Preparing to Cruise and Cruising in Europe

European cruising can be quite different…

We returned from a 2000-2002 Caribbean cruise with thoughts of sailing to Europe and with a host of questions.  How do we prepare for the European infrastructure we will be cruising in – simple things like plugging into the European power grid, filling our propane tank and hooking up our hose to a dock bib?  What about 'Med Mooring' and the dreaded 'VAT Tax' we'd heard about?:  The more we learned, the more apparent it became that a North American sailboat does not automatically ‘fit’ Europe – nor does the knowledge of its North American crew.

As we began preparing WHOOSH – and also watching the Euro climb and the dollar slump – we knew we faced some financial challenges as well, since Europe is simply more expensive than North America.  Consequently, we tried to prepare WHOOSH as thoughtfully and cost-effectively as we could before leaving, while we had the time to comparison shop and a healthy mix of vendors from which to choose.  And early on, we discovered no single resource (Web, book, or organization) that had assembled information on these diverse issues (which is where the idea for writing these articles first surfaced).  In the end, we hoped we had made some good decisions but knew only time would tell whether that was true or not.

…while at other times it’s ‘just cruising’.

Looking back on it now, we spent five years cruising throughout Northern, Atlantic & Mediterranean Europe, recrossing the Atlantic and returning to St. Pete in Spring, 2008.  We had relied on our new systems, had a chance to evaluate our decisions, and learned a great deal about the nature of cruising in Europe. The purpose of these articles – containing information we wished we had found when preparing for our own departure - is to help others with similar plans.  Hopefully, these articles will keep you from reinventing the wheel.

Please keep in mind we are not experts on this stuff.  We are just another cruising couple who are learning as we go and hoping to smooth the waters a bit for others who follow along behind us.  If readers of these write-ups would like to contact us for additional information, you are welcome to write us at our shore side email address, which we periodically check.  Please be patient but we assure you we will reply as Web access and time permit.

                                                                                                Jack & Patricia Tyler

                                                                                                jack_patricia at yahoo.com