Cruising and sailing Faq's and information, page 3

1) French Polynesia has become a bit more difficult for cruisers. They require that you post a bond equal to a one-way ticket to your home country (or show evidence of an actual ticket in your possession). They limit the time you can stay there - an American can arrive without a visa and will receive one for a 30-day stay. But to stay longer you would have to apply for an extension. Or you could apply for a 90-day visa from a French consulate outside of French Polynesia (better, in my opinion, since you know you've got 90 days before you get there). But the French are very strict about adhering to their regulations; people think they can try to "get away" with things, and they can't. A friend of ours, a 63-year old female single-hander thought that she could stay beyond the 90 days ("what are they going to do, kick me out? I'm an old woman!"). Two days before her visa expired she was told that she had to get out. No ifs, ands, or buts. She scrambled! You can leave your boat, hauled out, at a boat yard in (?Raiatea?), fly out, and return with a new 90-day visa and continue. But mind you, no matter what, everybody has to be out of French Polynesia before the beginning of cyclone season (i.e., November 30), and then you're sailing in cyclone season.

The restrictions are there because so many yachts in the past stopped in French Polynesia and didn't leave, straining the resources and good will of its inhabitants. And in my opinion, at least, French Polynesia is well worth the effort to spend a second season there before heading on West.

After French Polynesia, the next place to leave your boat would probably be in Fiji, (Lautoka, Vuda Point Marina). I would suggest, though, that you confirm that they are still taking boats to put on the hard for cyclone season. You might also check out the marina at Malololailai (Musket Cove), and the Musket Cove - Port Vila (Vanuatu) Regatta held in September every year. A good time, see my postings at the Watermelon website: www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon.asp.

Australia has wonderful places, but once you get there, it's much easier to keep going than to turn around and try to go back to places you've missed. We did it, but we spent a year cruising Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands before heading to Vanuatu and Fiji - and it was a pretty tough slog that very few boats do (with good reason). Australia is a long way down the road, requiring that you skip a lot to get there in time. If you did choose this option, you could reasonably expect to sail back to New Caledonia, which has some lovely places to cruise, though few boats do much more than stay in Noumea for a short time and then head to either Australia or NZ. I understand that some cruisers spend cyclone season here, but I have no information about it. Considering the permanent population of Frenchmen living in yachts in Noumea, I think it might be a bit crowded to leave your boat unattended.

Australia blows hot and cold with its regulations, but essentially you can stay for a year, then must leave or import your boat. (this is a very simplified explanation and not completely accurate). However, basing your boat in Australia for a long period will almost certainly require you to pay duty on the boat. I would urge you to check on this at an Australian consulate before you leave.

New Zealand has traditionally been the place that S. Pacific cruisers head for to wait out cyclone season and return to the Tonga/Fiji/Vanuatu cruising grounds. As a result, NZ has a huge number of facilities and experienced workers to help you. And sailing there and back up can be done in company with other boats. New Zealand is a pleasant destination in its own right, and there are foreign yachts who have spent many years just sailing to NZ and back to Tonga and Fiji following the seasons.

Now. We spent the first cyclone season in Pago Pago, American Samoa. A few cruisers do it every year, some in order to work and build up their cruising kitty. It used to be that cyclones didn't hit American Samoa, though that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. While we were there, three cyclones came through (none were very strong, but still..) I was not happy there, partly because the U.S. has created the most horrendous welfare society there, destroying the culture. However, stopping there is a pretty good idea. You have the benefits of U.S. mail service, cheap provisioning, lots of stuff you can't get elsewhere.

In conclusion, I've given you a lot of options, and know that there are a few more. As much as we liked Australia, we think that trying to get there the first year you've entered the S. Pacific will cheat you out of a lot. Particularly if you expect to spend quite some time in Oz, I would think you wouldn't need to be in such a hurry to get there.

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2) WIRE TO ROPE (double braid) SPLICE - Basically, this is splicing the rope core to the wire, then over and beyond that with the rope cover to the wire.

You will need a special fid, or marlinspike, to open the wire for tucking the strands, and plastic rigging tape to tape the rope and wire. It would be most helpful if you know how to splice 3-strand rope, since the tucking technique is the same, and practicing on just rope will give you the experience you need to visualize the splice as you go up the wire. Read all instructions through completely before starting to help you visualize each step.

When the splice is complete, you will have a spliced length that will have: approximately two (2) feet of double braid line with a tapered wire core inside. Approximately six to eight inches of rope core spliced into the wire, covered by intact rope cover. A final length of wire with the rope cover spliced into it for another six to eight inches up the wire.

FIRST: Taper the wire:

For one (1) foot, unlay strands exposing the core wire.

Alternating strands, CUT:

1 strand off at one (1) foot
1 strand off four (4) inches higher
1 strand off at the next 4” higher
1 strand off at the next 4” higher

until all strands are cut – you will have only the center extending down alone for one (1) foot below rest of wire strands. NOTE: you could make the strand cuts every three (3) inches, but the splice will be a bit tighter and lumpier along this length of tapered wire.

Starting two (2) inches up from the last cut wire strand, tape the wire tightly all the way down to the end. This taped, tapered portion of the wire will stay inside the splice like that forever.

SECOND: Rope.

Expose the core and cut off approximately eight (8) inches.
Measure another eight (8) inches of core and put a piece of tape around. Unravel the eight (8) inches of exposed core below the tape. Thread the taped, tapered wire into the core.
Count off core strands, divide by three (3), and tape each bundle neatly.

SPLICING WITH THE LAY:

Four (4) full tucks. Each bundle under two (2) strands of wire – the same bundle will tuck under the same wire strand up the line.
After four (4) tucks, taper: cut off one strand bundle, tuck up the rest. Cut off next strand bundle, tuck up the rest, until taper done.
When core splice is finished, milk the cover over the core/wire splice. You’ll have approximately eight (8) inch overlap. Tape the cover at the core/wire end, and splice the cover to the wire the same way the core was done (i.e., four (4) full tucks, then taper.)

You now have your basic wire to rope splice.

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3) Estimating cruising costs is difficult, because so much depends upon where you are cruising, what your comfort level is, what kind of boat you have, etc.

I usually suggest that it will cost about as much to live aboard your boat as it does to live on land. Things we have to pay for now that we didn’t when we were working: health insurance; more extensive boat insurance because it’s worldwide coverage, not dock-to-dock five months a year in the water insurance; $1,000+/year postage, fax and telephone.

Food is more expensive, particularly for us because we don’t compromise, we spend a lot on coffee and high quality meat and US products we would just miss too much to give up. The US has the cheapest food in the world, relatively speaking. Food in the Caribbean, for example, is far more expensive than it is in the U.S. Although some places have some food that is cheaper by US standards, it’s also usually lower in quality by US standards.

Clothing is cheaper because one needs very little, and we don’t need anything fancy or expensive. We were never clothes horses anyway, now we look a bit like orphans (I think I might be doing most orphans an injustice here).

In general, most everything is more expensive on an item-for-item basis, but there are so many things we don’t have anymore – bills for electricity, telephone, and heating; entertainment expenses; “vacation” expenses (figure out how expensive it is flying to the Caribbean for a month each year); cable TV; marina expenses.

I realize that there is no way to really compare the costs of the lifestyles. We look on this as a whole lot cheaper than seeing the world any other way; we rarely have hotel or plane fare expenses, and for us living on a boat and crusing is more enjoyable.

The kind of boat you have will impact on your cruising costs, since you need to factor in the maintenance and repair costs. A newish fiberglass boat will be less expensive to maintain than a wood or steel boat. The more wood (brightwork) on the exterior of the boat, the more upkeep than a simpler boat. Fuel costs can vary widely, and whether you cruise in the U.S. or elsewhere.

We have friends who cruised exclusively in the Caribbean. Their budget in 1991 was a maximum of $12,000 per year, and they watched everything they spent. Two other friends spent less than $6,000 per year, including boat maintenance, but one of them spent most of his time in developing countries where his dollar went a lot farther, and he never flew back to the U.S. for visits. The other couple, Canadians, spent most of their time in Venezuela, fished for most of their food, lived very cheaply, and did not consume alcohol (and this in a country where a quart of gin could be bought for $1.00, and beer cost 12 cents a can). They did not have insurance to pay. Factor in inflation, and things are more expensive now.

I think that the key to successful full-time cruising is to not spend as much as you earn each year - always put some away in savings for the unexpected potholes of life. And if you are cruising outside of your home area, try to budget for travels on land to places inland from the port you are staying in. I don't think you will regret it.

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4) The cruising community is small, and the subset of cruisers with children is even smaller. But there are a number of them out there.

You'd need a history of the Seven Seas Cruising Association to learn even more, but some of the current cruising couples presently in that organization were raised on their parents' boats.

In general, I've noticed cruising children tend to be more mature and more polite than land-bound children of the same age. This might come from the responsibilities they are introduced to in a cruising life, and being around so many adults.

We were visiting a friend's boat for sundowners where another cruising couple, with their two children, were also guests. One of those Caribbean rain clouds decided to sprinkle the anchorage. The older child, a boy of about 10 or 11, hopped up, jumped into their dinghy and zipped back over to their boat to close the hatches without a word being mentioned by his parents. I commented that I was impressed by this display of responsibility. His father said, "yeah, one of the hatches is over his bunk, and he knows that if he doesn't close it, he'll have to sleep in a wet bed tonight." Nothing cruel about this, simply good sense, IMO.

However, there is a burden on the parents to be sure that their children are able to meet and play with children of their own age. You will find that cruisers with children try to keep in contact with each other so that they can meet in various places so that their children can have playmates near their own age. There are lots in the Caribbean, and certainly plenty of children on the various islands visited by cruising boats.

As far as the safety issue, there are some common sense "rules" that just are more important when children are involved. For example, Peter and I were adamant that young children wear a life jacket at all times when on board. Primarily because young children just don't have the experience to react well should they fall overboard, for example, no matter how well they can swim. As they become more experienced, and their reactions are more assured, such rules probably should be relaxed. And for your youngest daughter, if she knows that she will always have to wear a life jacket and tether, she won't rebel because it will be all that she knows. Children are very adaptable, and tend to accept unbreakable rules.

I think that so long as your older children are comfortable with cruising, you'll have no problem with the younger child. However, I urge you to establish and maintain a strict schooling schedule for your children. It would be a terrible shame if they fell behind because you got caught up in the "manyana" (tomorrow) mentality, so easy to do in the tropics.

My worst horror story is of an American cruising couple with two lovely sons, aged 13 and 9. Both boys were totally illiterate - they could neither read nor write, and had no concept of numbers. They had both been born on the boat in the South Pacific, their parents were the last of the hippies, and these two boys had had absolutely no education whatsoever. They were both bright boys, but had been isolated from other children and even basic civilization during their early years. It was when the older boy, at age 12 or so, met children his own age in Brunei, where all Caucasian children had professional parents (primarily teachers), that the boy realized that there was something missing in his life. His parents (primarily his mother, since his father seemed to be clueless) initially denied that there was any problem, but shortly thereafter they asked a school teacher friend of ours to teach the boys. Unfortunately, without even the basic knowledge of an alphabet or numbers from one to ten, it was a heartbreaking exercise.

I recognize that is the extreme, but I have seen a few other examples of cruising children who lost several years while their parents took a vacation from responsibility, even to their own children. If you need more information and/or advice regarding home schooling, let me know - I can provide a bit of help, though not as much as I'd like. However, another mother, who will be doing the same as you is doing the research and offered to keep me informed of what she's learned. So speak up.

Going from a house with lots of room to the confined quarters of a boat takes some adjustment, but I think that perhaps in itself that sharing of space contributes to the education of children into considerate adults. All you can do is give it a try.

Learn a lot about hurricanes and the tropics, then head off to the Caribbean, work your way down the chain during the winter months (December through May), spend hurricane season in Trinidad or Venezuela, then head to Panama and over to the West coast.

Let me know how you are doing. And don't hesitate to write again if you think I can be of help. See also http://www.cruiser.co.za/hostcat.asp - a lady circumnavigating with her children.

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5) With regard to any legal forms you are looking for, you should talk with a lawyer and your insurance company. In my opinion "you get what you pay for" is eminently applicable to legal advice. My only comment is advice given to me by our lawyer years ago - you can't get anybody to sign away their rights, so don't expect any form to protect you from your own mistakes or negligence.

With regard to keeping your crew happy, that's a pretty interesting issue. Before we had crossed any oceans, cruising friends would regale us with stories about crew problems, some of which were astounding. Since we only took on a crew member once, and he was a skipper's dream crew, I can't give you much advice from personal experience. However Bob, our "dream" crew member, had a sense of humor and started off his sail with us in a most comforting manner. He said to Peter "You're the captain and I'm the crew. That means I do whatever you tell me to do, and anything you don't want to do."

And it was Peter's obligation to be sure he did not ask him to do more than Peter would have been willing and able to do. If you won't go up the mast while at sea (and I don't suggest that anybody do that), you sure shouldn't ask a crew member to do so.

One idea I have regarding crew that I haven't heard discussed anywhere is the matter of numbers. As in even numbers of people, so there is no "odd man out." It's human nature to seek another person in an alliance in order to "equalize" the power in a group. When there is an odd number of people in a closed group I think that there is additional tension as the people jockey for position and allies. With an odd number it's difficult to achieve any kind of equilibrium, and so there is a greater potential for stress and discord. Even with as good a crew member as our Bob was, there were occasionally times when things got a bit tense - not surprising in a long passage in a confined space, and "two against one" - in perception even if not in reality.

Two crew situations that ended very differently:
Boat A, husband and wife, took on one person as crew to cross the Pacific. They threw the person off the boat at the first landfall although most other cruisers sympathized with the crew member, not the cruising couple.
Boat B, husband and wife, took on a couple as crew. The boat owners were as difficult a couple as I've met, but their crew succeeded in getting along with them for the entire year of the cruise; in part, I think, because the crew were a couple who at least had the support of each other.

I know that this is an unscientific and limited illustration of owner/crew dynamics, but I think there is some merit in my observations.

Finally, it helps to be more knowledgeable about your boat and its sailing capabilities than your crew, and/or you must be willing to give any of their suggestions a fair hearing. Otherwise you will find them second-guessing you and possibly mistrusting you. Again, it's the scuttlebut in various ports that prompts this comment. We've met crew who tell us how "dumb" their skipper is (not necessarily true, just their perception), and other crew who are very proud of how much help they've been to the relatively inexperienced skipper. It's all in the attitude, I guess.

You have a relatively large boat, so it should be somewhat easier to give your crew, and yourself, some privacy on that first long passage, but that's another issue, particularly when it is a bunch of strangers to each other.

I wish you fair winds - we missed Palmyra, heard it was wonderful, and I regretted it for years.

More info on crew: http://www.cruiser.co.za/crewfinder.asp

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6) The United States Coast Guard has a "zero tolerance" for drugs, and they can, and do, board and search any vessel that is in U.S. waters without a search warrant. If they find illegal drugs the vessel is confiscated.

Every country that you visit requires that you "check in". You take your boat papers, your passport with the appropriate visa (if it was necessary to obtain in advance of arriving), to Immigration, then to Customs, sometimes to Agriculture, depending on the country. For many countries, you will be boarded and asked to produce your documents and fill out the forms before you step off your boat - the officials will quarantine you to your boat until they have boarded and completed all formalities, and woe to you if you ignore their requirements. Some of the officials in some of the countries will search your boat.

You should be aware of each country's requirements before you arrive. There are many sources for this information, including each country's web site. Some of the information can be obtained from Seven Seas Cruising Association - they have a CD with about eight or ten years' past Commodore's Bulletins full of helpful information. visit http://www.ssca.org

Singapore and Malaysia state in bold red letters on their entry documents that conviction of trafficking in drugs results in a mandatory death sentence.

I do not know what country's passport you travel under, but I know of no nationality that enjoys any special considerations, so it is wise to behave yourself. In general, officials are helpful, usually friendly, they are not interested in making trouble for visitors to their country, but they will not tolerate their laws being broken or being treated rudely. There are a few places where the officials are pretty obnoxious, but not many.

I know of few places that you cannot visit in your boat, although there are some places that you will have difficulties: China, Viet Nam, Burma (Myanmar), and some of the former Soviet Union, for example. Local knowledge is sometimes necessary.

I think you might benefit from joining the Seven Seas Cruising Association. There is a lot of information published each month in their Commodore's Bulletin, and it is a huge organization of sailors.

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7) For the first 8 years we didn't have a hot water heater (well, Peter installed one just before we left to go cruising, but since it was strictly A.C. and could only work when we were in a marina, it wasn't used at all the first two years, and then it rusted out and Peter removed it in handsfuls - bad investment!). For a while I used a Solar Shower, though I wasn't particularly impressed with it. Some places it just never got warm enough to be worth the effort. A better system was a pressure garden sprayer that I could leave in the sun to warm up, or boil some water to add to the water in the sprayer to warm up the water.

While in Australia we added a true marine hot water heater - worked on 220V A.C. when at a dock (not very often), and used a heat exchanger off the engine freshwater cooling system otherwise. The heat exchanger was exceptionally efficient, so that even when it was quite cool we'd have more than enough hot water after only about 10 minutes of the engine running. By the time this was installed I was pretty used to not having hot water and so really didn't use it much, didn't really appreciate it much except on those rare coolish days.

Since we spent almost all our time in the tropics, I didn't miss hot water, and didn't use it that much when we had it.

Dishes were washed with salt water and Joy Liquid, with the final rinse in fresh water, just to remove the salt. I rarely heated up water to do dishes.

Laundry was always done with ambient temperature water.

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8) One of the best purchases you will make is one of the following: "World Cruising Routes" by Jimmy Cornell, or "BA World Sailing Ship Routes, published out by the British Admiralty. These can be bought online from Bluewater Books http://www.bluewaterweb.com We carried both and used them both.

I haven't read the book, but you might want to look into: "The Voyager's Handbook: The Essential Guide to Blue Water Cruising" by Beth Leonard.

Of necessity sailors plan their trips around the weather, particularly hurricane/cyclone season. So you don't sail offshore in the tropics during their hurricane/cyclone season. Indeed, you try to get out of the tropical storm zone during storm season which is the summer for that hemisphere. What Californians frequently do is sail to Mexico in November/December, spend a few months there, and then head off for the South Pacific around April or May of the following year (or many years for some who find Mexico a seductive cruising ground), arriving in French Polynesia at the end of their cyclone season. You will find that this is an annual migration made by many other cruising boats so you will soon get the hang of it. Sailing is a slow way to get anywhere, so you need to be prepared, physically and mentally, for the long passages - 3 to 4 weeks from either San Diego or Mexico before landfall in the Marquesas. 1 to 2 weeks until the next group of islands, and on around the globe. You're not going to sail much faster than about 7 or 8 miles an hour, so get a good world chart and start calculating distances! Don't let it faze you, however. The best times I've spent on Watermelon have been on the longer passages, even those where the weather was less than ideal.

You might check out California's "sailing rag", Latitude38, which you can find in just about every ship store, free. Go to any West Marine store, for example. And you might do well to join the Seven Seas Cruising Association (www.ssca.org) and buy their CD of the past several years of Commodore's bulletins. There is a lot of information to be had there.

And I'm available most evenings to chat online (from about 5 or 6 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time). Just click on the "live chat" button on the Cruising Dictionary (FAQ) page: www.cruiser.co.za/faq.asp, or on my website: www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon.asp. If I'm on line you'll get a response "an operator will be with you shortly". I don't have high speed internet access, so you might have to wait a minute for me to answer.

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9) People have circumnavigated on quite small boats. Ten or fifteen years ago, the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) did a survey of the size of its members' boats, and if I remember correctly, it was about 35 feet. I believe that the average size has crept up a bit, but there are still members of the SSCA traveling on boats in the 27- to 32' range whose boats have carried them safely across oceans.

In the end, the boat you choose will probably be the largest boat that you can afford and that you can comfortably sail single-handed. Improvements in gear have increased the size of boat that one or two people can safely handle. But with increased size comes increased time and expense to maintain and repair the boat. In the harsh salt-water environment regular maintenance is a necessity, and repairs are an inevitability. A well-found and well-maintained boat will carry you safely. Yet no matter how good the boat was when it was bought, if it hasn't been maintained properly it will no longer be a safe boat. All around the globe you will see boats stalled in their voyage by major repair problems, a great many of which could probably have been avoided by better attention to repairs and maintenance.

Check out the Cruiser Log sailing forum - http://cruiserlog.conforums.com general index, or to go to the cruiser's discussion forum, http://cruiserlog.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=Forum

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10) The facetious answer? When you get through the Panama Canal, head up to Jamaica, then back down into the Caribbean. To try to sail East from Panama is a trip that only a masochist would make.

The other option is to go through the Panama Canal, sail up the East coast of Central America, then up to Florida, and then back down. It's a hard slog, but easier than East from Panama.

Remember that hurricanes are a consideration throughout the East Coast of the US and the Caribbean, so you don't want to be making long passages during hurricane season (June 1 to December 1).

If you'd like to chat about your sailing plans, I'm usually on line from about 6 pm EDT through 11 pm EDT. You can find the Live Chat link at either the FAQ page (www.cruiser.co.za/faq.asp) or my web page, www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon.asp

My internet connection is not terribly fast, so when the screen welcomes you with " Thanks for contacting us. An operator will be with you shortly...." it might take me a few minutes to connect.

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11) In general news of danger and problems gets all the news, and the good experiences are just taken for granted. We've been to so many places that were considered unsafe that we greet most news of danger with a healthy dose of scepticism.

There are places that are unsafe, but not very many provided you are not associated with an occupying army, as in Iraq. I'd avoid Somalia and the Muslim section of the Philippines. Parts of Indonesia. Andros Island in the Bahamas (a drug transshipment spot, the drug dealers are pretty touchy) is another spot. And I can't say I like Nassau very much, but the rest of the Bahamas is lovely, as are the people. Some of the prettiest water I've ever seen.

The Caribbean is, generally, quite safe. However, you need to keep in touch with the cruisers already down there to find the local "danger" spot. "Danger", in almost all cases where drugs are not involved, consists of petty theft (and some not-so-petty). Thieves are not interested in boarding the boat when there is anybody aboard - all they want to do is get stuff and be on their way.

Although we've not been to Mexico, I have heard about very few problems. Pick up Latitude38 magazine. It's free and can be found in most chandleries, such as West Marine. You can also read it on line, http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/LectronicLat.html

We have quite a bit of experience related to this on Watermelon's web page: http://www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon.asp

There's a news article in it about a yachtie murdered in Venezuela: http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/2004/0604/Jun30/June30.html#anchor481451

The person reporting it is stating his opinion about Venezuelans, however, not fact. Have you read about our trip to Trinidad & Tobago? http://www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon3.asp

If you don't have time to read it all, read the third from last, and last paragraphs. Back when we went to Trinidad very few yachts ever went there. Now it's one of the most popular yacht destinations.

On Watermelon's web page is "General Bits and Pieces, http://www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon2.asp which, at the end, has more of our thoughts on risk and piracy.

If you are the timid sort, perhaps you could take a course on self-defense and urban awareness (I am not talking about judo or karate, what I refer to is about how to carry yourself and now to make yourself less of a target wherever you may go). As much as I dislike blaming the victim, there are people who are prone to being victims for various reasons - they just look like victims, and the malefactors of the world can recognize one at 50 paces, every time.

There are a lot of cruisers out there, and the Caribbean and Mexico are probably the top destinations for American cruisers. Keep yourselves informed, but try not to let the one bad report prevent you from experiencing a wonderful life.

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12) Thank you for the kind comments. Cruising has been a joy, and we have benefited so much from all those who went before us that it was only natural for me to return the courtesy.

As far as dogs on cruising yachts, we have met a few, though mostly in the Caribbean.

In the Caribbean, it doesn't seem as if there are any real problems with any animal aboard. The islands are overrun with cats and dogs that in many cases were abandoned by their owners, or "escaped" and weren't recovered when their owners left the island.

However, in the South Pacific, once you leave French Polynesia, the remaining countries wish to remain rabies-free and thus do not allow animals to leave the boat. Australia and New Zealand are exceptionally strict about importing animals. In Australia I believe that a dog is removed from the boat and quarantined at the owner's expense. Because cats are so capable of jumping off a boat and onto a dock, though, some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, will not allow a boat with a cat to be tied to a dock. The boat is either anchored off or tied to a dock in such a way as to prevent the cat from "escaping" onto land. And you must pay for an agriculture official to visit your boat once a week to verify that the animal is still on board. As best I can determine, this "quarantine" lasts as long as you are in the country - in other words, you can never allow the cat ashore.

I am not familiar with countries bordering the Mediterranean, but I seem to recall that with the European Union some quarantine restrictions were strengthened.

I personally think that it is unfair to the dog to be confined to a boat for extended periods. Considering the diseases they are susceptible to in the tropics, including hookworm and heartworm, I think they would be healthier left behind.

If you do not yet belong to the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA), you might consider joining, and perhaps obtaining the past 8 years' worth of Commodore's bulletins that have been placed on a CD. It is a wonderful resource. You can get more information from their web site: http://www.ssca.org/

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13) The ease with which you can obtain insurance seems to vary with circumstances, and often the experience of the insured. After the terrible hurricanes in the Caribbean and Eastern US in the 90s, many insurers, including Lloyd's, found themselves in financial trouble due to the losses they incurred. Many pulled out of the private yacht insurance business, others imposed stricter restrictions; for example, increasing deductibles for losses incurred in tropical storms/hurricanes, and requirements for at least 3 people for ocean crossings.

I notice, however, that new insurers continue to appear, and some of them haven't learned the lessons of their predecessors, so I think it's a matter of searching to find adequate coverage.
The older your boat, the greater the scrutiny by the insurer. Some insurers give rate considerations for documented experience by skipper and crew. I don't think it's easy, and it isn't cheap, but most newer US and UK boats we've met were insured.

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14) We never found searching for insurance to be hassle free. Insurance is country specific, so it's difficult for me to give you specific advice.

We were convinced to switch insurance agents and companies back in 1989 because the agent told us he could get us the insurance we needed at a significantly lower premium from the insurance we were then carrying. Peter and I emphasized that we had to have insurance that covered all the Caribbean and would later allow us to sail to and through the Pacific, etc. The agent assured us that he had found just the right company, please send the premium and he'd send us the binder. We sent him the money, but the binder didn't arrive for months. We received it a few weeks after Hurricane HUGO, when we were still in St. Martin (French West Indies). The binder said we were limited to no further than 50 miles offshore and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (!!) I phoned the agent in a panic/rage, telling him that the insurance was completely unacceptable, and what if something had happened to Watermelon in Hurricane HUGO? His reply was that the insurance company didn't know where St. Martin was, so we shouldn't worry. My reply, as I fired him, was that if we had had an insurance claim I had no doubt that the insurance compay would find out where St. Martin was very quickly!

If there is a local yacht club with members who race in one of the offshore regattas, such as the Newport/Bermuda race on the East coast, or the regattas to Hawaii and Mexico on the West coast, or... well, each country has its own races. And ask around. And post on the Cruiser Log forum: http://www.cruiserlog.com/forums/

Good luck. Jeanne

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15) There are two books that we've used for sailing route information - Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes", and the "British Admiralty World Sailing Routes". I like the BA book because it has large world maps for all the seasons with wind and current information.

You might also check out the sailing rag Latitude38 - www.latitude38.com which has lots of California sailing info.

You should also post on various sailing bulletin boards, such as the Cruiser Log Forum - http://www.cruiserlog.com/forums/ Sign up, then go the Cruiser's discussion forums.

Or the Seven Seas Cruising Association, at http://www.ssca.org

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16) Hi. I am on the road for the next month or more and do not have immediate access to many of my files. I have not been to the Caribbean in such a long time that most of my information is based on friends and contacts, including the founder of Budget Marine, referred to below.

All people entering Venezuela need to obtain a visa in advance. Thus you, and any crew, need to go to the nearest Venezuelan embassy/consulate with two passport size photos and your passport and boat papers to apply for a visa. Venezuelan regulations have changed since I was there, so you need to inquire at the consulate as to current entry and stay restrictions. They are more expensive than in the past. I believe that haul-out is still quite cheap, but the skill level is not as high as in other places. And theft is a bit of a problem throughout the country.

Venezuela is only a short two-day sail to Grenada, 4 days to Trinidad, so leaving and returning is not a major concern.

You can have your 45 foot boat hauled in Venezuela in Cumana or in Puerto La Cruz.

Or, you can go to Trinidad (which you will reach first coming from Africa) where the majority of American and European yachts go to spend hurricane season and to haul out their boat because Venezuela has become more difficult for foreigners. I believe for S. Africans that Trinidad also requires a visa, so you should check with them before setting out - visa requests are usually handled through the British Embassy. Check out the various web sites. http://www.visittnt.com/, or http://www.meppublishers.com/online/discover/ or check the Lonely Planet guide, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/caribbean/trinidad_and_tobago/.

We personally love Trinidad, and think Tobago is the gem of the Caribbean and a must-see for everyone. As much as we like Venezuela, I think that perhaps Trinidad would be a friendlier place for you to haul out for many months. Fortunately November through May is the dry season so it might be okay to be there. There are tremendous amounts of supplies and chandleries, including a branch of Budget Marine - http://www.budgetmarine.com/

Trinidad might be a bit more expensive than Venezuela, but much less expensive than anywhere else in the Caribbean, and because of its success with cruisers over the past 10 years or more, it has a larger number of haul-out facilities and capable workers. Nice place.

I hope this helps you. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask again.

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17) We loved the Panama Canal. Before we got there in 1991 I was very worried, convinced that it was going to be a horrible experience and our poor beloved Watermelon was in danger of being destroyed! What a great relief. The pilots were professional, and very nice. The trip itself was beautiful. We truly enjoyed it.

We did not like Colon, Panama - too many poor, homeless people and a lot of thieves and rascals. But Panama City is worth a few days visit. Lots of history, some lovely buildings.

Things, of course, change. And since we went through the canal it's been officially turned over to Panama, and we understand that fees have risen exhorbitantly. It is still a bargain compared to the alternative, which is rounding Cape Horn. I would be careful, and not travel around Panama without a companion, but it is still a reasonable place to visit.

This is a link to some photos of our transit of the canal, and our visit to the San Blas Islands. http://www.fototime.com/inv/526D70576966056

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18) In our opinion, blue water sailing is a piece of cake. It's the sailing close to land, where all those hard parts are that's the difficult part.

Seriously, though. You'd be surprised how many avid sailors have nobody to sail with them and are more than willing to take along a rank amateur, provided he is willing to listen to instruction.

We have met people circumnavigating on boats under 30 feet. Seaworthiness is important, but it can be found in boats in the 28 to 30-foot range. You will find as many opinions of what is a blue-water boat as there are models of boats, I bet. First learn to sail, then start learning about the boats that have already made the trip you are considering. For example, there are a lot of people who would not consider our beloved Watermelon, a Jeanneau Sun Fizz, to be a blue water boat. Yet we were very comfortable on her, and felt safe in what was a very seaworthy boat. Her draught was 7'2", which most people would consider too deep, yet we had no problems with that draught. I could go on, but I think as you learn more about sailing, and sailboats, you will better understand what I am trying to convey here.

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19) One of the problems with the Florida to Caribbean trip is that you are going against strong winds and significant currents most of the way. I would suggest that you get Bruce van Sant's The Gentleman's Guide to Passages South. It is written for sailing yachts, but his idea is to make mostly daysails, which are a lot slower than you will be able to go since you're motoring, but is applicable to you with your relatively short range. The suggested route goes from Florida through the Bahamas to the Turks & Caicos, then to the Dominican Republic (giving Haiti a pass), day hopping to Samana, D.R., then across to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. There are advantages to this route - lots of harbors where you can wait out bad weather, there are plenty of places to stop for fuel, and you're never far from a port. You can then easily transit the South coast of P.R., stopping whenever to get fuel. The trip over to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands from the eastern tip of P.R. and its islands is probably less than 50 miles. BUT. Because the winds blow pretty strong, right on the nose, and there is a stiff current running, I would halve the working range for this passage once you leave the Bahamas (Georgetown, where you can get fuel).

Keep in mind that the hurricane season doesn't officially end until November 30. In this very busy hurricane year, I would keep a wary eye on the weather, and plan your route to include "escape" routes.

The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are Spanish-speaking countries, and you should know that diesel is called "gasoil" in the D.R., probably diesel in P.R., but not necessarily (I can't remember, it's been such a long time since we've been there).

A strong suggestion. You should be sure to have a good supply of fuel filters before you leave. You should be sure that your fuel tank has been cleaned, your fuel "polished" before you go, because the trip is going to be lumpy and any gunk in your fuel tank is going to be stirred up and drawn into the fuel filters (I assume that you have two - primary and secondary). The other problem is that the fuel you get in the Dominican Republic and in many other places is liable to be dirty - filters on the fuel pumps are very expensive, and in the poorer countries they just don't bother to replace them when the filters clog up. For that matter, we've had bad fuel in the States, same problem.

Even with GPS and charts, I used to used Microsoft's Encarta World Atlas for a preliminary planning go at a passage, picking out likely ports, obtaining Lat. and Long. from the atlas and then plugging the coordinates into our GPS to get a basic idea of distances and course.

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20) Since Watermelon only has tankage for 75 gallons of water, with about another 20 gallons worth of Jerry jugs, water was always something we conserved and were careful with.

Back when we were still in the Caribbean we arrived in Cumin, Venezuela with empty water tanks. We pulled up to the marina dock and filled our tanks, then left immediately to join friends in a beautiful anchorage far from towns, houses, or people.

And found that our water was absolutely undrinkable due to the amount of chemicals used to treat the water. Of course we then heard "oh, didn't we tell you? NEVER fill your tanks on a Monday or Thursday because those are the days that VZ treats its water. You have to wait a day for the chemicals to disperse a bit" (!!!) I don't know how true that was, but I vowed to never have to suffer that again. However, our solution was to put in a very good water filtration system - a pre-filter to remove the worst of sediment, and a secondary charcoal and 1 micron filter to remove chemicals, taste, and most bacteria. The same as is sold for household filtering of water.

Very shortly thereafter we got a "deal" on a PUR watermaker. The one we got provided about 4 liters (just a bit over 1 gallon) of desalinated water an hour, and consumed a great deal of electricity for that small amount of water. It was a very expensive piece of equipment that we maintained assiduously but did not use very much because of the huge power consumption and the small output. Not one of our best "investments."

When we were in Papua New Guinea (PNG), we arrived in Misima after more than a month without rain and close to bone dry water tanks, only to find that the water in the town was undrinkable because the mining operation had contaminated the groundwater on which they relied for water. Every time we motored we ran our watermaker, but at a gallon an hour we were barely keeping up with our daily consumption, with not a drop left over for laundry or bathing. Fortunately we befriended an Australian freighter captain who had LOTS of water and gave us all that we needed.

PNG was the most difficult place for us, water-wise, and that mostly because we stayed away from the larger, inhabited islands where there were rivers and decent sources of water. Although we considered getting a larger watermaker, we weren't willing to sacrifice any space for the unit, and so made other concessions in order to have enough water.

We always had to be careful with water, but we never again ran as low as that day in Misima, PNG. We had a very good catchment system, we worked hard at keeping our tanks full when there was water available, and were very conservative in our use of water.

So this is a very long answer to your question of whether one "needs" to have a watermaker to go cruising. I would say No. That is not one of your Needs. It does make life more convenient and with a large enough boat and budget I'd say go for it, but you then have other concerns. In order to have enough power to drive the watermaker you really should have a generator. You are searching for fuel, driven to keep your fuel tanks filled. Precious storage space on the boat is consumed by all that extra fuel and the equipment needed to provide you with water, and there are more things to break that you must maintain and repair. KISS ("Keep It Simple, Sailor") flies out the window with every gadget you install.

Most cruising boats have more tankage than Watermelon, but all serious cruisers are adept at water conservation, some of them even willing to do their laundry in salt water (something I just could never bring myself to do).

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21) The average cruiser is indeed NOT rich. I have always delighted in the fact that you meet such a wonderful cross-section of people when you cruise -- people you would probably not normally meet in your land-based life, where you live with people of the same socioeconomic means, you work with people like yourself, you generally socialize with people with similar backgrounds and occupations.

Some people have to work their way around, finding jobs that are often illegal and low-paying; saving carefully to replenish their cruising kitty. Others are on a five-year (or whatever) plan, husbanding their savings for this once-in-a-lifetime cruise that they know will have an end and they will go back to work in the "real world." There are retired couples whose dream of cruising saw them through those long years of work and child-rearing, who have sold their house and now have only their boat to shelter them. Where we went we met few wealthy people, and none of the mega-rich people in those fancy mega-yachts with uniformed crew. They are the minority, and in general aren't the cruisers.

As far as our own finances, Peter's sister once accused me of having a "depression mentality" - in other words, I am cheap. (My saving grace is that I deny myself, not others, and I abhor being, or even giving the impression of being, a freeloader!)

Being debt-free was our obsession, and probably the most important factor in our ability to leave the rat-race and go cruising at a relatively young age. Don't discount a bit of luck, and a lot of hard work. In the US, not incurring debt sometimes appears to be almost un-American, but in my opinion is probably the key to financial independence.

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