|
Where to Go
Sadie, you don''t tell us the critical variable: how much do you want to move and how often (and for how long) do you want to stop and sniff the roses.
A friend left Tampa, FL in the fall and returned the following April after having made it down to Trinidad and back. For most folks, that''s not the pace they would chose; he apparently likes to sail more than shop in the markets and actually ''see'' where he''s reached.
A second wrinkle is the back end of your timetable. If you really don''t need to be further N than Florida on 1 November, then you''ve face a dilemma: what do you choose to do during hurricane season? You could e.g. drop below most (not all) storm paths for the summer by visiting Trinidad (taking the route E then S as Bruce Vansant thoroughly covers in Passages South) -or- you could do the ''short circle'' via the Windward Passage, Jamaica, Caymans, Bay Is. and the summer up the Rio Dulce. We''ve done both and they each have their many attractions...but what do you do in October? The W Caribbean and Gulf get many of their storms late in the season, so pulling out of the Rio at that time is a risk...and the trip back from Trinidad is long, so altho'' you are enjoying lots of fair winds your window of exposure is lengthy.
Wherever you hope to reach in the Caribbean, I''d encourage you to extend the period by one to two months - a small period of time for a lot of safety insurance.
Jack
|