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Sonosailor · 15-11-2003, 08:19

Hi Kia:

Got your email - hope you like Dawn's website about my trip home.

Dawn and I are not rich, and have not had super incomes - she is a teacher and I am a water & sewer engineer for a small municipality. What we did from the start is controlled our output. We have lived frugally, and overcame the instinctive and cultural pressures to have children. We sold our home 7 years ago, and moved into a modest apartment in an unfavoured part of town. No smoking, no coffeeshop runs, no giant SUVs, enjoying homemade wine and beer. We intended to keep to a very small budget for a boat - expecting to stick close to GordMay's advice (elsewhere in the Forum) - but the unexpected happened.

Like many of my generation, our dreams got a boost in an unfavourable way. My father passed away, and left me some money. I chose to put all of it towards the boat, and ended up with a well beat up Tobago 35. That, and the fact that we are close to 50 are our secrets to a reasonable cruising budget. We are hopeful that our money, all in equity, will suddenly reappear as the stock market continues to heal.

We hope to maintain insurance for the boat - as it represents a big part of our retirement savings - but expect it to be expensive. Conversations with other cruisers is that, including insurance, you can expect to spend ~10% of the boats original cost per year to keep it in good safe working order. It is this reason that many people keep the size of the boat in check. You may be making the same mistake we have, buying more boat than you can afford to maintain. I think we can survive this over the short term, but over time, we may see the error of our ways.

We have had a life of sailing Hobie Cats, thanks to a side job of selling them, and have supplemented our knowledge over the years with Power and Sail Squadron courses. Right now, I am working towards my Ham Radio license.

Offshore experience is limited to volunteering on two really tough boat deliveries, getting Cat Tales home from Martinique, and day-sailing through the Caribbean.

Presently, plans are to enjoy the Atlantic from New Brunswick Canada to Venezuela. Interestingly, we presently are including plans to get back to Canada each summer.

The (British) Virgins are a little more expensive than the rest of the islands, and offer much less opportunity for the cheaper foodstuffs. The other islands do offer better opportunities to "go native" as Troubledour suggests; with local small markets for fresh produce, chicken, and fish. I have never been to the US Virgins, and would like to learn more myself.

Please keep the questions coming. It would be great to pick you up on the way down the coast next fall.

15-11-2003, 08:19	#8
Sonosailor Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Fredericton, NB, Canada in the summer and fall; Caribbean in winter and spring aboard Cat Tales. Boat: FP Tobago 35 - Cat Tales Posts: 356	Hi Kia: Got your email - hope you like Dawn's website about my trip home. Dawn and I are not rich, and have not had super incomes - she is a teacher and I am a water & sewer engineer for a small municipality. What we did from the start is controlled our output. We have lived frugally, and overcame the instinctive and cultural pressures to have children. We sold our home 7 years ago, and moved into a modest apartment in an unfavoured part of town. No smoking, no coffeeshop runs, no giant SUVs, enjoying homemade wine and beer. We intended to keep to a very small budget for a boat - expecting to stick close to GordMay's advice (elsewhere in the Forum) - but the unexpected happened. Like many of my generation, our dreams got a boost in an unfavourable way. My father passed away, and left me some money. I chose to put all of it towards the boat, and ended up with a well beat up Tobago 35. That, and the fact that we are close to 50 are our secrets to a reasonable cruising budget. We are hopeful that our money, all in equity, will suddenly reappear as the stock market continues to heal. We hope to maintain insurance for the boat - as it represents a big part of our retirement savings - but expect it to be expensive. Conversations with other cruisers is that, including insurance, you can expect to spend ~10% of the boats original cost per year to keep it in good safe working order. It is this reason that many people keep the size of the boat in check. You may be making the same mistake we have, buying more boat than you can afford to maintain. I think we can survive this over the short term, but over time, we may see the error of our ways. We have had a life of sailing Hobie Cats, thanks to a side job of selling them, and have supplemented our knowledge over the years with Power and Sail Squadron courses. Right now, I am working towards my Ham Radio license. Offshore experience is limited to volunteering on two really tough boat deliveries, getting Cat Tales home from Martinique, and day-sailing through the Caribbean. Presently, plans are to enjoy the Atlantic from New Brunswick Canada to Venezuela. Interestingly, we presently are including plans to get back to Canada each summer. The (British) Virgins are a little more expensive than the rest of the islands, and offer much less opportunity for the cheaper foodstuffs. The other islands do offer better opportunities to "go native" as Troubledour suggests; with local small markets for fresh produce, chicken, and fish. I have never been to the US Virgins, and would like to learn more myself. Please keep the questions coming. It would be great to pick you up on the way down the coast next fall.