A Sail of Two Idiots (56 page)

KAYAKS.
You should have a kayak or two aboard. We got a great deal on two inflatable kayaks from West Marine; they weighed only about 20 pounds each, folded up easily into duffel bags, came with pumps, and were inflated within two minutes. They had collapsible paddles and were deep and sturdy (we could stand in them to get back onto the boat).

The kayaks were great backups to the dinghy, were extra “cars,” were good exercise, and were fun in shallow tributaries, which were water trails within the mangrove “forests,” usually populated with turtles, manatees, nesting birds, and other wildlife, best seen using quiet, shallow-bottomed transport.

COMFORT.
Make sure you have comfortable places to sit, read, and sleep. I can't understate the importance of this. We did
not
have a comfortable place to plop ourselves and were amazed at how much time we spent regretting it. The padding for cushions that is meant to prevent mold growth is practical but not comfortable. None of our seating reclined. Even our mattresses were hard; we finally broke down on St. Martin and got some extra foam to make them softer. Get a couple of light, mobile, adjustable seats made just for boats if your boat doesn't have comfy built-in seating. Our trampolines were a great place to hang out, but they offered no back support. We found the perfect camper-type chairs with wide feet (so they didn't fall through the trampoline weaving or puncture it), but they broke halfway through the trip. A hammock that we hung occasionally was also a pleasant nice-to-have.

COMMUNICATIONS.
Many boats have a single-sideband radio (SSB). They let you listen and broadcast large distances, and you can send and receive e-mails (for a hefty fee). If your boat has an SSB, great. Ours didn't, and it's an expensive addition. We found that Internet was available almost everywhere, whether via a paid-for service, a freebie, or an unsecured network. To pick up signals, however, we needed more than our laptop's internal wireless card. There are many configuration options to increase the signal amplification. We opted for an external 15 dB omnidirectional antenna, with amplifier, both located in the cockpit. The amplifier was wired to a router located inside the boat (on our navigation center) and connected to our laptop. This system was powerful enough to pick up Internet signals 7 miles away, so it sometimes provided connectivity even while we were under sail. Stronger signals allowed us to stay in touch with friends and family (and boat-part vendors) by downloading a free computer software program called Skype. Conversations were sometimes free (when calling from Skype to Skype) or just a few cents on the dollar.

HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU HAVE?
Only you know what that will be. In just our first five months, we spent over $30,000 in parts and repairs, from new batteries to salon windows to electrical items to the first haulout. We had a new anchor, a replaced propeller, and new seat cushions. We had yearly boat payments of $13,200 and paid about $4,500 for boat insurance. Cleaning supplies also ate up a surprising
amount of money. The cost of cruising guides and charts (electronic and paper) was over a thousand dollars. We also went through quite a bit of money on Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Martin, and Grenada on more parts and repairs of alternators, voltage regulators, starters, bent propellers, winches, leaking compasses, bent anchors, new hatches, new anchor chain, another haulout, new rigging lines (sheets), and everything else you read about in the What Broke sections. This was not chump change. We also upgraded every time we replaced something, such as our house- and engine-starter batteries, alternator (one of them), anchor, anchor chain, chartplotter, lighting (switching to LED), Internet gadgets, and wind generators. Add eating, renting cars, and engaging in other fun things (such as hashing!), and I estimated that we spent about $40,000 to $50,000 per year.

That was us. We've had friends hit by lightning (and found their insurance companies only partially paying for affected items, deducting for depreciation) and needing new transmissions, new motors, new gensets, and new sails, among other things. That's what's scary about boating and being on a limited budget; you never know what might come at you. This was when the less-is-more adage is good—less stuff; less to break. You can spend more, or you can spend less. Just know that if something is made for marine purposes, you will pay a premium for it. And if you're unlucky enough to have to fly parts to your location, you can add that to your expenses.

We saved where we could. We had enough money to take the tours we wanted to take and rent a car for a day, but we were also satisfied with getting around by bus or bike most of the time. You might not be, so you'd need more money than we did for taxis or tour operators.

We didn't want to go back “home” often, so we didn't need flight money. A few nights in island hotels might have been nice, though, for a boat break. We didn't eat out much, and didn't eat meat, so we did okay with our food budget (although we still spent more than we thought we would). Our friends who caught their own fish did even better.

HOW TO GET MONEY.
ATMs were hit or miss in the Bahamas but fairly widespread everywhere else. You never knew, though, whether you'd get U.S. dollars or the local currency. Some ATM machines had fees; some didn't. Not all stores took credit cards, and many couldn't handle large bills. It's always a good idea to carry U.S. $20 bills. Almost all the islands accepted U.S. dollars, although they would then give you change in their currency.

REPAIRS.
B.O.A.T. (Remember, Bring Out Another Thousand?) If you decide to buy a boat, be prepared to work on it, or watch someone else work on it, or help someone else work on theirs. And when you're shaking your head in disbelief at how many repairs you're making, just remember I told you so.

ISLAND COSTS.
Some islands had prices for tourists that were different from those for the locals. We didn't find that to be as pervasive as it might have been in the past, but islanders who thought they could get away with it, did. We noticed this mostly when buying produce at a local market. We learned to go with a local or listen to what the locals were paying. If the vendor tried to charge us more, we went elsewhere.

Soda, beer, and junk food are expensive in the islands. Paper goods can be too. Diet anything can be difficult to find, even at restaurants and bars, although this is slowly changing. You can usually at least find Diet Coke. If you find light beer at all, you will pay a hefty premium for it. Diet mixers? Forget about it.

The cheapest place in the Caribbean was the Dominican Republic. The most expensive places were St. Kitts, Mustique, and the European Union money-based countries. The best shopping (groceries, hardware, and boat stuff) was on St. Martin and Puerto Rico, although the Dominican Republic was a strong runner-up. Unique souvenirs were hard to come by anywhere. Most islands sell the same things (made in China), only with a different island name on them.

Eating out can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. There are shacks and fancy places. What you spend depends on your budget.

Buses are a good way to feel the vibe of a place, not to mention getting around cheaply. Hash if you can.

PARKING.
How you decide to “park” your boat once you're at your destination will have a big influence on how much money you spend. You may have a choice of staying in a marina, picking up a mooring, or anchoring. For us, anchoring was our first choice (unless we were forced to do otherwise). Even though marinas provided some conveniences, we didn't like the price, lack of privacy, or noise. Moorings are hit or miss. You never know what ground tackle is on the bottom and how secure the connections are. Moorings weren't part of our budget either. Whichever option you choose (and they'll likely vary), you will have an audience if another boat is nearby. There is nothing more entertaining than watching someone else screw up while anchoring, docking, or mooring.

GUIDES/CHARTS/BOOKS/CHIPS.
This list could go on forever, so it's not too specific. We bought many books that were supposedly must-haves on a boat and never opened them. Our priority was electronics, so the Garmin chip for our Garmin chartplotter was a must-have. After a few months I found that plotting our trips on my computer (using the Garmin software) was much easier than using paper charts, and I could transfer the information to my chartplotter chip. After a trip, if I wanted to save the track I just generated, I could use the chip to transfer the data to my computer and save it.

That said, paper charts came in handy when we had to keep our plotter in the oven during electrical storms. They also helped us get our bearings when the chartplotter screen was too small to cover a wide area. You'll remember that we had paper-chart backups to our electronic charts (on a chip) and also had two handheld GPS units (although that might have been overkill). You, as prudent sailors, will also have backup systems.

Paper charts are expensive, but you might get lucky if you know boaters who don't need them anymore. Get on the VHF or post a notice in a marina/harbor to see if anyone is trying to off-load their charts (and any country courtesy flags, while you're at it).

Make sure you have the most current cruising guides for the area you're going to visit. Just remember that they'll be at least two years out of date by the time you read them. You'll be surprised at how much can change.

Make sure you have manuals for all your equipment, including what you've brought on board and what came with your boat (for example, the dinghy motor and alternators).

There are plenty of books on boat maintenance, sailing how-tos, and general tips for living aboard. There's a good selection at
www.internationalmarine.com
. Read them before you go and have them at the ready once you're out there and can then understand what you read earlier.

WEATHER.
Find some good Internet sources for weather and then bookmark them. Use all of them. Here are our favorites.

www.buoyweather.com
—We paid for the subscription and found them to be fairly accurate for both wind and sea conditions.

www.windguru.com
—Just about everyone uses this website for wind and sea conditions. We liked to compare their data to that on the buoyweather site.

www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml
—During hurricane season, having access to the National Hurricane Center statistics was imperative.