Cost of cruising

[chuckr]

There are a lot of old heads on this board who know a lot more than we do and some new folks are just learning. One constant question we get is what does it cost us or we hear you must be really rich to do what you do or something similar. We record every penny we spend and have for a number of years and each year publish what it costs us.


We just published our costs for the past 8 years of full time liveaboard  cruising - we do not have a house, car ect just the boat and an incredible lifestyle.


here is a link to the spreadsheet that I put on cruiser and sailing forum


www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f128/8-years-of-cost-data-179783.html

[sailbleu]

Wowww Chuck ,

surely you and/or your wife had to be accountants in the corporate life back then , so detailed and meticulously.
You know , I find your monthly costs fairly high , 3000 to 4000$/month , not sure if we are in the same league .
And I have to tell you that we are not really on a budget here . Also 7 months Med. , 5 months home in which 2 weeks ski near Zermat Swiss/Italy.
I would think our average is - house, car , grandchildren ( big expense ) included mind you - around 3000 Euro .

Love to hear other opinions.

Regards

[chuckr]

SailBleu -- did your expenses include the transportation to Swiss to ski, the hotel, the lift tickets, the ski rentals?  if we did that all those costs would have been included. 

[vasko]

Just FYI: a week half board in Zermat including transport from and back London in a good hotel can be found for about £350-£400 pp - two person sharing a room IF NOT during school holidays - btw this do not include ski pass

[sailbleu]

Feb 16, 2017 7:19:33 GMT chuckr said:

SailBleu -- did your expenses include the transportation to Swiss to ski, the hotel, the lift tickets, the ski rentals?  if we did that all those costs would have been included. 

All these cost you mention are also included in my estimation Chuck.
Must say that on the house there's no more loan to pay off , so only maintenance costs.
We don't rent the place like many life-aboards do as we still need it in the winter.

Regards

[Mistroma]

I couldn't download your spreadsheet but will try again later. The figures do seem high when used to our style of European sailing. We mainly anchor and rarely stay in a marina apart from end of season for lift and storage and I also do all my own maintenance work.

I'd guess that we spend 2,300 - 2,500 Euro/month but that includes running our car and house back in Scotland (insurances, local house tax, broadband, heating etc.). We pay annual costs for these but only use them for 4-5 months each year. I imagine our figures would be close to Sailbleu's if we had children & grandchildren. Selling our home in Scotland would probably save about 4,800 Euro/year but we'd spend extra living full time on our boat. I'd guess final figure might be around 2,100 - 2,300 Euro /month.

I suspect one difference might be expenditure on expensive items over an 8 year period. We replaced our sails last year and that would add 400 Euro/month to last year's figures. Capital expenditure is in the same account but a sep. "logical pot" so doesn't show in normal expenditure. However, that still only takes 2016 to 2,700 - 2,900 Euro/month. I suppose that's getting close to bottom end of your expenditure but only because we still spend a lot keeping a home in Scotland. I'd also hope to avoid a repeat for several years and average would drop.

I had a very detailed planning spreadsheet over a 20 year period which covered all expenditure and likely future expenditure. It was quite complex and used mainly for saving and investment planning. One of the major risk factors I listed was "complete collapse of financial system". That one was in the extremely unlikely to happen but high impact category. Fortunately, hedged against that by selling almost all our banking shares by 2006/7. More luck than anything else, though my day job was global project management and risk management was a daily concern.

I abandoned the planning spreadsheet many years ago but do still log all income and expenditure and assign a category. Figures quoted above were obtained by simply looking at annual income, expenditure and savings. They will be accurate but I don't sub-total boat related costs as annual surplus is the only figure of interest.

[chuckr]

Mistroma  - guess a bit of the difference is we are full time liveaboards and that does take a bit of toll on the boat as well as a bit higher cost as we are in the water almost all the time and of course spend 6-7 months in a marina - with the exception of the western Caribbean and then we had to take a marina in Cartagena for insurance purposes.  Also as full time aboard all our meals, heat, going out ect, everything we spend when sitting and waiting are included along with all our inland trips to site see. 

If you can not open the spreadsheet please send me a note and I will email it to you. 

[davidfreedomsong]

I don't understand how the expenses are so high? You guys and gals must be living lavishly or something very close to it. I live, with my wife, in Santa Cruz California. Everything here is the most expensive it could be almost anywhere in the world, this is a very expensive place to live. And we spend only $4000 usd a month max on all expenses. That includes $500 usd, just to keep the boat at the harbor monthly. We are not poor people, we eat out at high end restaurants....and we only blow off 4000 a month at most. Just dropping the harbor fees would make my monthly expenses down to 3500. Then if I take out the expensive eating, out at least 3 times a week, that would remove another 1000 from my monthly expenses which takes us down to 2500. Associated bills, around 100 for tv and internet, 200 for power and gas, another 200 for auto gas, ect ect land costs.......it seems like it would cost around a grand a month to live on the boat (away from a harbor and its fees) And even that could be reduced by living cheap. I purchased a modern day "Still" so I can make my own beer, wine, hard booze....and it is pretty cheap, mostly water and sugar. I have done extensive research about solar and then dug around locally and found 300 watt panels for $200 usd each, added a really good sine wave inverted and all the protection fuses and regulators....for under 1000 usd. I should be able to keep the power going for years as long as I stay in an area with sun (not Alaska, I have no intention of heading to the cold weather) I subscribe to many youtube channels like Delos, adventure adrift...ect. Many of them seem to be pretty much penny-less. But they seem to be able to move along and have fun for next to nothing. Some of them have money, or get it in a variety of ways along their path. I do not have a large retirement (self employed) so I have to think about how to do this for cheap. I hope I can live on the boat for under 1000 a month, aside from repairs that I hope I can start an account around 250 a month to keep up with. The boat is almost new, I am replacing everything I can with new parts so we are starting off "fresh".....new sails, new pumps, new thru-holes, new everything as best I can afford it. I setup a long distance wireless network for cheap, all 12 volt so I can run it anytime from the boat without converting to 120 volt (us). I only have 2 items left to setup, I have a large custom arch to install so I can setup all the solar I have, and a water maker....then the boat is ready to go anywhere I want to take it. We plan to head south (warmer weather) into Mexico, down around the baha and up into the gulf...spend at least a year or two there....then depending on politics continue south until we make it to the panama canal, cross over to the Atlantic and head out to the islands. Hang around the islands until we cannot stand the heat any more, then head back to the east coast of the states....maybe cross over to Europe (my wifes idea)....I personally have no interest in the EU areas.....they charge for everything and tax you to death and the coast is not that impressive for the money ( I know it is awesome, but more than a 1000 other places that are far cheaper) I would rather head to the Philippine islands, far cheaper, less GOV, no taxes, no fees for the most part....why would anyone cruise the EU coasts? I guess there are people with too much money and they have to spend it somewhere.

Once the boat is well setup (and that costs a lot) it seems that the monthly expenses CAN be very low. Perhaps I am wrong but I hope not. People like "La Vagabonde" have little to no money and seem to be having a good time out on the oceans. They took a Hunter all over the world, very stock boat, no solar, no water maker, just a stock coastal boat, but they seem to get along just fine so far with no money, no savings, just what they can get from youtube videos and odd jobs as they need them.

So I sure hope that I can cruise for far less than 3000 a month, hell that would be quite an expensive life style from what I have learned...I know there are places where 3000 would hardly afford you food for a month, I plan to avoid those places. Why go there? I live in a tourist town where everything is very expensive, a drink here is 15 usd, a beer, at least 6 bucks for crappy domestic and 10 for a good beer!....if I can live here I think I should be able to live anywhere for far less. I am a Network Engineer for a living, and I hope to use this skill on the water to make some money....not a full time income by any means, but if it can break I can fix it, and cruisers have a lot of tech aboard these days so I am hoping I can find random work anywhere in the world. Computers all use the same logic no matter what the language they use to present it. My wife has a lot of skill sets, she used to own a catering business, to say the least she can cook! She is an accountant and specializes in construction, right now she works in support for a large tech company that provides software to do accounting for large construction companies....we have a large skill set and hopefully we can use them to keep "afloat" If not...we tried. I have heard so many videos, and read many times...you will never have enough money, just do it and it will work out as you go, have some faith and just push off from the shore. So I have faith I can pull it off, I will push off shore soon and see! Maybe another year on shore getting the boat ready, then I say screw it, no amount of money will be enough and if I want to even try it I will have to have faith and just go, try my best.

This has been a dream of mine for over 20 years. I raised 4 kids, the last one is in college now. I have burned up years of my life just doing it, one day at a time, just do what is best mostly for others in my family. It is becoming my time finally. I spent years learning about sailing boats before I chose my 45.1 SO. It took years to save up enough money, I paid cash for my boat and own it outright, no loan. I paid off all my debt and now have a reserve I am saving up for when we leave. It wont get me far, 20,000 and some stocks that are doing well. I sure hope I can do this, it is my life long dream. I grew up listening to Jimmy Buffet and that life has always pulled at me. I live on the ocean, less than a mile from the water. I am a lifetime surfer and I love the ocean, the feel, the idea that it is the only time I can "join" the food chain. The ocean is my lover and my enemy, she has treated me well and nearly killed me a few times over the decades. It has always been my dream to cruise. I feel old now that I am finally able to get to what I want from life, 52, but pretty beat up, 4 major back surgeries, 2 major knee surgeries.....so now my body is beat up and it hurts often just being awake. BUT, I will not give in, I will do this even if it kills me trying.

I love my boat, just standing near her makes me feel good. Even though she often represents a lot of work still left to accomplish. I dream of her cutting through the swells, off to places unknown. I have never traveled, hardly ever have taken a vacation of any kind....too busy paying bills to take a break. I just dream of no more work...I love helping others and that is what I really do, help others do things....but I am so tired of doing things for everyone else.....it has to be my time soon. My little brother has Leukemia and will probably die soon. Just another reminder, there is no forever, there is only now and that is all God is giving anyone of us....just now.

So I keep my head down, working towards my life's dream. Still paying the costs of getting ready, the costs of my kids needs, the costs of my life....it has to be my time soon, it just has to be. The grin on my face when I am sailing cannot be found in any other activity these days. I used to race motorcycles, going over 140 mph and leaning into a corner is a normal feeling for me....speed has been my friend for years, I raced boats at over 100 mph....the power at your foot is intense in that kind of boat and it is thrilling. But now it is time to slow down, stop rushing just to have fun...life seems like one big rush to get to the next thing and i am tired of it.....I want to slow down, just move with the ocean, take what she has to offer, be patient, learn patients.

I dream of being free of it all....free of the need for money is a part of it for me..not meaning no money, I am far from stupid about it....but minimize the need for it.....I have spent my whole life just chasing money to stay alive. Keep in mind it is hard here, so very expensive just to move through life day to day. The last thing I want is to keep chasing money...screw that game, I hate it now. I am fine with work....work for me is great and feels good....but work so others can pile up money is hard on me these days, I am truly sick of it.

God take me away from all this. I am a bit of a loner to begin with, being out on the water for extended periods of time is both, scary, as I am afraid I will be bored to death....and exciting to be away from people and all their needs. After 30 years working I just need a good long break...I can only hope to die while out on the water.

So speak to me my brothers, am I crazy to try it without some kind of income? Why wouldn't I just leave the land and hope for the best, prepare for the worst?

love you all
David

[Mistroma]

Feb 27, 2017 11:01:09 GMT chuckr said:

Mistroma  - guess a bit of the difference is we are full time liveaboards and that does take a bit of toll on the boat as well as a bit higher cost as we are in the water almost all the time and of course spend 6-7 months in a marina - with the exception of the western Caribbean and then we had to take a marina in Cartagena for insurance purposes.  Also as full time aboard all our meals, heat, going out ect, everything we spend when sitting and waiting are included along with all our inland trips to site see. 

If you can not open the spreadsheet please send me a note and I will email it to you. 

Sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear on my costs. It was a monthly average for 12 months, 6-7 months onboard and the rest at home. The time at home is pretty expensive as we have to pay to keep the boat in a foreign location during the winter months and then pay all fuel, heating, eating and other living expenses in UK where costs are high. Summer costs are also inflated because we pay council tax, car insurance, house insurance etc. in addition to living costs on the boat. It would actually be a lot cheaper if we sold our house and lived on our boat all year round.

I wonder if I need to register in order to download the Excel file, I'll try that and let you know if it works.

I'm pretty busy at the moment so haven't had time to read davidfreedomsong's post above. It looks interesting so I'll also get back to that tomorrow.

[davidfreedomsong]

So again I ask....is it crazy to think I can just pull anchor and cruise without an income? I can fix anything that breaks, motors, generators, computers....anything that can break can be fixed...but I have no rental back home to count on, no income at all once I leave the shore....can this be done?

[davidfreedomsong]

 A story worth reading....it is old and many of you have seen it before....but for those who have not read it, it is worth the read.



An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”

“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

[MalcolmP]

DavidFreedomsong. Loved your lengthy prose on your ambitions and dreams (plus the Mexican fisherman story) you and your wife clearly have lots of transferable skills and are well motivated - absolutely go for it, you can wait for too long - if you can avoid marinas and anchor a lot will make a massive impact. 

[chuckr]

David – interesting posting and good luck in getting the dock lines cut. Just some thoughts and please do not take them as negative as they are not to be meant to be – just some observations.

We have been out a while as full time liveaboards sailing the EC of the USA, Bahamas, Western and Eastern Caribbean, Atlantic Crossing, 2 years in the Med, a season in the Black Sea and now looking at another year or two or 3 in the Med.

We never had a dream to sail the voyage we have done and still are amazed that it has happened. Our goal was simple when we started – leave Miami and get to the Bahamas and back without sinking the boat. We got lucky and met an older cruising couple who took us under their wing and boy did we learn a lot. When we decided to venture a bit farther we were headed to the Bay Islands of Honduras and coming out of the Rio Dulce we hooked up with a couple of South African boats and while in the Bay Islands they said hey come to Panama with us and we did and well the rest is history. We still take one step at a time. Last year we decided to sail the Black Sea – it took us 5 months to plan the trip, get necessary documents, and get the boat ready as we knew once in the BS there were probably no parts in a lot of it and spotty work if required.

One last thing before I get to costs. In our 2nd year out we met a couple on a brand new incredibly pimped out Caliber 40LRC – a boat I lusted for. They wanted us to sail with them around the world and we said no we were not even close to being ready or want to do it. We sailed to the Bahamas instead and spent the winter having a good time and deciding what the really needed if we were to go longer distances and that was not crossing oceans. We went into Deltaville VA and had a lot of work done, 2nd fuel tank, 3rd solar panel, water maker and a few other things that were a bit expensive. We left there and headed to the Bay Islands and when we got there we heard the woman on the local SSB net in the morning when we were a few days out. They had not gotten past the Bay Islands and we suggested we get together for a sundowner but they declined as they were headed back to the USA in a couple of days to sell the boat and quit. Not sure why but somewhere along the line one or both of them decided cruising was not for them. I got lucky in that Patty is still aboard and at times loves the adventure but at times hates it with a passion – fortunately the former outweighs the later.

Now for some cost thoughts

1. We try to keep SoulMates in great condition and about 25% of our budget goes to the boat. We blew out a not very old mainsail in southern Italy and cost a bunch to replace. We make periodic upgrades to the boat as last year we added a shaft line cutter. This year we may replace a forward water tank that has an issue. We paint every 2 years with the best paint we can get – last year we used Micron 66. I use to do all the painting myself but last year it was a bit more difficult as I am getting older and the yard has some issues with DIY as do a few more yards here. But we did help. I would like to replace the jib this year but not in the cards as we cannot afford it. Maybe next year. Parts are expensive and sometimes hard to get. We do try and carry a lot of spares but not everything. We lost our dripless shaft bearing sailing into Colombia and it took over a month to get one and expensive shipping. In Tunisia we needed some parts and supplies and could not get them. We did a trip to the USA with 2 large empty backpacks and came back full. However we have been out for a long time and SoulMates has a lot of miles on her so we work hard on pm issues to try and avoid the big issues.

2. Insurance and medical take a bunch. We do not have medical insurance We pay out of pocket as the med insurance cost is high because we are over 70 and for some reason insurance companies discriminate against old people. Last year I had my gall bladder removed for 10kusd . SoulMates in fully insured but sometimes we need extra such as when we went into Montenegro we had to have 1m euro of liability we had 500k usd or when we went to Russia we needed added coverage for anything east of Georgia. Our insurance also gave us some options on where we could sail in the Carib and when or we could pay a whole lot more. We opted for safety and less cost to stay out of the hurricane zones during hurricane season. I would guess there are similar issues in the Pacific.

3. Working out here could be a problem. Most cruisers are very self sufficient and we have seen a few try it but not very successfully. In a lot of countries trying to work is a no no as your passport stamp says no work and the locals will turn you in. We have heard about that happening. We do know one cruiser trying to make ends meet in the San Blas but is litterly living hand to mouth and having a tough time of it and the San Blas is cheap living.

4. Where you sail is a huge issue. When we sailed the western Caribbean, it is inexpensive there we talked about going thru the canal but the Somalia pirates were at their peak and decided that that was not a good idea. Thus the eastern carib and then the crossing. We have sailed to a number of places people have told us are dangerous but without anything to back it up. BUT there are places we refuse to go such as Venezuela., east or west coast of Africa, Brazil was a destination that patty wanted to visit but now off the list, Crimea (political), Lebanon, Libya and if we make the pacific (which is doubtful) the Philippines (a cruiser was just beheaded there – big pirate problem) , to name a few.

5. We are in the Med and to be honest yea some coast lines are a bit whatever but not in Tunisia, Spain, Balearics, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Croatia and parts of others. But we are not here to see the coast lines but to see and learn and enjoy from the food to art master pieces to wine to people to culture and ways of life to history. It has been a real experience. Inexpensive? Not so much but getting better as the dollar gets stronger. And you will note our transportation and site seeing cost. For us sailing to distance places and not see them is a waste of time. Why sail to Russia without going inland to Volgograd, Moscow and St Petersburg. Yea we could have done it by air but that is expensive and we would not have made friends on the dock, sailed in the boat parade salute to the Russian Navy, seen Anapa, or stay for a bit of a long visit to Sochi. And then there is the issue of getting back home to visit family. Where to put the boat for safety, air cost, rental cars, meals ect. We have not been back to the usa in a couple of years but this year I may have to fly back to renew a drivers license as I have done it once on line and they want to see if I am real.

6. As someone on one thread where I posted the last spreadsheet, people who say they can do it for almost no money never produce a spreadsheet on how they do it or leave a bunch of stuff out. We live on Social Security and nothing else. We do have to start taking our 401k out but that will just go into the bank account for when we quit sailing.





That being said, can we do it for less and of course we could but what would we sacrifice? Also remember our boat is 14 years old and gets about 2,500-3000 miles a year or more. We figure we got between 35-40,000 miles on her so she takes a bit more to keep her going and like any great French Mistress she loves to look good and have the latest bangle and bobs as she performs much better with them.

Good luck in cutting the dock lines as this is one of the most wonderful lifestyles in the world and there are so few of us out here and we look forward to joining the family and hope someday to sailing into and anchorage and seeing you there.

[StillREEL]

Hey Chuck;

I just read your story about cruising, costs and where to go.  It really sounds like you are living the dream and I greatly admire that.  I am about to retire and looking at buying a new(~ish) Jeanneau 389.  Its the logistics that intimidate me.  I have the sailing skills and can fix anything.  Further, we are both in excellent health and have Canada health insurance ++, but getting started, where and when is new the challenge.

So ballparking monthly costs at $3200 and I think we can manage.  Ideally, we'd purchase the yacht in the UK, Spring 2019 and sail it to the Med for the summer.  Eventually, cross to the Bahamas and winter there.  Avoiding Venezuela is agreed but we'd like to transit the Panama Canal and head up the west coast toward Vancouver Island.  Once there, it would be time re-assess.  No timeframe is important in this plan plan.  I guess my questions are concerning the most important additions you've made to the boat; water maker? solar?  extra tanks?  Where should I invest onboard? 

Maybe I should worry about these issues after I buy the boat.  Just gotta cut those dock lines.

Bryn

[chuckr]

I guess our advise is to get the boat and see what is there and sail her and then determine what is needed. We sailed SoulMates up and down the east coast of the USA a couple of times and tried to figure out what we needed and made a list of now, eventually, nice to have and dream.  We knew we had fuel issues as Jeanneau put a smaller than normal tank on her but we dealt with as we did simple cruising because there was fuel everywhere we went. We had plenty of water so no issues.

It was not until our last year in the Bahamas that we made a long list of what we needed if we were going to continue cruising. One was the water maker. In the Bahamas there is not a lot of water and we had to be careful and in parts of the Carib there is little or no water or water that we would not drink. BUT in the Med we drink the water everywhere.  We only started our water maker in the Greek Isl because they are water short and we could make our own so we did and did not use their precious supply.

Fuel in parts of the Carib was hard to find or you had to jerry can it out to your boat which we did even with a bigger tank. In the Med fuel is available almost everywhere.

One of the smarter things we did is the solar.  We have a house bank of 6 6v batteries - trojans - and they work well but to recharge them has always been an issue.  We started out a long time ago with 2 130w panels and gradually increased to now we have 550w with a blue sky 3024i controller.  Is it enough? generally yes but like candy when you get a bit you always want more but we will stop at 550w as we have maxed our controller and would have to go to a 2nd controller.   

The big issue you may face is getting use to cruising and is it for you and your partner. It can be fun or not. It is not what all the glossy mags make it out to be - believe me as I have had a few articles published on how great it was here or there.  The other issue is be patient!  We know of a guy we met in Tunisia who was going to sail year round - Med summer Carib winter and he had the boat to do it.  Then reality set and now 3 years later he is still in the Med and winters over here. 

I guess it is like how do you eat an elephant - one bite at a time - small step by small step. 

The other issue that most do not realize they have to deal with is weather.  You want to make God laugh tell him your sailing plans.  Last year we did more sitting than sailing.  The meltimi would just not stop.  This year we have friends who are incredible sailors and sailed across the Greek Isl. to the central Med.  On their way back across to Turkey they produced a schedule and well God is laughing.  The meltimi kicked in with winds in 30-40+k range and will for a week - schedule good bye.  Weather predicting is perhaps the most valuable tool you can have.  We check as many as 5 forecasts when we are seriously sailing and sometimes they are wrong but we have been working with the GRIBS long enough we make our own forecast and then compare. 

I would suggest that get the boat and sail it then visit other cruising boats and ask questions here as there are a lot more experienced cruisers on here than us and a heck of a lot smarter that can help. 

We got some invaluable help from Alex here in Israel and anxious to sail with him more and learn more.  With luck you can also find someone to sail with on and off or several and listen and share and compare BUT make up your own mind and do your own thing as if it does not work it is your fault not theirs as you made the decision. 

We are always here and if you make the Med in the next year or so we would love to meet up. 

hope this helps

[StillREEL]

Cheers Chuck. Greatly appreciated. Will keep in touch.

One last question re: Bay of Biscay. The yacht I'm looking at is on the south coast of the UK. I've read a few rather intimidating stories about crossing the Bay of Biscay (on route to the med). Any thoughts on this other than patience and wait for the weather. I would have though coastal cruising would be the safest bet.

[rays]

Hi Chuck and Patty,

Came on here to post about our leaking central water tank. 71 people have viewed but no replies so I guess it's either a rare problem or just too horrible to discuss!

Anyhow, when I saw your cruising history I remembered that Judy and I met you both at anchor in San Antonio harbour in 2014 I think it was. Our 40DS is called Start Again.  You very kindly gave us your old colour chartplotter which I installed and is still giving good service.

We are now in Sicily having come over from Sardinia last spring. We shall winter the boat here and then our plans are a little unclear. We loved Sardinia, although it's silly expensive in July and August. We are undecided about moving on to Greece or Croatia next year.

We normally go home for July and August to escape heat, high prices and too many boats. Any advice greatly appreciated.

If you'd prefer to continue to chat off the forum please use: [e-mail]

All the very best. We are in awe of your achievements.

Kind regards,

Ray and Judy

S/V Start Again