Cost to Cruise – May 2016

May marks the month we finally left the Bahamas;  so our costs for this month includes entry fees for Turks & Caicos and Dominican Republic.  We also got a bit overzealous when we went to a ‘real’ grocery store – we definitely bought some pricey items and treated ourselves.

May 2016  TOTAL $ 2,413.27

$  245.00     CUSTOMS – ENTRY FEES

$  340.80     MARINA

$  861.55     GROCERIES

$  491.24     ENTERTAINMENT (eating out, alcohol, and excursions)

$    42.00     BOAT PARTS & OTHER

$  219.68     FUEL (Diesel & Gasoline)

$  170.00     COMMUNICATION

$    30.00     LAUNDRY

$    13.00     PROPANE

         Summary of previous months’ Totals*:

April 2016         $ 1,956.78

March 2016      $ 3,149.20

February 2016  $ 1,851.99

*previous month’s are detailed in prior posts

Cost to Cruise Bahamas – April 2016

After our failures to land fish (we hooked them but did not successfully get them onto the boat), we invested in a gaff.  We are hoping that this gets a lot of use once we leave Georgetown to start heading south on the deeper water.

In April, we also had a bit of a data usage snafu…Jesse and I both forgot to turn-off certain apps and inadvertently sucked up all of our data, therefore, we bought 10g of data (normally we only buy 5g and that is plenty). 😦

And last but not least, we did spend extra on food and entertainment because we had company visit and we checked out the Family Islands Regatta and festivities.

April 2016  TOTAL $ 1,956.78

This month we visited Lee Stocking Island, Cat Island, and Great Exuma Island (Georgetown, Red Shanks Anchorage, and Stocking Island).  Those costs break-down as follows:

$  597.07   GROCERIES

$  401.82   ENTERTAINMENT (eating out and alcohol)

$  341.40   BOAT PARTS & OTHER

$  282.43   FUEL (Diesel & Gasoline)

$  276.06   COMMUNICATION

$    48.00   LAUNDRY

$    10.00   TIPS, CHARITABLE DONATIONS, TRASH FEES

$      0.00   PROPANE

$      0.00   WATER

Summary of previous months’ Totals*:

       March 2016         $ 3,149.20

       February 2016    $ 1,851.99

*previous month’s are detailed Cost to Cruise Bahamas – The First Two Months

Cost to Cruise the Bahamas – The First Two Months

After spending almost three months in the Bahamas, we have learned that we did not provision well enough for certain things.  For instance, we did not buy any sugar or flour before we left the States – big mistake! We have learned our lesson after having spent almost $7 for a small bag of hot dog rolls.  So, we have needed to spend more money than anticipated in order to properly provision for the cooking that we have been doing.  But the good news is I have actually learned how to bake bread, rolls, and pizza dough (anyone who knows me knows that I am not Ms. Suzy Homemaker – so this is a big deal for me!).

Also, we have had some success hunting.  We have gotten our fair share of conch and have made ceviche and cracked conch on several occasions.  We have also feasted on mutton snapper.  Unfortunately, we have had some epic fails as well: reeled in a large mahimahi and a bigeye tuna only to lose them trying to get them onto the boat, caught barracudas, and, lastly, we caught a puffer fish (which makes for great sushi if you know how to maneuver around their poisonous spines).  Needless to say, we have not saved as much $ by catching our dinner as we were hoping.

Lastly, included in our communication category is our Verizon plan that we continue to pay a monthly charge on (we anticipate we will be using our phones again in the USVI – if that is not the case then we will terminate our contracts and pay the early termination fees at that time).  In the Bahamas, we bought two SIM cards – one for our unlocked old-school phone (calls only) and the other for our MiFi devise (data).

February 2016  TOTAL $ 1,851.99

The first month we visited Bimini, Fraziers Hog Cay (Berry Islands), Nassau, Eleuthera (various ports), and the northern portion of the Exumas Islands.  Those costs break-down as follows:

$  356.07   MARINAS

$  314.82   COMMUNICATION

$  269.79   GROCERIES

$  241.85   ENTERTAINMENT (eating out and alcohol)

$  211.19   BOAT PARTS & OTHER

$  196.85   FUEL (Diesel & Gasoline)

$  150.00   BAHAMAS ENTRY FEE – I HIGHLY recommend immigrating through Bimini

$    40.05   WATER

$    24.95   TIPS, CHARITABLE DONATIONS, TRASH FEES

$    20.42   CREDIT CARD FEES (charged by some local stores)

$    14.00   PROPANE

$    12.00   LAUNDRY

March 2016  TOTAL $ 3,149.20* (I Know right – Holy Crap! – see Extraordinary items)

In month two we continued down the Exumas Islands.  Those costs break-down as follows:

$1,630.70*  BOAT PARTS & OTHER

$   532.95     GROCERIES

$   337.25     ENTERTAINMENT (eating out and alcohol)

$   261.00    COMMUNICATION

$   231.72     FUEL (Diesel & Gasoline)

$     56.08    WATER

$     52.50     LAUNDRY

$     25.00    TIPS, CHARITABLE DONATIONS, TRASH FEES

$     22.00   PROPANE

* Extraordinary Costs:

• $   350   Generator that we bought from our new cruising friends on sv Wrightaway
• $1,280  Various boat-related items including a Radio (music) & remote – our current one has decided to work when it feels like it, and a new Alternator, USCG documentation renewal, and US Decal (required in order to re-enter the USA), Fishing gear, etc.

Cost of Cruising: The First Three Months

In summary, we were still in “vacation-mode” and not focused on a budget. We were visiting family/friends in each state and were often going out to eat. Costs for the first three months also include our provisioning and stocking up on boat supplies for future projects as well as spares.  Our big marina cost in October includes a stay at a marina to wait out Hurricane Joaquin.

The following excel detail (link) Cost of Cruising: The First Three Months  shows our actual out of pocket costs per month.  This does not include those costs that have already been paid for but cover this period of time (example:  our boat insurance was paid for in April and coverage is good through next year).

• Summary of Monthly Costs:
  • September 2015      $ 2,423
  • October 2015           $ 3,787
  • November 2015       $ 2,581

Result: Blown budget – Time to stop spending so much $$$!