrong then the information on their site is misleading but it cant be far out.
If you want to know charges for Panama they are about £700 for up to 100ft.so long as you hand line(dont need a tug)-sometimes you raft up along side in Locks/raft up to tug or just sit in middle like a spider with one warp to each of four corners-just Google Panama Canal-very interesting site and you can watch big ships locking thru on Web Cams.
Never done it but it sounds like great fun and is common practise amongst US sailors.
Berthing - less than 50 Euros since launch in mid-May Fuel - Diesel costs are virtually the same as in UK, somewhere around 1.50 Euros per litre Food - this year I would estimate that food costs could be higher than they are in UK, a big increase since last year. Eating out is far more costly than it was, our range has been 20 - 50 Euros fpr two, including whatever liquids we fancied at the time.
Since we returned to Greece in early May, and including all the maintenance items we bought at the chandlery in Preveza (antifouling, rollers and trays, rope, distilled water, minor items, hose, etc.) we have drawn about 2000 Euros from our account in 2.5 months.
Our over-winter storage at Preveza Marine, a top-class yard, cost 1500 Euros including haul-out and return, pressure wash, putting in cradle (including use of the cradle), October to April inclusive.
Thats the cost we have estimated based on our costs when sailing round the Ionian last year. Great to get it confirmed, a big Thanks! For us it confirms our budget plans.
For Phil
How to work out the toll charge for the canal can be found on this web site.
US-United States.As for handline transit of canal click on following link and click PDF file for handline transit-makes interesting reading even if you never go there.
Actually its about $600 for up to 50ft.plus $900 refundable surety-so about three hundred pounds and given the distance it saves in not having to go around south America-but then again !
Only really got into this one because our grandchildren have moved to NZ so temptation to follow by way of Pacific-a life long ambition- becomes ever more tempting.
or look at the web cams ?
