Mark Thomasson wrote:
Do you have a land base.
Home owner or just helpfull family and friends.
Cruising grounds. Hot - warm - cool.
Problems. (is laundry no 1? !!)
Adavantages.
Costs.
Communications.
and many more.
how long have you got? here's an eclectic selection of answers then based on 3 and a half years in Hong Kong - Philippines - Malaysian North Borneo.
Do you have a land base:
Yes we have two, one is our downsized home (A renovation in progress) and has all our gear in it, the other was emptied by garage saleing most of the contents. Very uplifting experience that was. A couple who needed to live in our village, used it without rent, in return for sending our mail on and looking after the place. Ie Keep the garden under control and do what you like with the place but dont involve our bank balance. Notaire drew up the 5 year agreement to protect them and us. Due to their ill health we now have the property back and the kids want to use it for holidays. We're offering it to friends and family on the basis that they share the overheads and pay for running costs when they stay. Remains to be seen how that will work in practise!
Friends and Family
Family member is coastguard contact for PLB (Personal Locator Beacon)
A family member thinks we are 'like hippies' and we should 'settle down in one place so they know where we are'
Post is sent on to friends who bin the trash, scan and email us the important stuff. They only Post on the docs we really need. They have a franchise business which supports Anglophones with property in France, we did a deal: they got our Berlingo when we left, in exchange for the mail service.
Friends keep an eye on the 'building site' send mail on, strim the garden once a year - so they can harvest the Cherries and peaches. Were wonderful when I visited this year, picking me up from the Gare and plying me with vast amounts of french wine and local fromage du Chevre. Ditto Normandie friends, except it was calvados, cider and camembert there.
Problems?
None, only PLENTY of challenges to be overcome.
Banking. This has been interesting.
French Societe Generale Excellent. We have online banking and now mobile. I can send an email to our local branch, to the young lady who we have known for 8 years. She replies promptly, asks how we're getting on, does whatever we need, offers advice, reviews our account and saves us money by asking if we want to cancel services we aren't using. I sent a merry christmas email with pictures last December. The bank manager replied the next day. Totally wonderful. Popped in to see them all on recent Europe trip. That team are worth their weight in gold to us.
UK Natwest Basically, do not cater for clients living on a boat in Asia, and conduct all their business by telephone and post. Do not seem to have heard of emails, cannot think outside the box. will only send cards out to registered address, so there's a time delay between sending it out to that address and it getting to us in Borneo. No, two weeks is not enough. We tried to preempt this and asked for new one 6 weeks before it expired. Ha Ha they cancelled the old one two weeks after they'd sent the new one out early.
Telephone banking system eats our phone credits. When we've arrived in a new country, needing local currency for sim cards, port dues etc... the first time we use an ATM, the Bank fraud squad blocks the card. We then have to call a UK number, (we now make sure we have credited our last phone sim and hope the roaming works) jump through hoops with passwords and inside leg measurements and then wait 15 minutes whilst they reactivate it. They dont do it when we visit UK, or Europe, but they do it on our return into the country we return to after the UK trip. Upside is, I get to write sarcastic letters of complaint that fall on deaf ears and they give us compensation for 'the wrong advice' 'excessive phone bills' and 'dhl shipping of bankcard to Kudat'
We have never before spent so much money on shipping costs. Hard to get decent stuff locally although we do exhaust all possiblilities before resorting to Europe, Australia or the US. The first line of our shipping address is Crib - boat in transit. No use asking the sender to write it on the package, because the courrier puts it in their own wrapper and then customs want duty. Refuse point blank and email them the pertinent link to their website. it works.
Local craftsmen are ingenious. Poorer (economically) countries actually mend stuff not throw it away, so you can get many things repaired at very reasonable costs.
Language barriers and cultural differences can drive you potty and/or get you into trouble unless you make it your business to get your head around them quickly. Asia doesn't respond well to anger for instance. Dont ask is this.... some cultures dont like to say no eg Is this nylon rope - gets you a "yes" What is this rope? gets you a "polyester"
Is this stainless steel? "yes" magnet? clunk. You get my drift.
Laundry
Make sure your stuff is DRY, you pay by weight. Get the price before you leave it and in writing. Or pay and get a receipt. We bought a wonderwash (google it) hard to find, but really works. We use rainwater when we haven't free supply of potable.
We bought small hand towels locally and get through loads of them. easier to launder and dry than bath towels. We sleep on the bath towels.
Hot?
6 degrees from the equator, Extremely. That's why we sleep on the bathtowels!
Made sunbrella covers for all the acrylic windows in our doghouse to preserve them. You'll need good awnings that are easy to put up and down. Dont skimp on quality and make sure they use UV thread. Wax topsides regularly to save the gelcoat, Plenty of layers of cheap varnish on brightwork then top with three coats of epiphanes perfection? for UV proofing according to expert in Hong Kong! Cover your sails. We mouse the halyards to save them, and stow all lines in sail covers when we're in port a while.
Costs
Depends where you are and what your budget is. Asia can be cheap as chips. Anchoring is cheaper than Marinas. Hang out in one if you're short of cash. No shops! local food cheaper than expat imports, Local markets are great, learn to eat new stuff, every country has its specialities and we stock up on those. Always carry plenty of supplies of basics in case you roll up somewhere where it costs more than you want to pay. I like 6 months minimum aboard. stowing it is interesting. Keep an inventory.
Overestimate your boat costs and then add on some more. And then some.
Advantages?
Too many to list them all here. Amazing people, freedom, experiences, breathtaking sunsets and sunrises, deserted islands, weird insects, beachcombing, the satisfaction of overcoming challenges, opportunities for being ingenious, cameraderie of like minded people.....
oops sorry, Kind of got carried away there. Everyone has different expectations and experiences. Main thing is, if you have a hankering to do it, get out there and try it. You can always come home if you dont like it, better than wondering too late if you could have done it!
Bon chance!