Ironbarque started life as one of the boats built to race around the world in the Southern Ocean as part ...Read more]]> Thoughts on my First Cruising Adventure:  Panama Canal Transit and Pacific Coast of Central America and Mexico in our 72 foot steel sail boat, Ironbarque in June 2008

Sharing a moment on the Chagris River (Panama)

IRONBARQUE

Ironbarque started life as one of the boats built to race around the world in the Southern Ocean as part of the “BT Global Challenge” yacht race and she did it twice under the name of her sponsor, Me to You, a teddy bear company.

The identical yachts were built to withstand the storms of the Southern Ocean and were equipped to accommodate a crew of 18. When they stopped holding the race the boats were all sold off; mainly to charity groups focused on training troubled youth or leaders of the future. Our hope is that we are doing the latter and have turned this former racing boat into our traveling home.

My husband, Ken, sailed her from England to Panama with a crew of 5, headed by a delivery skipper, who helped him learn the ropes of blue water cruising. They started out at the end of March and when they reached the Canary Islands in April they were joined by our two older sons for the Atlantic crossing.

They were aged 15 and 12  and we thought that the Bay of Biscay might be too tough for their first blue water experience. The concern was well founded as heavy weather meant a torn main had to be repaired in Portugal.

Our youngest two children were aged 10 and 5, so I flew to Panama with them for the final leg through the Panama Canal and up the coast of Central America and Mexico. From Panama onwards various members of the crew departed to return to other jobs so that from Acapulco on we had only two additional crew.

On our last night in Mexico we went around the table describing our best and worst moments of the trip, which is how I will approach the description of my very first cruising adventure.

Best experience

By far it was going through the Panama Canal.

Entering the canal at night

We approached by night. In a sea of lights from waiting super tankers, cranes and docks, there is a far more concentrated mass of lights that is the entrance to the first lock.

We were rafted together with two other sail boats and silently coasted in excited camaraderie into the lock behind a ship. Line handlers high up on the side walls hurled blue ropes towards us in synchronous cascades in order to steady us away from the walls in the middle of the roiling rising waters. After 3 rising locks we emerged onto Gatun Lake and were guided to our mooring pontoon, where we tied up for the night, surrounded by the jungle.

It was magical to wake on the lake among all the other ships and yachts that had done the same, with the wild life of the jungle making their presence audible. We had to await the return of our cigar-puffing pilot before continuing the rest of the journey along the Chagres River to the locks descending into the Pacific. The whole journey takes 9 hours. The 3 yachts had separated at the lake and made the journey down the river individually. We came together again at the next locks and rafted as before.

Chagres river

Exiting the canal towards the Pacific

Descending was even more wondrous. Our boats were dwarfed as they sank to the bottom of the dripping black walled locks until finally the huge metal gates opened onto a new world and we emerged, blinking at The Pacific Ocean.

Worst Experience

The brain scrambling heat and humidity at 7 degrees above the Equator in a steel boat with openings designed to keep out the water of pounding Southern Ocean storms. Until we got to Cabo San Lucas we wore as little as possible, even on deck at night on the ocean.

Sea turtle

Most surprising

Silky calm water the color of oil dotted for miles with the domes of sea turtles.

Most delightful

The dawn dolphins that erupted from the surface in simultaneously leaping pods of riotous joy as far as the eye could see. At various times of the day charming groups would surf and race us at the bow, stunningly silver deep below the surface. They seemed to know when there were people at the bow.

Most wondrous

Green bioluminescent arcs flashing in the darkness of the night as dolphins leapt out of the black alongside the boat. Normally you see sparkling fairy lights in the froth of the water parted by the hull but this was simply awe-inspiring. Both are caused by Dinoflagellates, which are tiny plants that absorb sunlight during the day and emit a blue-green light in response to movement in the water. Even flushing the toilets at night became magical when these got sucked into the intake pipe.

Favorite time of day

6pm. We took turns in pairs to take watches of 3 hours at night and 4 hours during the day, so that a lot of the time, most of the crew were either sleeping or working, but at 6 o’clock there was a change of watch and dinner was brought up on deck and everyone emerged blinking and happy and enthusiastic to see what had been prepared from the variety of cans of meat, tuna and vegetables, and those who had prepared the meal were relieved to escape the sweaty heat of the galley and feel the cooling breeze.

It was such a companionable time of catching up, gentle teasing and all round delight in our shared peripatetic island in the wide Pacific.

Favorite watch times

Women cruising

We rotated through watch times and duties each day and every third day each team was responsible for the cleaning, cooking and doing dishes. This was called the “Mother watch”.

I loved cooking and trying to create interesting meals and delicious morning and afternoon snacks. These were called ‘elevenses’ and ‘threesies’ by the Irish crew.

Nothing can compare to the thrill of finding you have all the right ingredients self-sufficiently on board, or the gratification of having something so essential as a lemon when you catch a 25 pound tuna!

My favorite watch sequence was the 9-12 midnight followed by the 6-10am watch because that gave the most normal stretch of night to sleep in and the delight of the dawn and the accompanying dolphins. The ravenous lust for sleep was overwhelming at the end of any of the night watches and one would tear off life jacket and harness (and later all the layers of foul weather gear) with a hungry passion.

Sunrise near Panama

Most memorable sounds

• The crazed grunts of the autopilot (nick named ‘Rover’).
• The clanks of the metal fittings on the on-watch crew’s life jackets and harnesses as they came below to brew coffee, or worse – to wake you up.
• Mexico. The cacophony of all sorts of music from all quarters all the time.

Biggest challenges

• Preparing meals with everything sliding away like something from the Three Stooges.
• Baking a cake and getting it level when the boat was heeling over.

Best Breakfast

The chocolate ice cream sandwiches we had on our dawn arrival into Cabo San Lucas after 6 days at sea and a grueling last night. (They were followed by a second full English version later, which was nearly as good).

Best reason to bring kids

• To have them join you on deck to watch the dawn dolphins.
•  To see them become so competent at all the tasks on the boat.
•  To be reminded of the magic
  - After 6 days at sea we had a tough and tiring last night coming into Cabo San Lucas, during which everyone had each taken two 3 hour shifts in rough conditions. Our 5 year old had slept soundly and emerged bright eyed with wonder up the companionway as we were surrounded by the harbor, asking in awe, “How did we get here?”

Who knew?

• There were so many stars.
• That seals leap through the water like dolphins.
• That land has a scent and you can smell it out on the ocean.
• That it would be so fabulously exhilarating to fight fear and steer a boat at night on the Pacific with crashing waves spewing up from the bow like lava illuminated by the red of the navigation light and find you are not afraid at all, but smiling with your whole being.

About Clare Collins

Clare and her family have been living aboard and cruising ever since.  They are currently stationary while the kitty gets replenished and children take part in musical and academic pursuits.

Clare believes that with the attitude of adventure you can be a cruiser anywhere you find yourself.

Her family’s adventures are documented at www.ironbarque.net.

Read also on this website

• Fighting Fears: Taking the Plunge, by Clare Collins (Feature article)
  The account of Clare family’s quest to fulfill their dream of sailing
• Staying pink in a blue world, by Clare Collins (Blog)
• Ellen Sanpere: My first real cruise, by Ellen Sanpere (Blog)

Tell us about your first cruise!

Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.

We would explore Mexico by skimming lightly off our savings if we needed to, but the monthly interest that we received off our conservative investments would be the ...Read more]]> When our family of 4 began our exciting transition to the cruising life aboard our 35′ Cal Cruising Windfall in November 2008, we had everything planned out.

We would explore Mexico by skimming lightly off our savings if we needed to, but the monthly interest that we received off our conservative investments would be the bulk of our revenue… keeping us afloat financially.

It was so perfect!

And as Murphy’s Law so cruelly predicts… even before we cast the line off the last cleat on the dock, the dividends plummeted to such depressing lows that my husband and I all but went into cardiac arrest! The crash of 2008 had ruined our slick cruising plans for all of 2009.

We had sold our business and our home. We had dumped major dollars into Windfall finalizing her cruiser ready status. We were on the line. We had a decision to make. We had just enough money to go back and start over. Or, we could go for it… no matter how crazy… and fulfill the quest. We opted for the quest! All we needed was a new plan.

We had no real direction for creating a budget, and we really had difficulty locating other cruisers that reported their spending. If we found them they were couples, not families, living on Social Security or other benefits that were not available to us.

So we gathered as much information as we could and compiled a budget based on the only thing left…

… hope mixed with a little logic and some of our savings.

WINDFALL on the hook (Agua Verde, Mexico)

Our cruising budget was $1,500US per month (or $18,000 per year) for 4 people and one dog, not including emergencies. This was substantially less than we had spent as landlubbers, so we were very worried that this was an unrealistic goal.

With our “not-so-sure-if-we-can” budget looming over us, I began keeping track of all our spending… every penny. I kept a small notepad with me and documented all expenses… every grocery bill, every dinghy dock fee, every taco stand. Then, I transferred our data onto a spreadsheet.

Surprisingly, we spent less than $17,000 our first year! That included the cost for a new Engel freezer, a fresh bottom paint job, and 3 trips to the USA!

What did we do? Eat rice and beans?

No, not very often.

For the record, Jim and I had talked in depth about how our cruising experience was not just going to be “living on a boat”.

We wanted cultural stimulation and education. I wanted to sample local restaurants and search out regional art. We wanted our children (then ages 9 and 13) to be happy. We wanted them to embrace the joy of cruising and have fun while experiencing exposure to different customs.

How did we do it?

Well, as Mark Twain said, “All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure.”

Our Top 10 Highest Cruising Expenses for 2009 (in US dollars) 1. Groceries “MEGA”, the name of this supermarket (Mazatlan, Mexico) This was our biggest itemized cost for the year. However, since we provisioned for food heavily at many mega supermarkets, the “grocery” expenses also include things like household items, pet food, beer & wine, school supplies, hardware, etc… For the year, we spent $5,924.73 (an average of $493.73 per month)… not bad for a crew with a ruthlessly hungry teenage boy aboard! And no, we are not vegetarian. We found the price of food to be slightly cheaper in Mexico than in the US, but other items such as clothing, shoes, and electronics were substantially more. We used the same principles for shopping as we did back home… we stocked up on items that were on sale. WINDFALL splashing with new paint (La Paz, Mexico) 2. Boat Equipment Things break or need replacing or you make discoveries of items that you MUST have, like our Engel freezer. Equipment for the cruising year 2009 ran us $1,793.99. 3. Boat Repairs Maintenance and repairs for Windfall ran us $1,487.14. This included hauling in/out and labor for new bottom paint. The paint was pre-purchased and we brought it along with us from the states. Carolyne’s 10th birthday and we were trapped for over a week due to weather. Had wonderful potluck instead! (San Francisquito, Mexico) 4. Eating Out Restaurants are expensive when you eat out a lot. We mostly cooked on board. Rather, we preferred attending the numerous potluck dinners with other cruisers that were so much fun! When we did eat at restaurants, we frequented establishments that were less touristy and ones that the locals recommended… usually delicious food at reasonable prices! We spent only $1,137.25 our first year, an average of less than $100 per month dining out. Jim’s thermal insulated cup is the only way to help keep the beer cold in the summertime (Gonzaga Bay, Mexico) 5. Libations The booze section was an after-thought as the costs were lumped in with groceries in the first six months. We are not big liquor drinkers, but we do like beer and wine. I began separating the alcohol from our groceries mid-year so that we could track our more “flexible” spending and tweak down our purchases to save money if necessary. The actual cost of beer and wine for six months was $489.62, so the estimated cost for the year is roughly $979.24. The average comes to $81.60 per month. 5. Boat Fuel No matter how hard you blow on the sails, sometimes the boat just won’t go!! $885.08 Sewing the jib at the old marina (Santa Rosalia, Mexico) 6. Marinas and Mooring Balls While many cruisers enjoy the benefits, amenities and conveniences of dock life, we rarely frequented marinas and instead anchored out as much as possible. We used our time wisely when we did venture into a slip and caught up on space hog or electricity sucking projects, like sewing dinghy chaps or building extra shelving in the lockers. We spent very little time our first year in marinas and so spent only $751.74. “An “auriga” is a popular form of transportation (Mazatlan, Mexico) 7. Transportation When walking won’t cut it, public transportation is the preferred method of getting around for our family. When that is not an option, taxis are relatively cheap in Mexico if you barter first. $650.83 8. Auto Maintenance & Gas We spent $631.42 in 2009 maintaining our economy car, not including insurance or tags. And although we drove it to the states two out of three times, it was too much hassle to store and keep the insurance up-to-date. We sold it at the end of the year. Tim nursing a sting ray wound (Bahia Los Angeles, Mexico) 9. Insurance This expense includes Mexican liability insurance for the boat and car, tags for the car, and life insurance. We opted not to renew our health insurance because it doubled in cost.. Instead, we were proactive with our annual wellness exams & dental cleanings, as Mexican healthcare costs are very reasonable. $606.24 10. Gifts These are the things we gave to our friends and family or to the kids for holidays or birthdays. Due to the economy and our shipping restrictions, we gave smaller, more thoughtful gifts that cost less and hopefully meant more. It sounds good anyway, doesn’t it? $409.28

Our top 10 cruising costs account for 88% of our total expenses for the first year.

I believe that our success was largely due to following one major principle: Be flexible!

You simply can’t plan for everything.

For example, we exceeded our monthly budget several months that year due to unexpected costs (like the time the wind generator blew up). For us, our focus was on the annual cost. This gave us more freedom and took the stress out of budgeting.

There are many cruisers out there cruising for less and there are plenty of them cruising for more. Spending options are simply a personal choice.

We have our complete 2009 cruising expenses published on our website at www.expaticus.com under the obvious… “Expenses”.

We are also planning to publish our 2010 expenses on a spreadsheet soon… which show what happens to your budget when you buy a bigger boat!

About Meri Faulkner

We left Colorado in June 2008 and began our cruising adventure aboard Windfall, a 35′ Cal Cruising sloop. As our two children grew, we felt it was time to upgrade to more comfortable living conditions.

We are currently cruising the Sea of Cortez in Mexico for our second summer aboard Hotspur, our 41′ Tartan TOCK.

Cruising has become such an addiction that my husband, Jim, and I are committed to doing it as long as we can. After hurricane season, we hope to head to El Salvador for the beginning of our Central American tour.

We homeschool our two swabs, Tim (15) & Carolyne (10). Other scallywags include our 13 year old pound-puppy, Bailey, and Bad Kitty, a stray kitten that adopted us in Mazatlan.

Come visit Hotspur and follow our family cruising adventures at www.expaticus.com.

Read also on this website

• 12 questions to 12 sailing families
• Fear in the way, by Meri Faulkner
  Like her Scandinavian forebears, Meri’s imagination bestowed almost mythic powers to unknowns that lurked ahead of her. She beat them back with an arsenal of knowledge.
• Boat jobs: Pink or Blue? …Violet, Meri says
• A mom looks back on the decision to go cruising as a family

More info (external link)

• Meri Faulkner’s new blog: The Faulkner family sails Mexico

What are your bigggest cruising expenses? How do you manage your cruising budget?
Let us know.
Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.