Some of my favourite quotes

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."   Goethe

"What's important in life is not how many breaths we get to take, but those moments that take our breath away."     Jacques Cousteau

 "Dream lofty dreams as dreams are often the stuff goals are made of." -unknown"If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams and endeavors to live the life one has imagined, one will meet with success unexpected in common hours."               Henry David Thoreau

"It's beneficial to your health to try and believe a few impossible things before breakfast." Lewis Caroll

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiralbegetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”     
Martin Luther King, Jr.

And finally, "If you're going to be a bear, you might as well be a grizzly." JSC

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that the people will not feel insecure about you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.  And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

How much does it cost?

Often people ask me how much it costs to cruise in the Med. Here is one such question:

"just curious if it made sense for me to have a sailboat parked there as a place for retirement visits instead of hotel rooms - what's the yearly cost of parking in a marina (on anchor vs at a dock?) for a year? what an expected yearly boat upkeep cost e.g. for a size you have (repairs/insurance etc)?"

This is what I answered:

I suppose it depends on how often you are in Europe and which part of Europe you want to visit. It is quite expensive to leave a boat in a marina (Between 1,500 and 4,000 Euros per year on a yearly contract for 10 m boat (depending where - Portugal is cheaper than Italy). This works if your cruising area is relatively small - otherwise you are still paying for marinas as you sail from place to place during the summer.

During high season, marinas will cost you between 15 (Spain) and 100 Euros (Capri, Naples) a night. Anchoring is sometimes possible if you don't go too far inland. Leaving your boat anchored overnight is risky - I wouldn't do it unless someone responsible was on board and I definitely wouldn't do it in winter. The Med is at the same latitude as San Francisco, and the weather is similar in winter - storms move through at regular and frequent intervals. During the summer, sudden and violent storms can come up too, so if you plan to leave the boat to travel inland, a marina is really the only safe place.

As far as insurance and repairs are concerned, you can add another 2-3,000 Euros for those. This of course depends on whether you buy liability only or full insurance and whether you do a lot of your own boat maintenance or hire someone to do it.

Many people buy a time share in a sailboat and so the cost is divided among several people. The only reason to own a boat in my opinion (unless you are very wealthy) is to live aboard for a large part of the year and thus save on rent or rent out your home while you're sailing. I see hundreds of unused boats in marinas everywhere.

I found that Bernard Moitisier, a French sailor, had the best answer to the question of how much it costs to cruise: "It takes as much as you have". Some people do it on a shoestring and others in first class style. Once you taste the lifestyle, you stop worrying about the cost and do whatever it takes to pursue it.

I am available for personal consultations regarding choosing your cruising boat and living aboard. If you are interested in more information, please send your email address through the comment form here or my website contact form.

See you on the water...