sailing around the world Archives

Finances When Cruising Around the World IMPORTANT UPDATE

19 May 2019May 19, 2019rebecca.childress@yahoo.com2 Comments

FINANCES WHEN CRUISING AROUND THE WORLD…AN IMPORTANT UPDATE regarding the “The 3 Most Valuable Sailing Tools We use Sailing Around the World” (Original article here)

I have made an update regarding Transferwise in this article…regarding when you sign up…and the phone number to use when signing up. Transferwise is one of the financial tools I recommend for managing your finances as you sail around the world. It is a way to quickly pay in a foreign currency without exposing your credit card to fraud as you pay foreign businesses for products for your sailboat as you travel. I have used it for years with great success, and many many other sailors have too.

You MUST choose a phone number you will always have when signing up for Transferwise. If you should forget your password, they will need to use your listed phone number to reset your password! (Otherwise there is a security concern!)

I use Google Voice for my round the world phone number…http://voice.google.com. It can receive texts and phone calls anywhere in the world. Skype hasn’t worked for texts for me. There are probably other products too, or if you keep you home cellular plan with roaming, or your same Satellite phone number that could maybe work too…but choose carefully! Google Voice for sure works and it’s free though you may need to put some small credit on it. I signed up 12+ years ago and have never put anymore money on it! But you MUST have access to a phone number in the US to initially set it up. I do not think a number on Skype will allow it, but possibly worth a try if you are not in the US, at a friends house or other. After the original setup, you do not need a US phone number anymore

Read original article about financial tools used on Brick House here: Original Article

Sign up to use Transferwise here. We each get a free transfer (but they are so cheap anyways…) when you sign up through this link.

Finally..American cruisers can have a SWIFT bank code too!

5 May 2019May 5, 2019rebecca.childress@yahoo.comLeave a comment

Finally, American Cruisers can have a SWIFT bank code too.

For years, If not a decade, I have watched as Australians, Kiwis, and other people and businesses all over the world share their bank account information quite freely in order to facilitate payments back and forth. Americans on the other hand have to be quite careful with their bank account numbers making sure to not let it fall in to the wrong hands!

Now, as a new feature Transferwise which I have been using for years in more than 10 countries now, I can have people pay me in USD right in to my account, with no fear, (in addition to me paying them in their currency)! Of course they can also pay me in Euros, Pounds, Rands, Singapore dollars and a multitude of other currencies too, because this application gives me “bank accounts” in other currencies too, that I can share equally as freely.

There have been so many times I’ve needed a “SWIFT” code, haven’t had one, have taken a payment for a magazine article I’ve written abroad or for a job I’ve done and haven’t been able to the payment without a lot of run around and a lot of fees. I remember once “Cruising Helmsman” magazine sent me a check for the equivalent of $125. I lost about $50 in fees converting and cashing it. With TRANSFERWISE I would not have that problem anymore!! Technology…you have to love it! And I am so happy now to be able to use this for receiving US dollars too!

Not American? Want an American Bank account? Well here you go! Beautiful! A cruisers best friend! Just used it again, 3 days ago to pay a South African company in Rand from my US bank account to expedite a delivery! I paid a total of $1.31 in fees for the convenience.

This ability comes with within the application by opting for what is called a “Borderless Account” with Transferwise… (be sure to use this link if you sign up…another way to support this blog and our videos by doing so, and while small, every bit helps!)There are still some limitations with this, but at the speed Transferwise works on these types of things, it will surely be complete and thorough in short order. A borderless account is a bit like having local accounts all over the world

I even have some Australian dollars in my account from selling an outboard motor to an Australian yachties who paid me in Aussie dollars, from more than a year ago that is waiting for a good exchange rate so I can make a few more USD dollars on it than I May have at that time!

A Borderless Account is like having a multi-currency account that lets you keep money in 40+ currencies, and convert between them at the real exchange rate whenever you need.

You can also get a credit card from them, personal account numbers, and bank details for USD, GBP, EUR, NZD, and AUD (with more currencies on the way). Share these details to your friends, companies or customers in order to receive money from around the world.

Here is my banking information, just to show you my confidence in the security of this system! Feel free to send cash!

Routing number (ACH or ABA)
026073150

Bank code (SWIFT / BIC)
CMFGUS33

Wire transfer number
026073008

Account number
822000048204

Account Holder
TransferWise FBO Rebecca Childress

Address
TransferWise
19 W 24th Street
New York
NY, 10010
United States

International Finances and Money on our American Cruising SailBoat

Mozambique Cyclone Idai – Sailing towards a storm In March (a little earlier than planned-still in cyclone season!)

18 April 2019April 8, 2020rebecca.childress@yahoo.com3 Comments

Mozambique Cyclone Idai – Sailing towards a storm, a little earlier than planned, during cyclone season…

Late April, May and June is the right time to sail this coast….We left mid March because of an extraordinary weather window which would carry us the first 1000 miles downwind, instead of upwind…

Was it 100% safe? NO.

Did we get more than we bargained for, or just what we signed up for? Watch the video to find out…

Also…Wish we were on Patreon? We aren’t…but you can support us in 5 other ways:

🍯(Tip Jar) http://whereisbrickhouse.com/tip-jar/

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What do most people do when they see a cyclone on the Predictwind forecast with their Iridium GO or other ways of getting weather at sea? They stay safely in port, right? We saw an opportunity to go south with the north winds that would be north of the cyclone in the the Southern Hemisphere near Tanzania and Mozambique. It promised, if we played it just right, to carry us at least 1000 miles south with nice north winds!

So we grabbed our last veggies and eggs for 3 weeks, and set sail to South Africa, chasing Cyclone Idai down down the coast of Mozambique. We wanted to be close enough for the winds, but not too close!!! We later found out that this cyclone was the worst cyclone to ever hit Mozambique, killing thousands of people and demolishing even more homes. It’s a good thing we played it just right!

Even with that, we did get the remnants of it when we got a little too close…and we were socked with 50 knot winds for a bit, complete with driving rain and lots of thunder and lightening. Seas mounted fast. Luckily it was short lived.

Too bad it was too rough and most off all too dark, to film during the very worst of it, or I know Patrick would have been up filming it!

Hope you enjoy the video, give it a thumbs up, subscribe, and have a lovely Easter weekend! If you have any spare change, leave it in the TIP jar in the top right corner of the screen…thanks!

We studied the two following books/guides (click on either to see more detail), and utilized our Professional Subscription at Predictwind to help make these very important and intricate decisions about our trip south. Des Cason, a local Weather and anchorage guru and long time cruiser in this area also provided daily updates and advice as we moved south.

Wandering the globe…on a 40 ft Sailboat

Tag: sailing around the world

Finances When Cruising Around the World IMPORTANT UPDATE

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Finally..American cruisers can have a SWIFT bank code too!

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Mozambique Cyclone Idai – Sailing towards a storm In March (a little earlier than planned-still in cyclone season!)

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