New England to Cartagena

I will be leaving in a few weeks from CT and heading to Cartagena Colombia. I have completed the trip solo two years ago in a sailboat but this is a bit different. On my original trip I went 1700miles from Charleston to Puerto Rico in 17 days. With the trawler I will go through the Bahamas to Jamaica or I will go 400 miles out of the way to PR then Cartagena (I want to get the boar repainted). Any suggestions on the Bahamas route or better from Florida would be much appreciated. Also any other tips on the region.

Spent a day in Cartagena earlier this year. The heat and humidity nearly killed me, and then I came down with bronchitis. Good luck!

If you have not already done so, check with your insurance company as to your navigation of the Windward Passage. With Cuba on one side and Haiti on the other your insurance company may not cover you if anything happens and you are forced to put into port. My comments assume you are a US flagged vessel that is not legally permitted to go to Cuba. To my knowledge some/many insurance companies have excluded coverage in Haiti.

Jimmy James said:

I will be leaving in a few weeks from CT and heading to Cartagena Colombia. I have completed the trip solo two years ago in a sailboat but this is a bit different. On my original trip I went 1700miles from Charleston to Puerto Rico in 17 days. With the trawler I will go through the Bahamas to Jamaica or I will go 400 miles out of the way to PR then Cartagena (I want to get the boar repainted). Any suggestions on the Bahamas route or better from Florida would be much appreciated. Also any other tips on the region.

Click to expand...

TRIP:
I might suggest you post this same question over on Yachtforums as well, since there are a number of captains there that have made some of these trips in that Caribbean Sea in power craft.

Being a sailor myself I would have no problems taking that route due south with the trade winds on my beam. but in a powerboat I would have to re-evaluate.

Many years ago I island hoped down to Venezuela with a 38' Chris Craft vessel.


BOAT PAINTING:
Is one of your primary reasons for going there to get cheaper labor work on the vessel? If so I would consider going to Cuba. I visited there about 10 years ago, and there were a number of outfits setting up to do yacht work. I even had another older wooden yachtfisherman that I was considering taking down there for a major rebuild,...but I sold it before that came to be.

This book may help

http://www.amazon.com/The-Gentlemans-Guide-Passages-South/dp/0944428797

Bay Pelican said:

If you have not already done so, check with your insurance company as to your navigation of the Windward Passage. With Cuba on one side and Haiti on the other your insurance company may not cover you if anything happens and you are forced to put into port. My comments assume you are a US flagged vessel that is not legally permitted to go to Cuba. To my knowledge some/many insurance companies have excluded coverage in Haiti.

Click to expand...

I'm always saddened when I see there are people who would even consider that the rules of an Insurance company would even effect their decisions and control their actions for a nanosecond. They pay you, or do you pay them?! Such a yankee state of mind. Oh look he's from Illinois. Thanks for Lincoln and Obama btw..
We don't need no stinkin insurance! I'm now going to have to go down to Hialeah just to wash the thoughts out of my head that there are people who actually who can be so easily controlled. Ay yi yi Papi.

Hey Pilothouse King, we need a rant about the way the state of Florida permits insurance companies to rob homeowners with their rates on homeowner policies! Ha ha.:lol:

That's cool, but please start it in OTDE

Bayview: I have no idea why I didn’t think about starting with the Gentleman guide. I used it in 2008 when sailing south and it was useful.


Brian: I would love to go to Cuba and know a lot of boats do it, but I am not sure on the legalities and would not want to risk it with out the proper visa. Going to Havana is a dream of mine. I had my sailboat painted in PR a few years ago as well as other work. The guys who did it were, fast, precise, quality, clean and cheap. I know I can get it done cheaper in other place, Colombia for example, but I know the end product will not be the same. Your point about sea on the beam is the one that concerns me. When I have sailed south it has been either way off shore, or the thorny path on the outside. I do not know enough about the conditions or the route through the Bahamas. Any advice would be great.


Bay Pelican: Thanks for the tip, I will look into my policy and see what it says. I should be informed and never thought about that, Thank You. However I do agree with Pilothouse king about not letting my policy dictate my judgment on the sea. I tend to follow my states motto of Live Free or Die. Like most boaters and myself, he is opinionated which is totally fine, but his personal attacks on where you are from are a bit surprising as I am new here and assumed that this forum was a bit more serious and not a fun activity to scribble in after a few sun downers. attacks on Illinois, Lincoln and Obama (that dude isn’t even from Illinois??) are no longer asserted opinions or in the proper format. Moving forward I hope that any advise given is respectful and well founded.

Jimmy James said:

I will be leaving in a few weeks from CT and heading to Cartagena Colombia. I have completed the trip solo two years ago in a sailboat but this is a bit different. On my original trip I went 1700miles from Charleston to Puerto Rico in 17 days. With the trawler I will go through the Bahamas to Jamaica or I will go 400 miles out of the way to PR then Cartagena (I want to get the boar repainted). Any suggestions on the Bahamas route or better from Florida would be much appreciated. Also any other tips on the region.

Click to expand...

PM me and I'll give you my number. I'd be happy talk to you about your trip.

I went to Hialeah yesterday, and as I hoped it successfully washed away the muerica from my head. A collada then mountain biking (google or youtube it) in Earhart park did the trick. Followed up by meeting my gostosa (she's from Brasil of course) real estate agent after driving through Haiti before heading back to my crackerland north of Ft. Pierce. All is now tranquillo. Just better not see any yankees today! Lol but speaking of invasive species, pigs got in my yard last night, so if you hear gun shots tonight.

btw-you can get your boat painted or anything you want done in Hialeah. Anything. You need a submarine built and then loaded with "whatever" - no problemo.

Donsan said:

Hey Pilothouse King, we need a rant about the way the state of Florida permits insurance companies to rob homeowners with their rates on homeowner policies! Ha ha.:lol:

Click to expand...

Or better yet, what about the fact that we taxpayers have to subsidize people who live on the flood plain?

Brian said:

BOAT PAINTING:
Is one of your primary reasons for going there to get cheaper labor work on the vessel? If so I would consider going to Cuba. I visited there about 10 years ago, and there were a number of outfits setting up to do yacht work. I even had another older wooden yachtfisherman that I was considering taking down there for a major rebuild,...but I sold it before that came to be.

Click to expand...

Jimmy James said:

Brian: I would love to go to Cuba and know a lot of boats do it, but I am not sure on the legalities and would not want to risk it with out the proper visa. Going to Havana is a dream of mine. I had my sailboat painted in PR a few years ago as well as other work. The guys who did it were, fast, precise, quality, clean and cheap. I know I can get it done cheaper in other place, Colombia for example, but I know the end product will not be the same. Your point about sea on the beam is the one that concerns me. When I have sailed south it has been either way off shore, or the thorny path on the outside. I do not know enough about the conditions or the route through the Bahamas. Any advice would be great.

Click to expand...

Lets see if I remember a few details as to what was needed to visit Cuba. First off you do NOT need a visa from Cuba to visit. They welcome visitors.

At the time we visited there was a stipulation (or perhaps I should be termed a request by the US Coast Guard) that all vessels leaving any port south of Savanna be required to file a departure document (and included in this a designation port). They made no stipulation that you could not go. We left Ft Laud, down to Key West, the down to Cuba. Spent a little over a month, then returned to Key West entry....no problems with USA as we have filed per request.

I believe there are some highly suggested spending restraints that are requested by our government in an attempt to keep economic pressure on Cuba, but I do not know if there is anything enforceable (in fact I rather doubt it).

When I visited Bill Clinton was still president, and there were some serious talks about adopting a new policy with Cuba. But then glorious George Bush came to power and everything reverted back to the same old stalemate.

Part of the reason I went along on this trip was to make some informal analysis of business possibilities in Cuba. I identified 2 possibilities I might have gotten involved in, but our 'renewed boneheaded' polices put all that on hold.

Jimmy James said:

I will be leaving in a few weeks from CT and heading to Cartagena Colombia. I have completed the trip solo two years ago in a sailboat but this is a bit different. On my original trip I went 1700miles from Charleston to Puerto Rico in 17 days. With the trawler I will go through the Bahamas to Jamaica or I will go 400 miles out of the way to PR then Cartagena (I want to get the boar repainted). Any suggestions on the Bahamas route or better from Florida would be much appreciated. Also any other tips on the region.

Click to expand...

Is you Bristol the boat from Gwenmor Marina in Mystic, CT?

Windless... yes it was.
I guess I should update the group to my new status.
Originally my plan was to do some island hopping and a few long legs but in the end my trip was very different, with more long legs. I left CT in October and made my way to Key West, part offshore and part ICW, taking our time but also keeping a good pace. With a crew of 1 I left Key West for the Cayman Islands. From the Cayman Islands we made it to the Island of San Andres Colombia just before Christmas and then in January we headed to Panama. The boat is currently in the San Blas Islands and in a month will be heading to Cartagena.Taking a motor vessel on such a long trip is very different than a sailboat and I learned a lot. In short we had only 2 minor problems, slower is faster, I am glad we were very prepared, I would never buy an interstate battery again and yes... there are still pirates.


A boat is such a personal thing and I would never make any recommendations. All I can say is that my 1969 Bristol took me a long way in some very blue ocean.

Jimmy James said:

Windless yes... there are still pirates.


A boat is such a personal thing and I would never make any recommendations. All I can say is that my 1969 Bristol took me a long way in some very blue ocean.

Click to expand...

The Pirate things begs for explanation?

i spent a week or so in Cuba in January, no problems other than it is somewhat limited on internet, phone, electric, etc... Note, I was in Puerto Vita not Havana. My passport was stamped and no one said anything about it on our return. Of course I had a few more stamps after the cuba one. Friendly people, two currencies used that I never figured out.
In regards to painting your boar. If you do it in South Carolina they usually use a rub before painting with Bar-b-que. If you have it done in the Bahama they will use something like a jerk rub and no Bar-b-que. I am not sure how they paint them in Haiti or Columbia.
Safe travels it sounds like a wonderful trip.

ulysses said:

i spent a week or so in Cuba in January, no problems other than it is somewhat limited on internet, phone, electric, etc... Note, I was in Puerto Vita not Havana. My passport was stamped and no one said anything about it on our return. Of course I had a few more stamps after the cuba one. Friendly people, two currencies used that I never figured out.
In regards to painting your boar. If you do it in South Carolina they usually use a rub before painting with Bar-b-que. If you have it done in the Bahama they will use something like a jerk rub and no Bar-b-que. I am not sure how they paint them in Haiti or Columbia.
Safe travels it sounds like a wonderful trip.

Click to expand...

Here in ColOmbia (not ColUmbia) there's not too much in the way of BBQ'd pig the way we gringos are accustomed to. Here something very common using a pig is called 'lechona'. Google 'lechona colombiano' for description and photos.

Note: No pirates here but you will have to make some adjustments due to the cultural differences.

I walked away from the Bristol due to personal reasons and you purchased it just days after. I have at least two dozen pics from all over the boat when it was in Mystic... Send me your e-mail and I well return pics.... "bennyjaffe@comcast.net"

Windless.... I am sorry you missed the boat. There were many boats I could have chosen, in the end I made the correct choice. We faced some shitty seas days on end south of Cuba and had to back down on the speed to 3.5-4 kts to keep her in the water. I have a lot of respect for this boat. Over all economy has been very good and her Detroit has never missed a beat.

ummm anyone have any idea why it is so friggin hard to load a picture on to this site?>

Jimmy James said:

ummm anyone have any idea why it is so friggin hard to load a picture on to this site?>

Click to expand...

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s22/set-up-your-account-|-help-tips-etc-5739.html

Some of us think it's pretty easy, but that is only a time factor. If you read the above thread you'll understand most of what you need. Post number 6 specifically deals with loading pictures to your posts.

You have had the Bristol for over a year. How has she been for you? Did you get her painted and all sparkled up?

Hey Windless,
Little by little. I have done some major projects and a million minor. The boat now has a 3 cabin layout, solar, stern davits, new decks, new hard wood floors in the bathroom, a built in Salon etc. I am on the boat everyday. I just got back from a trip from the Islas del Rosarios. I would post photos but its so hard on this site... does anyone know if the app is easier?

Great. does my hart good to know your are taking good care of her. She is a solid old boat with soul that will take you far.

Would love to see some updated pics..
Problems posting send to my e-mail.. bennyjaffe@comcast.net....

I think I spotted you in the anchorage in Cartagena. Wish I'd payed better attention, would've stopped by to say hi. We did KW down to Panama onto San Blas as well before Cartagena.