T he
C ost of C ruising By Matt & Amy Humphreys
When we set out from England three years ago to sail around the world, you would think that our biggest worry would be crossing oceans and storms. But no. In fact, our biggest worry was whether we could really afford to do it. We spent many nights fretting about whether our dream was even possible. The costs of an oceangoing yacht and the equipment required to fit it out are both readily available and clear (we are not going to go into those here). However, the annual living costs were shrouded in mystery. We were told things along the lines of, “It generally costs us this much, but that’s excluding X and depends on Y.” The only way to find out seemed to be to get out there and do it. If we had to return earlier than planned, then so be it. So, when we set off full-time sailing we got into the habit of tracking every bit of money we spent. Yes, we have tracked EVERY - SINGLE - PENNY for the last three years, from mooring fees to a loaf of bread. By carefully tracking our costs, we reduced our fear of being unable to afford the trip as we realised how affordable cruising could be. We have this information and we can now share it in the hope that it may take some of the fear from someone else thinking of taking the leap to making their own dreams a reality. From talking to other cruisers, it seems that what it costs to cruise depends on where you sail, what you sail, and your attitude towards spending money. It is therefore important to understand what our personal figures are based upon:
44 Latitudes & Attitudes
pg 44-52 Cost of Cruising - MKC.indd 2
w w w .L at s A t t s . c o m
7/30/20 10:31 AM
