I've had a pleasant few minutes reading the posts here. The points of view are very interesting and give lots of
food for thought. I have to side to with David and Sean. As one post said we have to decide what we need and what we want. I have been away for a couple of weeks on our
new boat and my wife and I were as happy as larks. My 13 year old stepson was happy enough but spent a great deal of time with all the
electronics that he brought with him - portable
DVD, PSP, CD and tape players etc. Once ashore we had to spend money which we didn't really want to just to keep him sweet (by the way this parenting lark is very new to me!).
My wife and I just wanted to go to pick up a
mooring or
anchor and listen to a play on the
radio or even better read a book. Unfortunately we managed neither in the two weeks
cruise. The boy just could not understand that silence can be enjoyed much more than the tinny sound coming out of his headphones. But that's a generational thing I suppose and I'm sure that at 13 I would have been the same if these gizmos had been around in those days.
Howsever, this illustrates the two extremes of the debate here. We are both in our mid to late 50's and wanted to enjoy the simple life but our boy would have none of it and needed entertainment all the time.
I spent two and a half years in the
Caribbean living on first a 24 footer and then, luxury, a 29 footer. I was in my late 30's/early 40's when joints bent a little better than now! Despite the high
price of almost everything, compared to UK or the US, it was possible to live on a small
budget. I and other boats used to go to
Venezuela two or three times a year to fill the boat to the gunn'ls with as much foodstuff because it was so
cheap there. The main expense was attending the happy hours in the Boatyard bar in Prickly Bay,
Grenada.
Basically those of us
long term cruising were all careful with our money but managed to have a good time. Everyone looked after everyone else and shared our expertise when the inevitable problem occured. If someone came in who was really broke we could always find the
price of a cold
beer for them.
We have our plan for three years time to set off again but I do worry a lot about my stepson because he has no
concept of a four week
passage across the Pond and how he can keep himself amused. Still perhaps he will by then have learned to read a book rather than listen to one and realise the pleasure he has missed.
Sorry, I've realised that this is very disjointed and that I may be responsible for a sudden rise in the suicide rate!!
However, you can do the cruising you want on a limited budget if you stay out of expensive
marinas, use an
internet cafe to send an
email rather than make expensive international calls and eat out only on a special occasion.