[TSOJOURNER]

Please forgive me if I have not posted this in the right place. I have started working on a bit of writing in which newlyweds go on a honeymoon touring the Caribbean by themselves (no crew) for about 5 months. Naturally I have a few questions and thought that this place, with its experts on sailing, would be the best place to go, and any advice/help would be most welcome.

1. What kind of boat would be best suited for such a venture? One member of the couple has a lot of experience sailing, the other has none, but of course one can teach the other. I don't need anything too fancy, just enough for the two of them. I don't need, for example, a huge yacht. One side of the family is giving this boat to the two of them as a wedding gift.

2. The tour is basically like this:
Cancun
Belize
Honduras
Costa Rica
Aruba
Tobago
Grenada
St. Vincent
Martinique
St. Lucia
British/U.S. Virgin Islands
Puerto Rico (mainly San Juan)
Jamaica
Bahamas

What do you think, is 5 months enough time to enjoy all that? That's also the order of the trip.

I suppose that is all I wanted to know for now. Like I said any advice would be more than welcome!

 

[saildork]

Anya,

Consider posting your thread under 'Destinations.' You might get more responses over time.

I can't really answer your questions adequately since I have not sailed the Caribbean, but it sounds like a wonderful adventure in the making. What type boat is it that the couple will be receiving? Many on this forum will be able to tell you if it is seaworthy for such a trek. Also, what level of experience does the one person have? This is really important! And it will be really important for the other member to get some experience before heading out. A sailing school that offers 'basic-keelboat' up to 'off-shore' sailing instruction is a good place to start. Having one member teach the other is sort of like the one teaching the other how to play golf or how to ski, but worse since the consequences can by dire. Not to mention the effect it can have on marital harmony in a small space in the middle of the ocean.

The experts here can advise you of the best order in which to sail these destinations, which ones you might want to drop from the list (if any) how much time you should take and what time of the year to attempt such a trip. It sounds pretty exciting, no matter what you end up doing. Good luck and fair winds. And welcome to the Net. This is a great site with very knowledgeable and helpful sailors.

 

[LWinters]

Hello Anya....

One part of your question struck me as a little funny. I left the states in a 39 foot allied mistress following your couples itenerary. I left the Houston, TX area on Jan. 10 and only just made it to Honduras three days ago. That's four and a half months to hit Isla Mujers, Mexico (cancun area), Cay Caulker and a few keys in Belize, and now Roatan, Honduras.

I guess they can always sail faster and see less? For that trip I'd easily give them a year. Not to mention reverse the order so they'll have better advantage using the trade winds.

 

[camaraderie]

You should have them going clockwise to take advantage of the trade winds. 5 months is pretty short to enjoy much along the way. Don't forget end of June to November is hurricane season and you need to hunker down in a hurricane hole or south of Lat. 11N if the story goes forward in those months.
A Tayana 37 would make a good sized, well built "couples" boat built well enough for the trades...with a salty look....but there are dozens of suitable boats.

Imagine Yachts, Tayana 37 yacht specifications, Tayana 37 yacht photo gallery, Tayana 37 yacht deck plan

 

[gtod25]

Five months would be plenty of time to hit all those islands....

followed rapidly by a divorce . My wife and I cruised all those places, except Aruba, Costa Rica, Tobago and the Bahamas, but we did visit the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Florida. The trip took two years (2003-2005) and we felt that we were moving too fast. You need to concentrate the story on either the Eastern Carib OR the Western Carib.

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Thank you everyone for your responses! I am reading over your advice and am ery grateful for your insight, and since I have been waiting to research before actually writing, I have a lot of notes to make! Sailing clockwise to take advantage of the Trade Winds would be a great idea, as is cutting the destinations down to one area of the Carib. I think they will certainly tour the British and U. S. Virgin Islands, as well as Jamaica. I came up with this idea without any sailing experience so I have no idea how long it takes to really get to these destinations, so that's why I am glad to have your input! The couple is originally from Pittsburgh, the city of the Three Rivers, so the one without sailing experience can get experience there. I don't know about what kind of craft they would receive, but I know it won't be a yacht or catamaran. Any suggestion is welcome!

Any further questions I will be happy to answer, for now I think I have everything covered. Once again I thank you for your time and kindness.

 

[CanadianGirrrl]

or you could just read "An Embarrassment of Mangoes" which is a Canadian couple from Toronto who left on their sail boat and sailed to Trinidad and back over the course of 2 years.

Your book sounds more like what we propose to do over the course of 3-5 years for our retirement - the whole caribbean!

Thanks and good luck.

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Thanks, nice to have some encouragement. This is actually a section in a serial I am working on. The main protagonist is a male Russian figure skater who lives in the States legally joined to an American football player. I watched some Travel Channel shows on the Carib one day when I had nothing to watch and thought that would be a great romantic place for their honeymoon. I was amazed at its beauty and serenity.

Another source of inspiration was the movie Captain Ron. I don't know what kind of boat they used in that but actually that looks like the kind of boat I have in mind for the venture. Whether it can be crewed by two I don't know. But they can always hire out if necessary.