Cruising on $500 per Month . . .

[zeehag]

ok i was just gonna say....


home grown.


foods, that is.....

[familycruisers]

Originally Posted by Springbok

Mr Moderator the rambler is picking on me again
Distorting my simple question asking for a simple answer re Free French Medical Aid. A bit of a giggle is'nt it . All newbee boaters remember to tear your boats apart re the check-list given
Clyde

Ok, I'm way far from reading this entire thing. I'm on page, wherever the Hell this comes from. Seriously? You have been the instigator here bro, IMHO. I'm digging this thread and all the appropriate responses have been great!
Hope this has been dealt with, sure it has, just had to say something...
Oh well, back to it.

[Boracay]

That would be the Robertson family?

[Gracies]

Originally Posted by Gracies

Or was it from finally having to resort to eating the "diet books". I´m sure during the autopsy a few pages might be found.

Loom no insult was intented. It was a small joke, which in text is hard to express.

Yes i do live on an island in the Med, one of the most expensive islands in the Med. But also one of the best places for cruising in the med. Summer costs are astronomical and through my knowledge of the med it would be near impossible to cruise the western med with even just a food budget of 500$. That equates to what, 300 EUR? My berth alone for a 20footer is 300 EUR /month. Unless you really are able to live on plain rice and tinned mushrooms then a budget like that on this side of the pond is only going to lead to malnutrition for a family of 5.

I like to cruise, both in my professional job and for myself. Just as an example, my budget for crew on board the big one is 15 EUR / person / day. This allows us to eat sensibly, healthily and fresh. For me fresh food is very important and as over here it is very easy to day sail between anchorages and harbours then it is also easy to victual with fresh produce. Especially in Mallorca which has incredible fruit and markets.

I´m sure in other more remote parts of the world you can survive on such a budget, but to set yourself a budget before thinking of exchange rates and the falling dollar is severely going to restrict possible cruising grounds.

PERHAPS the best idea is to down size the yacht, reduce maintainance costs and increase the money set aside for living costs.

Again sorry for any insult as it was not intented as such.

[avb3]

Well, I still live in the great white north (Canada). I took a very close tally this past month - so far I am at 97.88 for food.

Most of our fresh produce comes from Mexico or California, although we have some locally grown that is coming available this month. Think shipping charges, in other words.

I do not buy any processed food, make my own bread, and supplement protein with some deer and moose meat from the last two seasons. Lots of fresh veggies, fruit, and whole grains like oatmeal. I've learned the trick to extending the food is make it tasty; you eat slower, and enjoy it more.

I'm confident I can do food for $150 a month. Now, can I do the rest of the cruising for $350? I won't know until I get down there. I don't drink, so there is a saving, although I will always have some rum and wine for guests.

[Gracies]

Just reading back through some posts, maybe i expect too much when cruising. I dont have too much ´dosh´but i do like to eat well, i dont like the thought of ending a few weeks having lost 20 kg. I like to be fit and healthy. I like to know that in extreme situations, such as bad weather, i can count on my mental fitness and bodily fitness to get me through. You cannot remain in a good mental state with too basic provisions. We have all read the survival stories, and at some point due to lack of proper healthy food you brain starts to slow, your movements slow, and reactions slow.

[HDChopper]

Thanks for the exellent thread INDY & all who helped it along !

Gives me hope.

[Wavewacker]

Just wanted to add too, that my post up there of the news flash was intended to start up this thread as I thought it had died out and was an old one, I was wrong on one count, it was not old. But I guess it fired it up again and clarified some issues. I did not mean to be insulting at all.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by avb3

I'm confident I can do food for $150 a month. Now, can I do the rest of the cruising for $350? I won't know until I get down there. I don't drink, so there is a saving, although I will always have some rum and wine for guests.

Try living at home for a few months on the $150 food budget so you get in practice and learn some tricks.

Most guests will bring wine/beer when they come on board for Sundowners. (Except me, of course)

The ballance of the $350 will dissapear at the speed of a cat after a rat. Then you'll wonder how to save for the long term projects (maintenance etc)

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Try living at home for a few months on the $150 food budget so you get in practice and learn some tricks. . . . .
The balance of the $350 will dissapear at the speed of a cat after a rat. Then you'll wonder how to save for the long term projects (maintenance etc)

When living on land or sea it is difficult to "simulate" what it would cost to eat in a different location.
- - For instance, while living aboard (1 person) in Luperon, Dominican Republic and eating/drinking out every day/night it was difficult to spend more than $300/month on eating and drinking.
- - Move the location to Grenada and only eating lunch out each day (2 people) the costs of eating jumped three fold.
- - Move the location to Orlando, Florida and only eating out once every other week (mostly Chinese buffets) and the costs of eating tripled again.
- - So "where" you are makes a huge difference in the costs of living aboard when it comes to eating/drinking.
- - And strangely enough the cost of maintaining the boats varies in the opposite direction. A replacement potable water pump that I use cost $200 in Florida; $500 in Trinidad; and $800 in the D.R. (most of the cost differential is due to import duties and gouging/graft due to lack of competition).
- - But the overall cost of long term cruising is first directly related to the boat you have and secondly to the locations you cruise to and only in a minor way to food/drink. The whole early part of this thread deals with the biggest variable of the cost of cruising and that is the size and complexity of the boat. A VW Beatle is less costly to maintain than a Hummer.
- - But overall, long term cruising is a dramatically less expensive way to live than living on land. Access to excess stuff, junk food, and the overwhelming barrage of advertising to buy things you have no need or requirement for is absent when you cruise the seas and oceans.
- - Also there is the simple fact that when you remove the enormous "distractions" of living on land you will end up with a lot of "free time" on your hands. After the first year of living aboard and cruising outside your home country the daily routine of living settles down and you find all kinds of time on your hands. This gives you and/or your mate the chance to discover the joys of home cooking from scratch. Spending the day or afternoon baking and cooking becomes fun and personally satisfying. It is the "I made this" versus the "General Mills or McDonalds made this."

[w1651]

Originally Posted by zeehag

ok i was just gonna say....


home grown.


foods, that is.....

Awe Shucks !! Maybe for another income Zee?

[avb3]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Try living at home for a few months on the $150 food budget so you get in practice and learn some tricks.

I actually have been for probably the past 6-7 months. More then that, I am trying to replicate with what I know is locally available in the islands from what I remember, or the equivalent.

Yeah, I know it is just an expirement, but at least it gets me in the right direction. First of all, it needs to be healthy food, and then my frugality kicks in. I also like making it tasty, so spices are your friend

Most guests will bring wine/beer when they come on board for Sundowners. (Except me, of course)

Shoot, does that means I need to increase my tea/coffee budget for guests like you?

The ballance of the $350 will dissapear at the speed of a cat after a rat. Then you'll wonder how to save for the long term projects (maintenance etc)

Deep down I kinda suspect that. I am pretty handy, so that helps, but yeah, island maintenance costs I suspect will bite into $350 in a hurry.

Originally Posted by osirissail

When living on land or sea it is difficult to "simulate" what it would cost to eat in a different location....
- - For instance, while living aboard (1 person) in Luperon, Dominican Republic and eating/drinking out every day/night it was difficult to spend more than $300/month on eating and drinking.
- - Move the location to Grenada and only eating lunch out each day (2 people) the costs of eating jumped three fold.

I rarely eat out (I usually feel I can cook better then most places anyways) but there is the odd curry house that I go to. That being said, I do like sampling island specialties, so I guess I'm going to have to learn that one.

- - But the overall cost of long term cruising is first directly related to the boat you have and secondly to the locations you cruise to and only in a minor way to food/drink. The whole early part of this thread deals with the biggest variable of the cost of cruising and that is the size and complexity of the boat. A VW Beatle is less costly to maintain than a Hummer.

Great point. I don't think I will be going trans-atlantic any time soon; so essentially we are talking the Caribbean and west coast of Florida.

That being said, are there boats that inherently are less maintenance then others? Everything is a trade-off, but if one assumes same size of boat, what are the huge variables?

Ketch vs. Cutter both have their own idiosyncrasies, and I am not yet convinced one over the other, although leaning towards ketch. So rigging costs will be higher, but in theory less stress on other parts, especially sails as one can have more choice.

Obviously being outfitted with commonly used equipment saves on special order charges. Same goes for dinks and outboards. I will be cognizant of that.

I would really like some input on this point. Thanks!

Spending the day or afternoon baking and cooking becomes fun and personally satisfying. It is the "I made this" versus the "General Mills or McDonalds made this."

Yeah, I got this one pretty well nailed. The only processed food I buy is margarine, and sometimes cheese (working on how to make an acceptable ricotta cheese at home, but not sure if that is doable in the temperatures down south). The rest gets made. It actually doesn't take that long after you get used to living that way.

[zeehag]

i dont supplement my income... but i do have tomatoes, serrano chiles and basil and i will have mint and there are some melon vines on the dirt near my slip i am using for the duration of hurrycame season. i will be glad to be able to fish again...
i plan my disasters now-- one per month only.. current one, no pun intended, is electrical. when that is completed, we see what boat wants me to fix next.. poco a poco, as they say here... then is affordable.
and please do NOT make me use margarine--i use real butter from real cows. margarine has those things that are bad for ye in their contents. and tastes nasty.


i LOVE my ketch--i can do big winds nicely without knockdown , an d still sail balanced and sweet. and i can take pix of full moon between m,y masts...is awesome.

[w1651]

Great point. I don't think I will be going trans-atlantic any time soon; so essentially we are talking the Caribbean and west coast of Florida.

Your already in trouble. The islands are just inherently expensive. I was looking at the currency converter the other night and the best place on this side of the blue marble is Chile. Brazil,and Argentina fluctuate and are reasonable as well as the Rio Dulce.
But Chile is over 400 to one dollar plus the Gov has now got stability. Go further east and you eventually get to where the dollar is in the thousands to one. Africa is a good landfall also just beware when and where you decide to go. Anything south of Kenya is good and anything north of Liberia is bad unless on the Med.
But then your back to over 500 a month.

[avb3]

Originally Posted by zeehag

and please do NOT make me use margarine--i use real butter from real cows. margarine has those things that are bad for ye in their contents. and tastes

Low Calorie Becel only

Good ingredients, no transfats, no hydrogenated stuff.

Less saturated fats then butter, but I do get your message. Choices needed to be made, and for me this one is the healthier one. And yes I know about the palm oil.

I don't use a lot in a month (maybe 900 grams or so); most of my fat comes from extra virgin olive oil.

I'm kinda anal about what I eat, although every once in a while I cheat with by going to a curry house or Thai place. You DON'T want to know what they use