Windtraveler with a touchy subject, assassination 101, and those who can't balance their own budgets tell us to tighten our belts...
In the new (April) Cruising World, Jimmy Cornell is pimping his new "World Voyage Planner" and the whole cruising on $500 a month thing gets mentioned when one of Cornell's interviewees who cruises on an annual $50K budget with an Amel Super Maramu, dismisses the whole idea...
"...of people who say they do it for $500/month because they either don't know how to add or their boats aren't seaworthy."Now, for the record, I've always liked Amels but they are not cheap though, on the other hand, they are not super expensive either as far as some boats go. In point of fact, we've cruised with some folks on Super Maramus who, if not $500 a month cruisers, were certainly on a limited budget and working hard to make the cheapseats honor roll.
The thing is, a guy cruising on over $4000 a month is simply not equipped to opine on how someone with a lot less money can or cannot do something because he just does not have the tools or mindset to do so. Much the same way that I could not conceive how people could get by on less than $1.25 a day (less than $500 a year) while listening to a news story on the BBC about folks who actually do in India. It seems impossible to me but about a third of the population in India actually do... For a real wake up call, over 68% of the people in India live on less than $2 dollars a day.
Not to paint too dark a picture of Jimmy Cornell's new book as he also talks to people getting by on a lot less ($1000 a month was mentioned) but it is always important whether reading Cornell, the Pardeys, or even this blog to try and factor in a healthy dose of reality as it applies to the world at large and your own personal needs (not wants) where such things as budgets and suchlike are concerned.
Listening to Little Feat
So it goes...
