February 2 , 2001 - How Much Does It Cost To Go Cruising?

	Al and Beth on an atoll beach in Chagos.

A lot of people have asked us that question over the years. It's a little hard to know what to answer. There are so many variables. Everybody has their own idea of comfort; everybody has a different set of parameters for their boat and its operation. Some areas of the world you cruise in are more expensive than others. With all this in mind, let me give you some of the particulars that affect our cruising expenses over the past 3 years.

SUNFLOWER is a 42-foot fiberglass boat. She is very well maintained. We get many compliments on how nice she looks. In fact, most people don't believe that she is 25 years old! We do all our own work -- or as much as we can, with a lot of preventative maintenance. Al prefers it that way. If you do it yourself, you know it is done right.

We don't have a whole bunch of fancy equipment. We "grew up" with cruising in the late sixties, in a very minimal boat. BACCHUS had one electric light! No electronic equipment. Compass and sextant. Portable radio for time ticks. Hand-crank diesel engine. Manual anchor windlass. We sailed around the world in 3 1/2 years and thought ourselves quite comfortable. Our cruising costs at that time were $7 a day.

When SUNFLOWER was launched in 1976 she was much more luxurious. We had refrigeration! But we still had a manual anchor windlass, changed to electric in 1985. So over the years we have upgraded some things and added more equipment, but still have far, far less than most people feel is REQUIRED these days. We can spend our time and money going traveling or exploring the local scene, instead of being chained to fix-it chores aboard.

Sunflower in Malaysia.

We happen to be cruising in Malaysia/Thailand, a very economical area. Probably one of the reasons that we have lingered in South East Asia is that our dollar goes a long way in the local economies. Eating out is very affordable. Mind you, these are not big flash restaurants, mostly places where the locals are eating. We don't skimp on food when provisioning either, but we tend to have conservative eating habits.

We don't spend much time in marinas. This is by choice, rather than from a budget point of view, and we do utilize the marinas in Malaysia when we have need for them -- like for special boat projects, or when we will be away traveling.

Traveling has been a major factor in our cruising expenditures over the past 3 years. In 1998 we went to the States to visit family. My mother had a stroke, and our planned 5 weeks turned into 3 months. In 1999, we again went to the States as my mother's health deteriorated and she passed away. That year we also spent 7 weeks traveling in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. This was primarily done in backpacking style. Then last year, 2000, we flew to China for 4 weeks. This was a more up-market trip, with tours and flights and more expensive hotels.

OK. Time to give you some numbers. These figures do not include the income taxes that we pay. That varies too much each year, and we don't feel it is representative of a cruising cost. They also exclude insurance expense; we don't have any. We have never had boat insurance. We don't carry health insurance either. We are presently healthy. Also, health care here (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand also to some extent) is excellent, and the costs are affordable. We do not have a shoreside home or properties to maintain.

Significant items:

1998 $15,545 trip to States -- $8400, haul out and boat projects in Hong Kong -- $2100.

1999 $18,450 USA trip -- $4115, Digital video camera -- $2400, Laos trip -- $2000.

2000 $14,055 China trip -- $5300, haul out -- $1000, provisioning for Chagos -- $1600.

Total $48,050 which averages to $16, 016 and change.

So we're back to the age old question: how much does it cost to go cruising. One very wise person said, "It costs as much as you have."