Passports Renewed - Check

Passport renewal was on our "Needs to be Complete Before We Leave" task list. Well yesterday that item was checked off the list. My passport finally came in. The US State Department had stated that regular passport renewal processing took between 4-6 weeks. I was lucky, mine only took 3 weeks.

The next time we will have to go through this process is in 2012. The girls passports will have to be renewed at that time. In the US, passports for children under 16 are only valid for 5 years; adult passports are valid for 10 years.

YEAH!!! We are another step closer to "YESification"!

Igloo Water Cooler For Boat People Hydration

Our plan, for the family daily drinking water, was to have a gallon jug of water out every day that family members can use to fill their individual cups as needed. Alas, the thought of KJ, let alone little Dy, trying to pour from a gallon water jug into cups on a rocking boat just doesn't seem reasonable.

While roaming the aisles of Costco, our water dispenser concern was addressed: the mighty Igloo 5 gallon water cooler appeared!

These containers are tough and very easy for little ones to dispense water from. I recall these brutes from various sporting events I've participated in, and I love how easy it is to just push a button to get the water out.

We checked out the prices on line and found the one at Costco, for $29.99, to be a great price.

Welcome, mighty orange 5 gallon Igloo dispenser, to the Sailboat Family! You are going on an amazing journey!

Family Trip to Health Clinic for Yellow Fever and Typhoid Vaccination Costs + Advice

We received a call from a worker at a health clinic that Val had befriended. The clinic had just gotten in a batch of Yellow Fever vaccinations and that we had better get there soon. First thing the next morning, we were all on our way, the entire clan. The clinic opened at 8:15, and we were there at 8:10.

Lesson 1: The quantities of the Yellow Fever vaccinations are very limited. First dips always goes to the military, and then the rest is dolled out to clinics in a region. Make friends with someone at the clinic so they will call you when doses arrive.

As the first people in the vaccinations portion of the clinic, we thought it would be fairly quick event. Alas, it wasn't. We proceeded to wait for 1 hour before being called back! Yes, 1 full hour and we were not only the first, but the only people there!!!!

Lesson 2: Be ready to wait a long time .... even if you are the first and only people there.

When we finally made it back, we met with the travel nurse. We shared with her that we were in to get some Yellow Fever vaccinations. She proceeded to ask us a serious of questions. The first one, "Where are you going?" Ah, that was easy, "We are going around the world." She gave a queer look. "I need a specific place please." I knew this was going to be an experience, but I wasn't ready for how mechanical it was going to be.

I looked at the world map on the wall and started reading off all the countries along the coast of Central and South America. The nurse dutifully typed them all in. With each one, she would pull back out sheets of information. At about country 5, I finally let the futility of the situation carry the next step. I said, "Look, we are just going to Brazil ... let's just do that one please." "Where in Brazil?" Ugh. So I looked at a map and named a city. "You don't need Yellow Fever for that one." Ugh. "Well, that is just our starting point, we plan on venturing deep into the Amazon river, and spend months and months there." "ohh, well then you definitely need Yellow Fever", she stated, "and you should get Typoid" (BONUS! We wanted that too, but were very focused on the limited quantity of the Yellow Fever vaccination).

Lesson 3: Find a specific place that requires you to have the shots you need, and simply go in with that on your agenda. Don't list every place.

Then she asked, "When are you leaving and when are you getting back?" At this point, I just made up dates. She was going by her script, and she was going to be very through (just as one would want a health care professional).

Val paid the fees: $110 per Yellow Fever shot, $60 per Typhoid shot, and $100 for the entire family consultation giving a grand total of $780.

I went first. KJ held my hand to comfort me watching everything close up. Next up was Val, KJ holding hands again. Then KJ. I had to hold her very still, and KJ braved the shots like a trooper. Next up Dy, she too did great. Sure, there were tears, but it was all good.

2 hours 30 minutes later, we were all done. The reality of the trip was made physical as all our arms were sore the entire day!

Oh, once we were done, there was only 1 Yellow Fever vaccination left for someone else and the clinic manager told us that another shipment wasn't due for 30 days.

Extending The Sailing Trip's Timeline

"Just looking at your route map on your website. I could have sworn it used to be a four or five year plan, did your family recently change it to the 9-10 year plan? Looks like a really long-term commitment!"

On June 2, 2010 at 11:02, Stacey posted this question and the answer warrants a full response.

When we first posted our route page, we expected to take 4 or 5 years to mosey around the planet. As we've grown our knowledge, we've mentally adjusted the route to accommodate some new desires and to have an even more leisurely pace. What I didn't do is keep the route page updated to reflect our current thinking and planning. A couple of weeks ago, I sat down and captured the latest route in graphical form and uploaded it.

One of the bigger adjustments, for example, is that we want to spend more time in Central America when we first head out. Another notable change is that we are by passing Australia and using New Zealand as a home base for the region. We shared in our New Zealand blog post that we can stay 6 months exploring, and we plan to do just that. Lastly, in 2012, we want to be back in the USA to take our children to Walt Disney World. We want to give them one big Disney experience, when they are both of an age to remember it as well as have it be magical (fairies, princesses, and castles!).

The caveat to the entire trip is, we will just go with the flow. We are committed to the trip, not the timeline. We will go as, when, and where the winds, weather, and our desires propel us. No faster, no slower. The map really is a guide post to help us prepare.

Thanks for asking Stacey. Great questions/observation.

Sailing to Easter Island - The BIG Heads

Back in 2007, Val and I made a conscious choice about our mode of travel as we meander around the planet. One of the drivers to the choice of using a sailboat was our desire to make our way to Easter Island. It holds a special place of enchantment for both of us.

The Polynesian name for Easter Island is Rapa Nui or Big Rapa. It rests some 2,200 miles off the coast of Chile and it will serve as our farthest reaching ocean run. We estimate that it will take us some 25 days to make the journey from Chile. Nearly a month! The Easter Island run will be a true test.

Easter Island is one of the worlds most isolated inhabited islands. It is also home to the massive stone statues called Moai. We think so much of these Big Heads that we have a nice, small, 150 pound one in our apartment to greet guests. His name is Fred ... Fred's Head. In the winter time, Fred's head serves as the place for our hats.

From what we can gather, when we visit the island, the best place to tie up is in a small harbor called Hanga Pikio, on the west coast. However, to get inside, we will need to hire a local pilot to help guide us in. In 2008, the harbor usage fee was $150.00 (US). It should also be noted that due to the conditions inside the harbor, it is truly a choreographed effort to get in and out when other boats are anchored up in the harbor. It get's worse, only monohulls less than 36 feet are allowed in, so we will have to anchor around the island! This means shifting locations as the wind shifts. Here is an excellent Easter Island anchorage guide: Easter Island Anchor Guide by Bruce Balan and Alene D. Rice of Cross 46 trimaran "Migration."

The calmest seas, and lightest winds, occur from mid-November to mid-February. That will be the window we will be aiming for.

Hooka Dive System - Hookamax

To say Val and I are avid SCUBA divers would be an understatement. In addition to having dived in waters all over the world (including Truk Lagoon, the Mediterranean, Roatan Honduras, etc.) Val and I are both Master Scuba divers, with ratings from both NAUI and PADI. It gets even more extreme. 8 years ago, I took a 1 year sabbatical from consulting, obtained a mixed gas card from IANTD and became a PADI certified Divemaster. With the professional rating, I worked aboard boats in Florida taking tourists down (and up!). It was an awesome year to say the least.

When we make the boat our full time home, sailing around the world, our basement will be the environment we love so much. It will be temping to strap a tank onto our backs, and go in .... everyday. Alas, SCUBA gear, tanks, refill compressors, and all the maintenance that comes with the equipment just doesn't fit into our KISS principle. Plus, our boat is simply too small for all the stuff.

Being on the ocean and not diving won't work, and taking all the equipment needed to dive won't work. Our solution is to get a Hooka dive system.

A hooka diving system is a surface supplied air system. Hoses from a compressor, resting above the water, carry air down to a diver. Hooka systems have been used for a long time. You can get gasoline compressors, you can get 120V/240V systems, and you can even get 12VDC ones. Each with varying diver capacity. The obvious limitation is that the diver is always tethered to the air source above the water.

Some of the systems can provide air down to a diver at 100 feet! Others are only good to 20 feet. Some can support two divers, and others four.

With our particular boat configuration, we've decided a solid 12V DC system would be best. They are light weight and can run right off of our batteries. This implies the time under water is limited by the capacity of our batteries (and other physiological constraints). However, 12V DC systems are typically the most limited in terms of diver capacity and depth. 2 divers, 20 feet deep, is about all one system can handle at a time. We suspect, though, that such limitations will not impede our enjoyment. Much of the oceans brilliance happens in less than 20 feet due to the penetration depth of sunlight. Will there be those times that Val and I want to go deeper? Yes, but we simply won't be able to go deeper short of a free dive or renting some SCUBA gear from a local SCUBA shop. It is a trade off.

After reviewing all I can on the Internet, including the potential of building my own Hooka system (plenty of DIY plans out there), the system we are interested in buying is the Hookamax Dive System, the E2005C-12V 2X50 model. It seems rugged, fairly priced, fully featured, and the photos on the site are great!

In addition to just exploring reefs, Hookah systems are also great for staying down to clean the underside of the boat and for spear fishing as you can just hang under the water for hours.

Underwater world, here comes our family!

Cinco de Mayo! Learning Spanish

Hola! Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Running low here on the Spanish vocabulary. Given that our sailing plan puts us in Mexican waters, Central America, and South America for a year, we believe it is a good idea to learn Spanish. As a family, how best do we do that? We have a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Videos! While Dora the Explorer is fun for the girls, it really doesn't provide enough Spanish vocabulary building for us to actually operate in Latin America.

At the moment, we are in the throws of teaching Dy how to talk. How are we doing that? Using picture books and kiddie videos, so that is what we will be doing for our Spanish lessons. We will obtain the materials used by Spanish speaking families to teach their own children, and use them to teach all of us.

I've been out to EBay and I see a number of such tools for $5 or less. This should be fun!

Oh, and Cinco de Mayo is the day used to observe the Mexican army's victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Adios!

White Vinegar!

On a sailboat, weight matters. If you overweight a sailboat, it not only impacts performance, but could put you, your family, and the boat in peril. This fact is ever-present in our minds as we compile our list of provision. The more versatile a product is, the higher it goes on our list.

White Vinegar is one such products. It has been said that vinegar has 1001 uses, I believe that it has more. It can be used to preserve food, a remedy for jelly fish and bee stings, deodorizer, stain remover, cleaner, beauty aid, in the laundry, a cat detourant, and the list goes on and on. It is believed that Hannibal used vinegar to clear large rocks that blocked his army's route. Now that's what I'm talking about!

On our adventure, we will be carrying vinegar. Do you know of any other such products that we should have on our list?

Dentemp - Cavity Filling Stuff

Last week, the day before going up on stage before 400 people, one of my fillings came out. There I was, with big hole in my tooth, and it was Sunday. My tongue would not stay out of it, and was being cut by the tooths exposed sharp edges.

I called the dentist office, and was offered the opportunity to call my dentist at home and ask her for a referral. I thought about it, then asked myself, "Well, what would I do if we were out on the boat?" Hmmm .... another normal life happening that could happen while we are out on the boat. My immediate answer was, "I'd put gum in the hole until we got to shore." Then Val remembered some stuff called Dentemp, it is a temporary filling substance that you can buy from a pharmacy. Once put in, it will hold for 3 or 4 days. Perfect! So, we went out and bought some Denttemp. It even has a pain reliever in the material.

It took me 3 different tries to get it put in right. The directions said to leave a bit of moisture in my mouth before putting the stuff in. Alas, each time I did that, the damn temporary filling fell out within a few hours. When I totally dried out my mouth and put it in, the stuff stayed. In fact, when I did go see the dentist 2 days later, she commented on how good of a job I did putting it in!

The nice commentary from my dentist was offset by the end result, I need a root canal. The filling fell out because there was a cavity underneath it, and the cavity was eating away at the tooth. The cavity ate right to the top of my tooth's nerve (hence the pain). This will be my 3rd root canal.

Dentemp is now another part of our boat medical kit.

Don't sail away without Dentemp!

Updated Goals, Strategies, and Tactics

With all the work we've (mostly Val) been pouring into the boat, we thought it best to pause and look around. When working with the nose so close to the grindstone, it is easy to forget to look up and be sure that what you are grinding is turning into what you want.

This was a perfect time to revisit our goal, strategies for achieving the goal, and the tactics for realizing the strategies. Back in May of 2009, we shared our then 1 year old formal listing of our goal statement, strategies, and tactics for the trip.

Here they are again:

------------------------

Goal –
Explore the world as a family full time indefinitely leaving as early as 2012.

Strategy –
S1: Use boat for conveyance and residence
S2: Live self-sufficiently
S3: Don’t own durable goods with a life span past 2012

Tactics –
T1: Identify and liquidate all non-essential material possessions (S2, S3)
T2: Save as much money as possible (S1, S2)
T3: Reduce cost of living (S2)
T4: Create multiple parallel streams of passive income (S2)
T5: Identify and acquire appropriate boat (S1)
T6: Identify and discontinue all non-essential services (S2)
T7: Cook with a single burner (S1, S2)
T8: Add seafood to diet (S2)
T9: Identify and address all physical deficiencies before 2012 (S2)
T10: Maximize bodily health (S2)
T11: Live a minimalist life (S2)

------------------------

Our goal statement has changed. It now reads:

Explore the world as a family full time indefinitely leaving as early as 2011.

The adjusted goal also changes one of the strategies (S3) since durable goods past 2011 don't do us any good. It also changes the tactic that lists a date (T9).

As Val and I considered all that has been done so far, the only action we've taken that violates our guidelines is the addition of the radar. We struggled with this one to the point that we even posted our internal dialog on the matter.

Having formalized (e.g. written down) our goal, strategies, and tactics has made it easier for Val and I to make independent and collaborative decisions. We talk about if a given course of action fits within our framework. If it doesn't, then discussion follows. If it does, no discussion is needed .... we just execute.

We believe having this framework has been part of the reason why we were able to pull in our goal by another full year. We've been able to avoid decisions that would have resulted in a meandering towards the goal. The meandering state will happen once we are on the water!

Where Do We Live Just Before Setting Sail

As we think through the logistics of our departure plans, one of the interesting coordination items we are queuing up is our lodging when our apartment lease expires.

Our apartment lease ends the first week of November 2010. Between then and when we set sail, where should we live? Our boat will be on the Atlantic, in Savannah GA, a bit far for a commute to work (3.75 hours each way).

So where do we live between the first week of November 2010 and the day we set sail? This transition period could be 1 month, 2 months, or maybe 3 (depending on a number of factors).

Our basic transitory period lodging strategy is as follows:

We will be offering up to our friends and family, with pets, to house and pet sit for them in the months of November and December.

We have 2 sets of such people that have already indicated that such a situation is desired! Those 2 sets cover a 28 day period! This would imply living space in exchange for taking care of their houses and their pets. If we can find a few more such folks/situations, then we would be all set. No outlay of cash, and everyone wins.

If we can't find more such situations, one fall back position is to leverage all the Priority Club points that I've acquired over the years of traveling I do for work. We can use the Priority Club points to stay at an extended stay hotel like a Candlewood Suites or a Staybridge Suites.

Another fall back position is to rent an RV, from a friend, for a month and live in it if need be. There are a few family members and friends whom have already told us that we have this option.

Mahi Mahi aka Dolphin aka Dorado Trawling Line and Lure Strategy

We continue our journey to learn more about fishing and defining our strategy for how we will catch free food. As shared before, we plan on trawling constantly .... dragging a line behind us to seduce fish. Lately I've been studying up on a fish that Val loves.

Val is really interested in catching Mahi Mahi, which is also known as Dolphin and Dorado. This fish looks stupendously ugly to me, but according to Val (and many others), it tastes wonderful. My proclivities around consuming Seafood are quite well known, and this fishes looks don't help.

We plan to use a homemade, DIY, type of line and lure system. Starting from the boat, the line system will be as follows:

1. We will attach a 2 foot bungee cord to the rear arch of our boat, and this will serve as a shock cord line.
2. Attached to the shock cord will be 50 yards of a medium weight monofilament line.
3. Attached to the monofilament line will be a 4 foot long wire leader.
4. Attached to the wire leader will be a 6/0 sized hook.
5. Surrounding this hook will be a shredded plastic bag, made to look like a squid body.

That's it!

We will troll at 4 knots or so, depending on the wind, and when we see the shock cord expand, we will know that we have a hit. We will then use a coffee can along with gloves to wind up the fishing line to fight the Dorado to land it!

This all works in theory ... it will be great fun to try this in real life.

Sailing to Central America

As the weekend approaches, we've been thinking a lot about where we could be this time next year. It is very possible that we will be 2 months into the journey, and we suspect we will be somewhere in Central America.

Central America consists of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. We've been to Honduras before and found it to be exactly what we would expect of Central America. It has friendly people, absolutely beautiful landscapes, and a lot of poverty. The cost of living in this region of the world is very, very cheap.

Honduras is part of the Central America Border Control Agreement (CA-4). The CA-4 consists of 4 countries, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. As American citizens, we can enter any one of these 4 countries and stay for 90 days without any entry/exit formalities. If we need to stay longer, we can fill out some forms and then stay an additional 30 days.

For Belize, we can stay 30 days without a visa.

For Costa Rica, we can stay for 90 days without a visa! Wahoo!!

For Panama, we can stay 30 days without a visa.

If you sum up all the days just in this region, without doing anything formal, we could spend 240 days in South America, soaking up the culture, waters, and life style. This may be the best area for us to hang out as we start this journey ... figuring out what the heck we are doing.

Calverts Boat Home Schooling Curriculum

KJ, the eldest of our 2 daughters, will be 5 when we set sail, and in the fall of 2011 she will need to be enrolled in kindergarten. Since we will be voyaging around the world at that time, how do we handle her formal eduction? We've elected to home/boat school her. In the boatschooling world, the most well known system is Calverts.

Calverts provides a fantastic eduction for those on the road all the way up to 8th grade. The system is designed for people who don't have immediate access to the Internet, and for people whom want to teach the learning approach of self paced/self taught learning. Interestingly, if you review all their materials carefully, you see that everything a child would need to pass the GED is taught to them by the 8th grade. At this time, you can't take the GED until you're 16, but it is nice knowing that the material will be in KJ (and Dy's) head. Thousands and thousands of children have followed the program successfully and gone on to college. KJ and Dy may just join their ranks.

We have a number of options after the 8th grade too, like enrolling them in universities that allow for remote education, such as Brigham Young University and the University Nebraska (these 2 schools are favorites of those roaming the world). Will we do that? We won't know until KJ is older. Our immediate issue is, however, kindergarten.

The cost of the kindergarten package, new, from Calvert is $585, a value in our opinion. However, we bought a Calvert kindergarten package from a seller on eBay for $98!

With Dy being only 2 years behind KJ, Dy should be able to reuse the material without an issue. We suspect that KJ's learning sessions will naturally spill over into Dy's consciousness anyway. The boat is only so big, plus Dy is always curious about what her sister is doing.

This is a most excellent way for us to dip our toe into the water of boat schooling. We're glad to have found this system, and to have purchased it cheaply.

Boating Europe's Canals and Rivers

One of the reasons we bought Ariel, our Gemini 3200, is her size. We talked long and hard about the right size boat for us. We wanted her big enough for us to be comfortable for years at a time, but small enough to allow us to navigate tight waterways, such as those that comprise Europe.

Our plan is to sail from East to West, leaving from the East Coast of the USA. This places Europe in the final leg of our round the world odyssey. At a high-level, our plan is to spend at least 2 years wandering the canals of Europe once we finally arrive.

Europe has a fantastic network of waterways. The canals, originally built for goods transport, are now a highway of opportunity for tourists. They make the innards of Europe easily accessible, if one has the right sized boat.

Ariel's draft is a mere 18 inches, and her beam 14 feet. This beam figure is about a foot or 2 short of the maximum you would want for traversing the canals. Our mast will have to be stepped of course, so down it will go. We will most likely carry the mast with us, versus shipping it to a known end destination.

Many of the canals have captain operated manual locks ... that is, we will have to get off the boat, and work the locks ourselves. That is an exciting proposition!

The pace on the canals is around 4 knots .... a nice leisurely pace, one to take in Europe's offerings. Germany, Holland, France, Sweden, Spain, and more are all at our boats disposal.

How Much Money Do You Have, Foreigner?

As we work through all the places we want to see, a common visa acquisition requirement we've come across relates to our net worth.

A number of countries want you to have a certain amount of self financial capability before they will grant you the privilege of entering their country. This makes sense, these countries don't want people coming in and tapping their national resources. In New Zealand, for example, if you want a 6 month visa, you must be able to show you have $700 USD per month you want to stay. This can be demonstrated via bank statement.

We suspect that the formality around demonstrating the net worth part of the immigration policy is often left to the discretion of the local immigration official. That is, if we come in looking like we are financially sound (e.g. not coming in wearing tattered rags and appearing emaciated), we will be fine in most places. In policy driven environments, however, some form of proof must be on hand. This means that we will have to carry on our boat some proof of our financial soundness.

The trick will be to carry enough proof of financial self sufficiency to get in, but not so much as to then be susceptible to being taken advantage of (mysterious new fees). While we are modest in our means, everything is relative so modest in the US is wealthy in most parts of the world.

Our approach will be to have different bank statements. Since we have multiple accounts across multiple banks, we will simply keep the levels of money in each one different enough that we can produce the bank statement that sufficiently gets us into a place and no more.

Will this be a major issue? Probably not. However, we are thinking ahead and it is an issue one may face when taking a trip like this.

Sailing to the Great Blue Hole in Belize

There are so many amazing places on the ocean. While in Honduras, we took a boat trip to SCUBA dive a seamount ... a mountain rising from the sea floor that doesn't quite reach the surface to make an island. It was beautiful. As we traveled to Truk Lagoon, we saw a few atolls ... a reef structure that creates, and encloses, a lagoon. One really cool ocean landscape phenomenon we have not yet enjoyed, however, is a blue hole .... an underwater sink hole.

On our journey, we want to experience a blue hole first hand. The one we expect to enjoy first is the Great Blue Hole in Belize. Good ole Jacque Cousteau made it famous when he declared it a top 10 must SCUBA dive spot.

The Great Blue Hole is part of a large, partially collapsed, deep, limestone cave system. Attached to the Lighthouse Reef Atoll, this oceanic wonderland is 60 miles off the coast of Belize city. Something easily accessible by our boat! :)

Ahh, the thoughts of such beautiful places is perfect as we sit in our tiny apartment with winter cold right outside.

Vaccinations Needed For A Trip Around The World

The world is full of diseases. In the USA, as in most developed nations, the common population eliminators such as Yellow Fever and Typhoid are no longer an issue. However, our family isn't staying in the United States, we are adventuring abroad ... into places that haven't yet wrestled down these killers. So, what do we do?

Please keep in mind that we are not physicians or experts on vaccinations. We are simply sharing what we've learned about vaccinations and our current strategy. If you are considering a trip around the world, you should seek expert advice before you make your decision.

At a recent wellness check up for our girls, Val talked with their pediatrician about what vaccinations we should get. Our girl's doctor has been aware of our trip for 3 years now, so she wasn't surprised when Val asked. After their dialog, plus lots of research, we've decided that we should all get vaccinations beyond the normal childhood ones.

The first major vaccination we will get is for Yellow Fever. KJ, Dy, and Val will receive this in the next few months. Fortunately, I've already had this one due to my worldly travels. To help stem the spread of this killer, some countries, many in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa, require proof that you've had this immunization.

The second major vaccination that we've decided to go forward with is for Rabies. This treatment doesn't really stop you from being infected, but it does increase the time needed between getting Rabies and being treated for it. Given that we will be in some very small towns way out from major civilization centers, it is prudent to go forward with this.

The final major vaccination we will be taking care of is for Typhoid. This one, however, we are going to delay as long as possible. We've agreed that when we enter the Pacific, we will begin taking the Typhoid pills. Vaccinations are tough enough on a grown body, but little maturing ones can be risky. The odds of having a deleterious effect from this particular vaccination seems to go down as physical size and bodily maturity increases.

An often over looked part of getting vaccinations is that many of them require multiple treatments over months of time. This has to be baked into any trip being planned. We've backed into a departure date of December 2010 the vaccinations visits we need.

Vaccinations of kids is a turbulent subject. In our family, given the potential exposures we will have, we've decided to go forward with a few more.

Sailing to New Zealand

Many hours are spent thinking about where we will sail to. Of late, the discussions have been around sailing to New Zealand.

With all the horrible things we read about regarding sailing into Australia (permits, aggressiveness of Australian authorities (simply read the SlapDash account to get an idea, and their account is hardly the first), etc.), and the wonderful things we read about New Zealand, we've decided that we will make New Zealand our base of operations after we've left Easter Island.

New Zealand not only has cruiser friendly maritime laws, but the visa policies for foreigners are perfect for our family. If we stay 90 days or less, we don't even need a visa! If we elect to stay for 6 months, then we do need one and the processing is simple and affordable.

New Zealand has fantastic ship yards with reasonable prices. We expect, after the long passage, we will need to make some sort of repairs.

New Zealand is also a very bike friendly country. Quick Internet searches reveals miles and miles of bike ways, and after having made the ocean crossing, maybe a month or 2 on a bike will be exactly what we need.

With New Zealand's proximity to Australia, we plan to make a week long type trip into Australia. The flight would be short, and we can then tour the country as a regular tourist without all the hassle one has when visiting by boat.

New Zealand looks absolutely beautiful. We can bust out our small 3 person tent, scramble up a mountain or 2, and sleep with the trees. Heck, one of Val's favorite movie sagas is the Lord of the Rings .... and it was filmed in New Zealand. Maybe we will find Mordor; that would be cool!

Then, of course, there are the indigenous Maori people, with their tattooed faces. Exposing our girls to such cultures is fundamental to the education of this trip.

What better place to anchor up in than New Zealand?

New Zealand, here we come!

How Much Does It Cost To Sail Around The World?

It has been awhile since we've posted on the financial funding side of the trip. Money topics are often taboo; as a taboo buster, let's spill some more beans. This will help those whom are looking to take such a trip.

From all of the resources we've been able to find, plus analyzing our own spending habits, we are budgeting $20,600 per year for the trip. This amount of money, short of a major catastrophe, will supply us enough funds for boat maintenance, food, clothing, education, and other life necessities and conveniences that we are accustomed to.

To arrive at our number, we took the per year average of what we have spent for living over the the past 3 years and subtracted out 2 components: our monthly rent payment and the boat acquisition cost. This average came out to around $14,000 USD. We then tacked on 40% (a nearly arbitrary number) to arrive at our $20,600 target.

Our family of 4 lives quite comfortably on $14,000 per year, or $1,166 per month, before housing costs. This figure is everything we spend to live our life: food, clothing, health care, gifts, entertainment, car stuff (insurance, maintenance, tags, gas), electricity, etc.

$20,600, per year, will enable us to sail around the world. If the journey takes 3 years, we are looking at $61,800 not including boat acquisition.

Here are some assumptions and notables you must consider when constructing your numbers:

1. Our cost of living is based on Atlanta Georgia, USA figures. In most places around the world, we assume, it is cheaper to live. In some places, we assume, it is more expensive.
2. We have zero debt.
3. We assume that our lifestyle expectations on land will translate to the water. For example, we eat in a lot, we assume we will eat on the boat a lot.
4. We assume that the upkeep costs for our 2 cars per year will apply in great measure to our boat (gas, maintenance, insurance, etc.).
5. We assume that we will be able to fix most of the boat issues we will face ourselves.
6. We will have our boat in super shape the first day of the voyage.
7. We are assuming the amount of inflation we will face will be negligible over the years of our journey.

So, how much does it cost to sail around the world? In the end, it really depends upon you. Study your land behavior, and use that as your guide. We believe it is an error to assume everything is either cheaper, or more expensive, to live on the boat sailing around the world.

Our conjecture is that the cost to sail around the world will turn out to mirror your daily land life. If you eat and drink out a lot, own all brand name things, one up your neighbor, pay for services, etc. you will carry that with you and you will live accordingly. Should someone reading this think I'm implying otherwise, to be clear, there is nothing wrong with such a lifestyle. If it is you, then be you. If you want to move aboard a boat and sail around the world, you be you and budget accordingly.

In the final analysis, the most powerful message that this posting can give you is that financially, whatever it is your doing on land is what you will do on the water. This means, financially, it is simply a matter of choice to be on land or on the water.