How much does it cost if I decide to go sailing around the world?

I don't like answering this question. Cost of living is very personal - there is just no one answer that can be accurate. It is like asking somebody what time it is, and you get a different answer each time. There are so many variables - your lifestyle, the size, type and condition of your boat, where you are, the economic times, how many people on board, etc. Our way of life at sea is simpler, that's for sure. In our current global economic situation, those affected are mostly those with debts. Most long-term cruisers own their boats 100% (no loans), earn passive income from investments or property rentals back home, work occasionally along the way and some leave their boats and fly home to work on adding to their cruising "kitty". We have met young cruisers to retirement aged couples (one even at 90 years old) and lots in between. I truly believe that the costs of cruising is 100% dependent on how much you have. Those who have more money to spend - spend more. That is human nature.

We have made a rule - follow the KISS principle. Keep-it-simple-stupid. During our year of preparing the boat, I have read lots of books and I surfed the net on anything about sailing. The more I read, the longer my "must have" list became. Understand that I was inexperienced during that time, and therefore I believed everything that was written. My husband and I had serious discussions about my "list" and he tried to dissuade me from having or buying them. Because I was part of the adventure, and THIS IS A JOINT VENTURE, both of us must agree to everything. He compromised because I HAVE to feel secure and happy too! I compromised to just add on items that I thought was for our comfort, security and safety. Off we went to the chandlery with our long list. I still remembered the sales person, Don. He circumnavigated the world for 9 years with his wife. He took my list, and one by one, he crossed it off. "You don't need this, and this, and this ...". In the end, my long list became just ONE item. Now, 6 years later, I am still thanking him.

We are not frugal to the extent that we cut off everything to bare bones. Our decision to go off sailing is not to "suffer", but to have fun, be happy and be thankful that we have each other, our families, and more importantly, our lives. Safety and security is of course, a must. Keeping in contact with our families is also very important. So, we concentrated on these things - other items are just included in the "wish list". Other cruisers have other priorities and different lifestyles, so their costs will end up different from ours.

Just like landlubbers, we have expenses upgrading or maintaining our floating home. At sea, it is important to stay on top of this at all times as our lives depend on her. We do not even try to cut costs on this. The rule is "you get what you paid for". As for comfort at sea, there is a gray area, and we do try to compromise. The best investment we had was the addition of a windvane in San Francisco. Although we have an autopilot, it is hardly used when we are sailing. It draws too much power and we end up having to turn on the engine just to charge the batteries. With a windvane, it is powered by the wind and it works 24/7 without any complaints. This means we do not have to handsteer the boat at all which makes us very tired and therefore make poor decisions eventually. So I call it a safety-must-have equipment.

In New Zealand, we spent a fair bit repairing Wiskun. After the Pacific crossing, we found a slow leak through the windows that eventually destroyed most of the wood housing on deck. What a heartache just to see the damage caused by the leak. With the help of our Canadian friend, Bill, we rebuilt it and stripped off almost all the woodwork on deck. The UV in the tropics is very harsh, and there is just no need for these woodwork on deck. They are mere decorations, just to make the boat look nice, but hard on maintenance. All windows and portholes were either rebedded or replaced, with materials that can withstand the tropics better. We also did a few improvements, more for comfort and some for safety. You learn so much more in the boatyard full of boats from different parts of the world and we were there for a long time.

As for cruising costs, it really depends on your lifestyle. We anchor when we can, but for security and safety, we stay in marinas. We sail, but we are not crazy enough to hang around an area prone to being hit by storms when there is no wind. The costs of repairing broken equipment just to save a few dollars on fuel costs doesn't make sense to me - not to mention the stress factor being stuck out there at sea waiting for wind. We also do not carry boat insurance. We are a ferro cement boat, therefore it is more difficult to get one anyway. We just ensure we anchor properly, as far away from other boats as possible. Other than port fees, visa costs, other costs in port will include food, provisioning, eating out (which we seldom do), happy hour, entertaining, internet, touring costs and marina/boatyard fees. The amount depends on where you are. In terms of living costs (exclude boat costs), U.S.A. was very expensive (California), French Polynesia was super expensive, Samoa was cheap, Tonga was ok, and Fiji was cheap. New Zealand was not what we expected. In our readings, we were told it was cheap to bring your boat there for repairs, maintenance, haul-out,etc. When we were there, we were actually surprised to find that it wasn't so. I believe the America's Cup race held in New Zealand was partly to blame. With the exposure gained, New Zealand became a favorite destination and all the prices went up with it. On top of this, the Kiwi dollar also appreciated, but the prices of goods did not drop. Being so far down under, freight costs of importing materials are very high. Food, I thought, was also quite high in comparison to other developed countries. I was actually very surprised that seafood (other than kiwi green mussels) was so expensive when the ocean is just within a few miles away. Labor cost was high too and at that time, very difficult even to find somebody to work. It was an employees' market - they go to the highest bidder. When we were waiting for a weather window to depart NZ, my husband got 4 job offers to stay and work. That was how bad it was at that time, and it was only a year and half ago. Times have changed - in a short time too.

Here in the Philippines, I must say that for the first time, we have a positive cash flow. Food is very cheap, as long as you stay with local products. Vegetables, fruits and seafood prices are so low, it still amazes me. The other day, I went to the market and bought a plastic (grocery bag size) full of vegetables and fruits - for just over Php 100 (US$2.00). Wow! $2 in Tonga will get me a few pieces of carrots.

There are so many restaurants, cafeterias, fastfood stands all around Davao city - some expensive but most are so affordable that it is not even worth it to stay home and cook. You can find most things in Davao, and imported items generally are more expensive. Even so, I find we are still ahead with all things considered. Boat parts and supplies are difficult to come by, but some are fabricated easily. We have been getting boat equipment and supplies from US and Canada with no problems - very much cheaper if by ship, just have to wait 4-6 weeks. This is because there are so many Filipino workers abroad and the system of sending goods home to their families is quite established.

On top of our day to day living expenses,our biggest expense now are our expat medical insurance and travel costs to either Canada or Norway to visit families. With the global economic situation at the moment, I find that we are in the right place at a perfect time - here in Samal Island.