Yachting World — November 2017

84 November 2017

Practical

such as Singapore (which she describes as a

“costly but fun splurge”). Despite this, for most

cruisers the actual cost per month remains

very similar: instead, it is lifestyle and spending

habits that change depending on region visited,

rather than money actually spent. For example,

in Thailand Behan and her family often ate

out, went on excursions and had boat work

done due to the low labour costs. This relative

extravagance drove their cruising costs up.

In the South Pacific, they were very careful

with provisioning, rarely entered marinas and

refrained from going on dives or inland tours

which were costly. Consequently, they were

able to stick to their budget, despite the high

local prices.

This is where forward planning can help

enormously with keeping your costs low. While

in the USA, Behan and her family stocked

up with consumer goods that are cheaper in

the States. They chose to do boat work and

maintenance in Mexico and Asia where it was

relatively affordable. They provisioned for their

season in the Pacific while still in Mexico and

therefore needed only to top up with fresh food

in the islands.

There is a definitive answer to the question

‘How much does it cost to sail around the

world?’. A better question to ask yourself is

what kind of lifestyle you’d be happy with. Or

what sacrifices and compromises you’d be

willing to make.

Nick and I don’t have an extravagant lifestyle.

However, we like eating out once or twice a

week, treating ourselves to the occasional stay

in a marina, and once in a while we’ll pay for an

excursion or hire a car. We also knew from the

beginning that we’d need to fly home once a

year to see family, so boat storage costs and

flights are two of our biggest expenses. Every

cruising family or couple will have their own

different priorities.

One thing is for certain, Nick and I – and

almost every other cruiser we’ve met in the

past two years – agree that the compromises

are worth it. Also, no matter the difference in

budget between the 32-footer on a shoestring

and the multimillion dollar yacht next door, we

all swim in the same gin-clear water.

{ }

If you plan to return home, budget for storage. For

Ruby Rose (38ft), storage costs are $12 per foot

per month ($480) plus haul-out costs ($400) and

hurricane tie downs ($500 one-off charge)

insurance (generally up to three per cent of

the boat’s value) may vary. Monthly costs will

depend on a number of factors: some cruisers

sail everywhere no matter how light the winds,

others will happily turn on the engine and burn

diesel to get to their destination a bit faster.

Everyone has different habits when it comes to

buying alcohol, say, and internet data usage.

Finally, discretionary spending is clearly

optional, depending on budget and personal

preference. Based on seven years’ sailing

around the world, Behan believes that for most

people £1,500-£2,500 per month is realistic

(and, of course, anywhere upwards of that).

Behan and her family have experienced

significant variation in costs from one region to

another. Australia is one of the most expensive

countries for cruisers due to high provisioning

and labour costs. Asia on the other hand is

almost ludicrously cheap, with a few exceptions

Terysa Vanderloo and her

partner Nick are in their third year

of sailing around the world on

their Southerly 38. They blog and

produce videos from their trip at

http://www.yachtrubyrose.com

GettinG kitted out

Our biggest costs, after the boat, were

the many items of equipment we bought

specifically to make offshore and ocean

passages safer and more enjoyable: the

Hydrovane, hydrogenerator, SSB radio,

Parasailor, a comprehensive first aid kit,

a Redbox router, satellite phone and air

time, and a Yellowbrick tracker are some

of the costlier items we have on our boat.

We estimate the total cost of fitting our

boat out for offshore passagemaking to

be no less than £20,000. Needless to say,

if buying a used boat with the intention of

offshore cruising, it’s recommended that

you look for boats that already have some

of this equipment on board.

Left: doing repairs such

as electrical and engine

maintenance yourself can be

cost saving, but set aside a

contingency fund for jobs that

need professional work

Tor Johnson

Sailing Totem

Sailing Totem

Savings can be made on small

expenditures such as hair cuts

Safety equipment, such as

EPIRBs and ocean category

liferafts, will consume a large

chunk of most cruisers’ set-up

budget