FAQs

Here are the answers to the top 10 questions we are frequently asked.

1. Do you carry a gun?

2. How long will it take you to sail around the world?

3. How can you afford it?

4. When did you learn to sail?

5. What will be the longest you are sea?

6. What happens if you get ill?

7. How big is your boat? Followed by….

8. How do you live in such a small space?

9. What do you do about visas?

10. How do you update your website?

1. Do you carry a gun?

No we don’t have a gun, we accept it is possible we may be boarded (by a petty thief or real life modern pirates) and if they are carrying a firearm our best defence is to be defensive not to attack back. No amount of money or materialistic things are worth our lives. However, we do have a flare gun, a fish gaff (hook) and sharp fishing knives!

There are risks in life, getting mugged or robbed, being in a car accident, struck by lightening, you’d be a gibbering wreck if you thought about them all.

2. How long will it take you to sail around the world?

This is a good one and a very popular question. We don’t know. Some cruisers spend over 10 years getting around the world, some quit after 2 months. On average a circumnavigation takes 3-4 years. Pete says the first time around is through the Panama Canal and the second will be around Cape Horn. I say the first time will be by ourselves and the second time we will have 2 little ones aboard!

3. How can you afford it?

Having lost the house in Cayman to Hurricane Ivan we were forced to move aboard and were able to save a cruising fund of $20,000 to start with. Some of this will go towards refit costs and then we would like to (optimistically) survive on between $500-700 per month (for us both). This includes food, Pete’s drinking fund, immigration & customs costs when entering a new country, boat repairs and spares, and all the other things in life (only fewer of them!).

4. When did you learn to sail?

Pete was in the Navy for 22 years and then got his commercial license and Yachtmaster Offshore at UK Sailing Academy. I did a little at University and then the rest, my good husband has taught me. Learning to sail is ongoing, there are always those with more or less sailing experience. If you think you know everything, well, then its time to retire to a comfy chair!

5. What will be the longest you are sea?

Our longest sea leg will be from the Galapagos Islands to the Marquesas Islands (part of French Polynesia). This could take us 4-5 weeks, depending on the trade winds. We have just invested in a water maker with this trip in mind. It gets towed behind the boat and turns sea water into fresh drinking water. We will also catch rainwater and have well stocked food cupboards.

6. What happens if you get ill?

Getting ill is a little different at sea. There is no doctor to go to. Some of the local hospitals are a place to avoid if humanly possible even if we are on land. It’s a mixture of preventing illness; eating right, good sanitation, etc. and being extra careful when moving around the boat. But accidents do happen, for this we carry extensive medical and first aid supplies, and we have excellent reference books such as “Where there is no Doctor” by David Werner and The Ships Captain Medical Guide. There is always someone on the other end of the radio too, cruisers are a resourceful bunch and we would seek a cruising doctor if needed.

7. How big is your boat?

Kilifi is 32’ on deck and 28’ at the water line. She’s a small boat, but perfect for two, where for most of the time at sea she can be sailed single-handed (while the other one sleeps). She is a Charles Wittholz design built in Michigan in 1980. She is steel and weighs 16,500 lbs. We could sleep 4/5 and have two hammocks!

8. How do you live in such a small space?

It is a small space. The only room off the interior is the head (toilet) and it’s a tight squeeze now and then. It was even more cosy when our 2 dogs lived aboard!

There is a misconception (which advertising is responsible for) that living on a boat is luxurious and idyllic. Well, we like it, but it’s more like camping, only at sea rather than on land. Everything has a place and should be returned to its place, things are squeezed into every nook and cranny and you have to be a trained hamster to get to some of them!

If we get fed up with one another, there’s always the dinghy!

9. What do you do about visas?

Most of the countries we wish to visit don’t require visas. Having British passports is advantageous and being part of the EU, greatly increases the number of countries we can visit without needing visas. The only place we know we need a cruising permit for is the Galapagos Islands, which we have to apply for before arrival.

10. How do you update your website?

We update the website either on land, where we can upload pictures and news items or we can email or call Mike who does it for us, especially when we are at sea. We don’t have internet onboard, but we do have a modem which connects to the SSB (single side band radio) and we can send and receive basic text emails over the radio waves.

We can receive weather faxes, listen to weather forecasts and the BBC World service, and even talk to someone on the other side of the world. Peter wants to train up to be a ham radio operator to learn more about it, geeky but very useful!

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