Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lessons Learned
The moral of our story is not to underestimate the amount of time and effort it takes to get a
boat truly ship-shape. We were sailing a boat we knew well and had already spent six
weeks preparing; nevertheless, each cruising day ended in one project or another. Prospect-
ive cruisers beware: don't even think about setting off on your dream cruise without a thor-
ough shake-down!
When planning each leg of a trip, it pays to research three possible end points for each day:
an ambitious stretch if conditions allow, an intermediate destination, and a nearby port to
pull into if you discover a problem underway. It's a mental game: with all three possibilities
fleshed out, we feel good about making our “ambitious” end points, but if something goes
awry, we don't have to scramble for alternative ports.
Since this trip was the beginning of a two-year cruise, we kept a close eye on expenses. Al-
though we had to pay for more moorings than we had anticipated, we were able to keep our
costs within a budget of $70 per day. Half of this went toward mooring fees and food; the
rest covered insurance, hardware and repairs, fuel, public transportation, entertainment
(bike rental, museum entry), and so on. We treated ourselves to two inexpensive meals out
and consumed many an ice cream along the way.
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