"I would say the first thing we discovered is that the sailboat dream of it being free or cheap was not true," Ellison said.
In fact, he said marina bills average at anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per month, and can be triple that during peak seasons in the summer in Europe. When they are just at anchor, most of their costs come from food bills — but the price of food can really vary depending on where they are.
In Bermuda, they said, trips to the grocery store every four days can be upwards of $100. They also have their life insurance and phone bills, on top of the maintenance cost of operating the boat.
"We plan on our operating costs for the boat to be, with maintenance and everything, between about 10% to 20% of the whole value a year," Ellison said, so theirs is between $10,000 and $20,000 a year.