Comments to the Budget Nor Siglar was delivered new to Vancouver from the Gib'Sea manufacturer in France in 1985, at which time the price tag was US$75,000-. Since then, we have spent another US$75,000 to equip her for long-term liveaboard and offshore sailing. Almost half of this was invested in equipment before we left home. (For further details, see: "Pros "&" Cons of a Circumnavigator). During the planning stages of our voyage, we estimated an average annual budget of abt. US$18,000, of which boat equipment would be abt. US$3,000 and Maintenance and Repair US$1,500. In actual fact, we ended up using 60% more, i.e. US$30,000 per year, of which equipment was US$6,000 and Maintenance and Repair US$3,000, i.e. twice as much as anticipated. Close to half the budget was spent on Boat Equipment (17%), Maintenance "&" Repair (10%), Insurance (10%), Harbour Dues (5%), Operating Costs (2%) and Cruising Fees and Licences (1%). Expenses could have been significantly lower if we had bought used equipment instead of new, when we needed replacements, and if we had done all maintenance and repair ourselves. But because of our bad backs, we often had to hire help. So although we did all routine maintenance of the boat and engine ourselves, major jobs, i.e. painting of both hull and bottom, was done by locals. We often tried to take advantage of cheap, local labour. However, this did not always pay, as locals often operate according to different principles and a lax schedule, i.e. "island time", something which doesn't always produce a satisfactory result. Boat insurance is expensive, but we were afraid to be without coverage. Many offshore sailors are on a tight budget and chance to be uninsured. They would rather spend this money on equipment and repair to keep their boat in good condition. Membership in different sailing associations is, of course, not strictly necessary. However, we feel the benefit of belonging to some of these is well worth the expense. Shops and marinas around the world offer discounts to certain clubs. Besides, excellent membership publications offer useful information to offshore sailors, information that may not be available elsewhere. The cost of Gifts and Souvenirs, Film and Development, Personal and Clothing can, of course, also be reduced with prudence. Much depends on the type of life style one was used to before leaving home. Frugal people continue to live frugally offshore. Big spenders continue to spend away as well. Location has a lot to do with the amount of money spent. Europe, including Scandinavia and the Mediterranean, is very expensive, while Central and South America, a number of islands in the South Pacific and most of Asia is very cheap. Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia, the Caribbean, USA and Canada are moderately expensive. Our budget reflects a whole year in Norway and two in the Mediterranean. Other reasons why our budget was so underestimated was that the duration of the voyage and distance covered became much longer than planned. Nine years at sea is a long time for a sailboat. The sharp tropical sun, salt water and air and hostile elements at sea take their toll on boat and equipment. After a few years of this, things start to break down. It is expensive to keep an offshore sailboat in good, seaworthy condition, especially over a long period of time. Our budget is probably not representative of a typical circumnavigation. We were away for a long time, had many visitors, put the boat on the hard and went home by plane six times, and spent considerable time in countries with high living standard (four years out of nine). Other offshore sailors manage on less than us. Then again, there are those that spend much more. But one thing is sure: Gone are the days when you can cruise on US$1,000 per month. We do think, though, that one could carry out a voyage such as ours on around US$22-24,000 per year . With respect to financing the voyage, we sold house and a great deal of belongings and moved onboard Nor Siglar six years prior to take-off. Otherwise, we financed it through income from our wood lot in British Columbia, articles to "Seilas", a Norwegian sailing magazine, private pensions (which we had not planned to touch) and Martin's Canadian Government Pension, which he chose to start taking out when he turned 60. |
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