Quote:
Originally Posted by thinkxingu
Dave's post about becoming a "looper" got me wondering: where would someone start if he wanted to do some boating in the Caribbean? I always see the photos in Boat US's magazine of people on deserted islands with extensive sandbars and want to be there.
PS Any info on expense for options would be welcome as well. Thanks!
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It is very expensive, but you can charter boats pretty easily in the BVIs. Companies like Moorings will set you up with a boat and provisions and even provide a captain for the first day or two for instruction. We had always planned to do that until we bought a boat that we can "simply" cruise there...
Another option would be to crew on someone else's boat. You won't likely get to the Caribbean that way, but you can learn a lot by helping someone transport a boat between ports on a multi-day run. This time of year there will be tons of people headed north on the ICW and many may need help.
I've got years of boating experience, but have never handled a twin inboard, so my first cruise was a little worrisome. However a friend volunteered to join us for the first 400ish miles of our cruise home. He has years aboard his twin inboard cruiser and I will be learning a lot while he's there to teach. He's psyched to do the Eire Canal, a bucket list item for him, so it's a win-win.
If you really want to cruise long distances in your own boat, it's imperative that you become as self-sufficient as possible. If you have to pay someone to fix every little or big problem, it can be incredibly expensive. I hav been pouring over the manuals for all the system on my new boat all Winter and it's pretty overwhelming, to be honest. I love an adventure though, so...