What a welcome surprise that is for a change. Some, I’ve visited several times, and more often than not, aboard a boat. Each day, I baked on the beach, cooled off in the sea and read a whole book. More than one friend has stopped to check out the place for a day and stayed a week, raving about its unexpected beauty. Go Ahead: Make a Plan. © 2021 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc., an Active Interest Media company. Cruising on your yacht for days, weeks, or even months on board can present a variety of challenges, but is one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences in boating. I found Trinidad fascinating. After all, there are fruit stands to visit and fresh fish to buy for lunch. Getting to Nevis from the United States was a long and expensive trek, though, and I reluctantly let that particular dream go. Oil reserves have driven the economy for many years, and it was refreshing to experience a Caribbean culture that’s not dependent on tourism. From traditional music to classic cuisine, every island has a story to tell. Trawler versus sail—a comparison that is often dismissed as an old-person versus young-person, apples-to-oranges argument. There are some lovely beaches, mostly black sand or rocky, but the real draw is the lush interior, which has waterfalls, nature trails and botanical gardens. In the May 2011 issue of International Living Magazine, Gary reveals what it’s like to cruise the Caribbean … Then we’ll dinghy down to De Reef for a rum punch and a swim. (Click to visit Hebson's website freecruisingguides.com, which gets its name from the fact that, besides the CSI, it also offers free cruising guides to regions of the Caribbean.). In our Caribbean cruising, however, we often find ourselves hanging out with what one friend affectionately refers to as “trawler trash.” Many of these people started out as sailors and can … In order to help you determine the right type and size of boat you need to figure out what type of cruising you want to do, how much you can afford to spend and where you want to do your cruising. All Rights Reserved. The full displacement production Krogens and Nordhavns and many custom designs add to the mix of mostly semi-displacement hull shapes, and continue to cruise … In fact, they wound up spending eight full years sailing the Caribbean on their own boat, without any major problems, and spent only $1,000 a month to do it – all in first-class style. Cruising from Hollywood beach to Boca Chita Key, then on to Key Largo, and next to Islamorada definitely sharpened my piloting skills. Safety at St. Lucia marinas was rated at 9.5 (and falling), while safety at anchor scored a 7, which is pretty bad for an island that bills itself as the honeymoon capital of the Caribbean. BAHAMAS CRUISE - April 2000. Cruising the Caribbean unlike the Great Loop, has some amazingly surprising and unexpected expenses. And don’t be fearful you’ll have to give up the low fuel bills, as even the fast trawlers typically offer superior fuel economy than many different powerboat styles. It’s awfully hard to worry about what’s happening at the office, or whether your investment portfolio has inched up or down, when you’re sitting on deck with a good book, a cold beverage and a view of a pastel-painted town, studded with palm trees and a welcome mat of soft, white sand. That’s never a bad idea: It educates you on what feels most important to see, how much time you’ll need for passages between islands, where you might put in to refuel or reprovision. 122' Whangarei Engineering Fitzroy Yachts NZ 1979, 88' Torpoint Steel Boats Motor Yacht 1985, 79' Custom Converted Royal Navy Fleet Tender 1972. These ‘small packages with a punch’ will carry, launch, and retrieve your tender too - thanks to her efficient crane. The open secret to cruising the Caribbean joyously is this: Be flexible and avoid straight lines. Another would be to learn to maintain and repair your boat so that you can … Island hopping is part of the great allure of the Caribbean, and jumping from landfall to landfall makes for pleasant cruising. Good fuel used to be a concern, but marine infrastructure and amenities have improved markedly in the past decade (despite the setbacks of Hurricane Irma and others). I almost bought a house on Nevis. They have taken up the cruising … Captain Bob’s teaching skills on the chart plotter, navigating along with Irene, gave her a tremendous boost in which we ended up bonding together like a real experienced cruising … By that definition, if you plan on cooking, showering and sleeping aboard a Sabre, MJM, Eastbay or similar vessel for three days at a time and you are able to do that comfortably, that vessel is just as much a trawler as a Kadey-Krogen cruising the Caribbean … What’s the hurry? Vicki lives in Annapolis, MD, where she and partner, Barry Miller, cruise the Chesapeake and the Intercoastal Waterway to the Bahamas or Florida. I’ve been to St. Barts twice, once as a guest on a superyacht during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Schedules here are merely suggestions and will be hijacked by everything from weather to new friendships to a favorite rum shack. The yacht was magnificent and the company was stellar, but the real fun of it was not being in the epicenter of the St. Barths holiday madness. Invite your family and friends as the trawler yachts offer long-term living accommodations - perfect for desiring an ‘at anchor’ remote boat getaway. As we get closer to retirement are considering a swap to a diesel trawler in the 36 - 45 ft range and were thinking of cruising down the eastern seaboard of Canada/USA and on to Cuba, … Capt. There is one spacious head with … Below are some of the well-known trawler yacht brands in the industry. That means you could fuel up in Miami and ride out hurricane season in the safety of Trinidad’s hurricane hole, Chaguaramas, on full tanks. If you want the speedier versions, there are a few builders who can accommodate you in making that dream come true on your trawler too. Photo by Robert Calhoun Smith Jr. Al and Jane Castleman of Fine Romance. Of course, this is theoretical, for several reasons: You’d want the “plus” to cover your 10 percent reserve, and much depends on your cruising speed. It’s assumed that a sailor will sail until his hands are too crippled to manage a line any longer, then buy a trawler that will sit dockside, until one day a dockmaster is notified of a disturbing smell coming from “that boat the old guy lives in.” But maybe there is more to it. What we find our clients greatly appreciate is the trawler’s expansive cabin space even on the smaller models and some can offer aft cabins in the rear and some manufacturers pulled all stops out and in their larger models have been known to add multiple deck levels to these ever evolving sweet ‘floating packages’. Most of all, though, the Caribbean relaxes a person like nowhere else. I’ll admit that power boats, trawlers … Yes, ‘trawler’ is a classic, non-Euro ‘look’. 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