How far south would you travel?

[Alisske]

Good afternoon.

I grew up on boats. My pop was a commercial fisherman and I worked his boat from 12 to about 19. Would go with him on Boat deliveries from our home port in the northeast US down to Florida Keys. Tooks some boats further to the dry tortugas and cuba.

To be frank with you, all those seemed pretty safe to me. (From a security perspective, not weather wise)

That being said, I will have a few free months without responsibility coming up and wanted to take a long voyage down south. Its a single screw diesel down east boat. Been working the hell out of her all summer and feel she could go the distance.

How far down would you go and feel safe? (East coast)

Should I just bump around the Caribbean? Or is it safe to head further south? Again, not weather wise, from a security perspective

Thanks in advance

 

[Simi 60]

Surely it would mostly be safe with only a very few trouble spots.
I am sure noonsite or similar would list them.

 

[Shrew]

Should I just bump around the Caribbean? Or is it safe to head further south? Again, not weather wise, from a security perspective

Further South than the Carribean? So....South America?? What do you mean 'safe' if not weather than what?? Your geography and verbiage is a little vague.

 

[Alisske]

Further South than the Carribean? So....South America?? What do you mean 'safe' if not weather than what?? Your geography and verbiage is a little vague.

Your correct. My apologies. Its vague because I would not plan anything past the Caribbean because I was unsure of safety from a security perspective. (Robbed assaulted etc...).

Yes. South/Central America.

Just thinking it through and wanted some general feedback on folks comfort level if they have been etc...

Thanks

 

[Sealife]

It's a personal choice. South of Fla, Belize and Miskito coast off Honduras/Nicaragua where the "problem areas" when we went through to Panama.

In the Caribbean it was St. Vincent, the hibiscus gas platform between Grenada and Trinidad.

Can't comment on Haiti.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Olympia .. but not even there now.

 

[DegoRed]

Been watching Zingaro he's been cruising around ABC with several others without issues, Atticus has been down in Panama area with a group, Beau & Brandy have been cruising St. Vincent & Grenadines area without issues.

ABC is like 40 miles off coast of Venezuela, guess maybe T&T is further south and closer to Venezuela, but if Cape Horn is your goal Vaya con Dios.

 

[menzies]

Olympia .. but not even there now.

..?

 

[Sealife]

For clarification Bequia and the grenadines were fine. Just not mainland st. St. Vincent.

 

[O C Diver]

Ok, so a few months. Does that mean 3 months to go down and back, starting from where? I guess if it were me, I'd be more focused on where I would be stopping for days or more, as opposed to how far I could get and come back. Finally, how often do you want to beat yourself up (bad weather)? If it were me, I would cross to the Bahamas and head South at a leisurely pace stopping frequently. Somewhere around halfway through my time, I would turn around and hit the places I missed on the way back.

Ted

 

[Alisske]

It's a personal choice. South of Fla, Belize and Miskito coast off Honduras/Nicaragua where the "problem areas" when we went through to Panama.

In the Caribbean it was St. Vincent, the hibiscus gas platform between Grenada and Trinidad.

Can't comment on Haiti.

Thanks got the feedback. Im gonna look those up.

Thank you

 

[DegoRed]

I think your biggest hurdle would be all the Corona Bros. From everything I have seen on YouTube that's been everyone's biggest issue. Most countries require a clean test 5 days prior to entry, from an approved testing facility. Maybe watch Knapps, O'Kelly's, and Nahoa(they just posted today) and get a taste for the hoops they had to jump through, then think about all those islands you might be stopping at for provisions & fuel and having to deal with the Corona Bros. shuffle at every stop/new country.

On the flip side, everyone says the islands are deserted and the locals are begging for visitors.

 

[mvweebles]

Assume you're talking a out violent crime, nor petty theft. Noonsite will link to

https://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php/piracy-reporting-centre/live-piracy-report

A few years ago, Nicaragua coast was a hit spot. All the way out to Providencia almost 100 nms east. That seems to have calmed down. Some piracy of commercial vessels, but yacht boarding a have reduced. Might be due to Covid and few boats.

Would be helpful if you were more specific in east vs west Caribbean.

Peter

 

[BandB]

I would avoid Venezuela and their waters and be very careful in a few other areas. Research piracy and issues carefully on Noonsite.

Now, Covid 19 further complicates things as most countries have restrictions. Some are minor and some major.

 

[Alisske]

Thanks! I had no idea about Noonsite.

Appreciate everyones input.

 

[mvweebles]

Noonsite is still the gold standard for cruising internationally.

There are plenty of Covid restrictions, and it will get worse before it gets better, but if you have only a handful of months, you will find plenty of cruising destinations. May not be your first choice, but my hunch is biggest barrier will remain time, not closed borders.

Enjoy

Peter

 

[AlaskaProf]

Surely it would mostly be safe with only a very few trouble spots.
I am sure noonsite or similar would list them.

Surely he didn't mean that far!

 

[menzies]

Where are you leaving from?

You could use 15-20 of those days just getting to your crossing point and back afterwards. Then a few more waiting on a window either side.

The Bahamas has ~700 islands, the Exumas over 350 alone.

I would plan on going down through the middle Bahamas, Lucaya, to the Berries, through Exuma, to Long and the Far Bahamas and perhaps the Turks and Caicos.

Then come back through Cat, Eleuthera, Spanish Wells, Abaco and start home.

That's a "few months" right here.

I would leave the Caribbean until you retire/don't have a return date.

 

[Alisske]

Where are you leaving from?

You could use 15-20 of those days just getting to your crossing point and back afterwards. Then a few more waiting on a window either side.

The Bahamas has ~700 islands, the Exumas over 350 alone.

I would plan on going down through the middle Bahamas, Lucaya, to the Berries, through Exuma, to Long and the Far Bahamas and perhaps the Turks and Caicos.

Then come back through Cat, Eleuthera, Spanish Wells, Abaco and start home.

That's a "few months" right here.

I would leave the Caribbean until you retire/don't have a return date.

I appreciate the insight. (You laid that out smooth and thoroughly). In regards to time, it is sort of open ended, probably mot to exceed 6 months. Figured could make the keys in two weeks from Montauk. And the same on the return. That gives me 2-4 months.

This is great. Thx

 

[mvweebles]

I appreciate the insight. (You laid that out smooth and thoroughly). In regards to time, it is sort of open ended, probably mot to exceed 6 months. Figured could make the keys in two weeks from Montauk. And the same on the return. That gives me 2-4 months.

This is great. Thx

By far, the most difficult leg of cruising is the first boat length of the journey. You will bump into many people who will pique your interest in deciding the next destination. That is the beautiful part of travel (versus vacation)

Good luck.

Peter

 

[Alisske]

Thanks everyone. Pretty much settles it. Just gonna do the Caribbean. I wanted to think long distances and stories to tell going through panama canal etc... (just really silly bravado)

Thanks for the sound advice.

Be well everyone. Im sure I will post some more questions during the prep up.

A

 

[ranger58sb]

I appreciate the insight. (You laid that out smooth and thoroughly). In regards to time, it is sort of open ended, probably mot to exceed 6 months. Figured could make the keys in two weeks from Montauk. And the same on the return. That gives me 2-4 months.

You could maybe do that in two weeks.... but if it were us, it'd be too much work going that far that fast... and we'd be missing everything along the way.

For our planning purposes, a month from here to Florida is a more leisurely pace, time to smell some coffee en route, etc. A month there. Another month return. There's "a few months" right there already...

Keys or Bahamas would be easily doable if "a few months" is 4 or more. Still doable but harder work in less than that. For us. Your mileage may well vary.

-Chris

 

[cardude01]

Post your progress!

Lots of valuable knowledge and contacts on this forum that I have used when traveling. Members have saved me quite a few times when I’ve had mechanical breakdowns.

Keep in mind that the median age here is probably quite a bit older than you, so our travel recommendations might reflect that. For instance, two weeks from Montauk to the Keys sounds terrible to me, but for you it might be OK.

 

[rslifkin]

In my mind (as a younger person with a faster boat), the 2 week run down the coast would depend on a few things. How much do I feel like spending on fuel? And how much of the stuff I'd be blowing past have I seen before, or have plans to see on a later trip? For me, running at that speed all the way down the coast would pretty much be a cycle of "wake up, run 150-ish nm, refill fuel tanks, stop for the night, repeat" Oh, and putting 250+ gallons of fuel in the boat every day...

 

[mvweebles]

The OP is an ex commercial fisherman. Why not make a straight shot from Montauk to Keys or Bahamas with a stop in NC. It's about 1000 nms total; 125 engine hours. Weather permitting, 2-weeks is immensely doable. I don't know the waters at all but suppose main goal is to stay out of the Gulfstream on the way south.

Peter

 

[cardude01]

Didn’t the OP say this was a down east style boat? Planning on two weeks offshore in the winter with cold fronts whipping through sounds......unsafe.

I get popping offshore when the weather is good and ducking back inside when it’s not, but planning on the entire two weeks to be decent weather for offshore seems unrealistic.

 

[menzies]

Thanks everyone. Pretty much settles it. Just gonna do the Caribbean. I wanted to think long distances and stories to tell going through panama canal etc... (just really silly bravado)

Thanks for the sound advice.

Be well everyone. Im sure I will post some more questions during the prep up.

A

Just in case, and not being pedantic at all, but helping with an error many many make. So you can talk the right lingo!

The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos are actually in the North Atlantic and not in the Caribbean!

Keep us updated on your plans.

 

[Hippocampus]

Have been cruising this area for several years. St. Vincent may being taking a overly bad hit. Friends have cruised there without issue. We’ve routinely bypassed it but totally love Bequia and the Grenadines. Getting from Grenada to Trinidad can be risky if not done correctly. People get to together on the cruisers net that covers the southern bays of Grenada. They use that to arrange a flotilla. Then a bunch (usually around 5-10 boats) leave together and go well east of Trinidad. That way you’re out of easy reach of the pirates (mostly in small boats) as you approach the southern end of the island. Some of the best diving is off the ABCs. Here again the goal is to approach from the north to be as far away from Venezuela as possible. However that approach can make for a bumpy ride in the Caribbean current. (Wind against water). Leaving Trinidad to go to Brazil or anywhere south is usually a miserable ride from what I hear. There’s the north Brazilian current which is significant and nearly exactly opposite where you want to go. Safe landfalls with appropriate services are few and far between and crime is high. We contemplated doing this trip but after talking with those more experienced than us bailed on this thought. However, depending upon what noonsite and cruiser friends say when the time comes there’s a good likelihood we’ll cruise the western Caribbean. The San Blas and Costa Rico hold interest.

 

[Hippocampus]

A few other thoughts. Dinghies are the number one targets. But they want the engine not the dinghy. Use the heaviest chain not cable. Lock engine directly to the dinghy and use the device that slips over the handle independently of your other engine lock. We used the hole in the mounting bracket. That way your engine has two independent locks on it. Cable is nearly worthless. Yamaha 2 strokes 9.9-20hp are considered gold by the engine thiefs. We used a Suzuki 4 stroke and were quite pleased with its grunt and fuel economy. Mercs are the worst and getting parts the hardest. Raise your dinghy nightly. It’s like the bear chasing you joke. You don’t need to be fast. Just faster than your companion. They’ll hit the easiest victim. We shopped only in daylight. Used our commonsense street smarts and in 7 years so far have had no theft nor scary stuff happen.(knock on wood). We avoided tourist areas like the plague. Used public transport (buses & public vans) or walked. We felt much safer in the eastern Caribbean than let’s say Baltimore or Chicago. Locals told us they can distinguish cruisers from tourists at a glance. No jewelry or fancy watches (usually no watch). Hat and loose fitting clothes (usually synthetics). Clothes sun faded. Often a long sleeve shirt. No shoes always sandals or more commonly flip flops. If boots necessary they’re in a backpack until used. Waterproof backpacks and no purses ever. Thieves target tourists. ‘Nuff said.

 

[Ski in NC]

We used a beater inflatable dink with a beater outboard. Thieves left it alone!!

To the OP, if this is your first cruise with that boat, consider this a bit of a shakedown trip. You will learn a lot about the boat and the stuff you want on board, and the stuff you want to change on the boat.

Keep itinerary loose and flexible. Stay in places you enjoy, move on if you do not.

But don't let a certain destination define the purpose of the trip.