Our cruising costs - month 27 for a middle-aged couple on a 30' boat.

[Cthoops]

November was our 27th month of cruising full-time on our Bristol 29.9.

We started November with an overnight passage from Beaufort, SC to northern Florida, bypassing Georgia, and we ended the month anchored in West Palm Beach waiting for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas.

Our expenses tend to be high when we are getting ready to go to the Bahamas. Hoping to spend five months over there this time, we spent a lot of money stocking up on groceries and other miscellaneous items that are difficult or impossible to buy on the islands. We also had an unexpected 8 day stay at a marina waiting out Tropical Storm Eta (which decided to come by twice), along with our typical stop on a ball in Vero Beach. Finally, we had to replace a few items that broke. Given all of the above, it was a pretty good month.

Here we go:

Groceries/Non-food Groceries/Alcohol: $947.30

Gasoline/Diesel: $56.73

Denatured alcohol: $17.75 (2 gallons - used West Marine coupon for savings)

Medical: $252.34

Cell data, iCloud storage, and Garmin inReach subscription: $258.22 (this included paying for a BTC Sim card and pre-paying for a month of internet access in the Bahamas once we arrive)

Mail: $100.00 (prepayment for future shipments from our UPS Store mailbox)

Laundry: $11.00

Uber: $24.79

Restaurants/Entertainment: $0.00 (damn Covid)

Annual USCG boat documentation fee: $26.00

Marinas: $498.88 (8 nights in a slip, 10 nights on a mooring)

Subscriptions: $135.79 (newspapers, streaming services, Good Old Boat and Aqua Maps renewal, etc.)

Maintenance: $320.47 (2 replacement blocks - one is the wrong size and is being returned; replacement hatch arm; replacement Bahamas courtesy flag)

Random Items: $154.07 (new skillet, CampaChem, coir, Bristol burgee, donated supplies to Bahamian preschool, batteries, marina tips)

Total: $2,803.34

2020 Monthly average: $2,777.37

2019 monthly average: $3,457.97

2018 monthly average (September – December): $4,465.95

Monthly average since starting to cruise: $3,330.02


I hope this is helpful.

[sailorboy1]

The Vero bugs thank you for your donation.

How was the fun/suck ratio all considering that you didn't get the smoked wings as suggested while in Beaufort SC

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

The Vero bugs thank you for your donation.

How was the fun/suck ratio all considering that you didn't get the smoked wings as suggested while in Beaufort SC

We tried to get them. After standing there for almost ten minutes surrounded by people not wearing masks without any acknowledgement from the employees despite trying to get their attention, I decided they didn’t need my business and I didn’t need the potential exposure. We’ll try again some other time down the road.

[sailorboy1]

Sad

And the suck/fun ratio? I don't care what happens each month with a cruiser as long as in the end the suck/fun ratio was good for them

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Sad

And the suck/fun ratio? I don't care what happens each month with a cruiser as long as in the end the suck/fun ratio was good for them

It was a good fun to suck ratio last month - we avoided the cold weather with the exception of one day, we had our favorite tomato pie in Beaufort, SC (as part of an extended stop in our favorite town!), and we hopped outside for a night. No complaints here!

[Shoalbay]

Very useful stuff for folks planning on living and cruising aboard. Thank you.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by Shoalbay

Very useful stuff for folks planning on living and cruising aboard. Thank you.

Glad you’ve found it helpful!

[fred4936]

Thank you again for posting! Getting more useful to us as time goes on, as we get closer ourselves.

[endlesspursuit]

Great post. Are you going to have any trouble entering the Bahamas or going to certain islands? Seems to change by the day and I haven't looked today. haha.

[jim King]

Not sure what the protocol is for sailing into the Bahamas, but if you fly in you need to get a Bahama health visa before you arrive. This includes a Covid test within five days of landing. Then after 5 days (of sailing) you need to take another Covid test before you are totally free to roam.

[endlesspursuit]

Here is some latest entry info in case you haven't seen this. https://bs.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

[bkrizmanic]

We have been keeping better track of our expenses the last few months, we were in a marina in GA for the month of November so marina expenses are high and we hope to see that drop. Boat expenses were the lowest so far this year as we have been upgrading a lot on the boat.

Groceries $731* Thanksgiving with a few single cruisers
Alcohol/Bars $44
Dining Out $243
Entertainment $ 26
Marina Fees $696
Boat Expenses $311
Medical & INS $271** Annual premium due this month ($150)
Ground Trans $39
Cell/Data $249
Shopping/Gifts $306
Fuel $33
Total $2949

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by jim King

Not sure what the protocol is for sailing into the Bahamas, but if you fly in you need to get a Bahama health visa before you arrive. This includes a Covid test within five days of landing. Then after 5 days (of sailing) you need to take another Covid test before you are totally free to roam.

Yes, right now it’s the same for sailing. Check in within 5 days of taking a test (test day is day zero) and have an approved health visa which you apply for after you get your test results. Then a follow up test 5 days from check in. At least that’s how it is for now.

We plan to head over in the next weather window.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by bkrizmanic

We have been keeping better track of our expenses the last few months, we were in a marina in GA for the month of November so marina expenses are high and we hope to see that drop. Boat expenses were the lowest so far this year as we have been upgrading a lot on the boat.

Groceries $731* Thanksgiving with a few single cruisers
Alcohol/Bars $44
Dining Out $243
Entertainment $ 26
Marina Fees $696
Boat Expenses $311
Medical & INS $271** Annual premium due this month ($150)
Ground Trans $39
Cell/Data $249
Shopping/Gifts $306
Fuel $33
Total $2949

Cool! Have you thought about starting a monthly thread? People do seem to find it helpful.

[chris mac]

Originally Posted by Cthoops

Yes, right now it’s the same for sailing. Check in within 5 days of taking a test (test day is day zero) and have an approved health visa which you apply for after you get your test results. Then a follow up test 5 days from check in. At least that’s how it is for now.

We plan to head over in the next weather window.

We just did our 5 day follow up test(checked in at west end friday)
It actually is pretty smooth and easy process, start to finish.