Recent shipping recommendations???

[ranger58sb]

2. Trucking across the skinny part of Mexico. This is where the railroad alternative to Panama Canal is being built. I have not checked into trucking across this but will however there are no boatyards on either side which means no Travelifts so loading would require a crane. I did check into trucking from the boatyard where Weebles curretly sits in Chiapas MX to a marina in Guatemala's Rio Dulce (350 road miles) but no one was aware of any options.

3. Stage from Costa Rica. This was my first thought - stage from the picturesque islands of Bocas del Toros, make the 200 nm run to San Andres/Providencia; then run towards a tiny atoll "Seranilla Bank" where there is a small garrison of Colombian soldiers (8 at last report) laying claim to the land. Its not shown on the attached chartlet but is 100 nms east of the point of land where Nicaragua/Honduras meet. Or I could run to Cayman Islands if needed. Or to Cancun/Isla Mujeres.

4. Stage from Baranquilla/Santa Marta (Colombia). My current thinking if I do it myself. It's a 2-1/2 day run to Jamaica so cuts down the Caribbean tremendously. Getting to Baranquilla is no joke - there is a massive low pressure that seems to just sit off Colombia's western coast and really kicks-up a lot of mess. But there are a lot of anchorages along the way so picking weather is manageable. Plus Santa Marta is supposedly a beautiful colonial city nestled between the mountains and the sea. Sould like a much nice place to kill time waiting for weather than Shelter Bay Marina.

I'm surprised no boatyards somewhere along the Veracruz/Tabasco coastline?

At least the hops from Bocas Del Toros to San Andres/Providencia/Serranilla Bank could be more like ~200 NM runs each, but then you're still kind of in the middle of nowhere.... still faced with longer runs to Jamaica or Cayman Island or wherever... and then once there, you're still kind of in the middle of nowhere, so to speak.

OTOH, it looks like Serranilla Bank to Port Royal or somewhere like that could also be a shorter hop, ~250 NM or so?

I don't suppose there's much of anywhere in Haiti to lay over along the way...

While I was thinking on it, I wondered how difficult it would be to get to Barranquilla. Your chartlet shows it as a ~370 NM leap, but there's coastline all along the way, so would seem at least slightly possible to take that in smaller legs? (Aside from, or because of, that pesky weather thing...)

I even wondered about the idea of Aruba/Curacao/Grenada but didn't at first realize the leap to Grenada would also be even longer than your projection from Santa Marta to Port Antonio. OTOH, Aruba to Puerta Cano maybe not much different than your Santa Marta to Port Antonio projection...

Have you thought about airlift?



-Chris

 

[Blissboat]

I will add one oddball thought. Having waited in Panama for almost a month for a suitable weather window for a N55 (well, beyond suitable from a delivery skippers perspective), I would be careful about where to stage for a potentially lengthy wait for weather. Shelter Bay Marina in Colon is a friendly place full of global cruisers but it's in the middle of nowhere. Fine for a week. Longer than that and it's waiting for a parole hearing.

Peter

Not gonna ask how you know what it feels like to wait for a parole hearing!

Would Shelter Bay Marina be acceptable as a place to leave Weebles unattended for some weeks?

 

[rslifkin]

Delivery wise there's always the in between option. Run it yourself but hire some experienced crew to come along instead of just sending the boat off with a delivery crew.

 

[ksanders]

How about running her back to La Paz and shipping from there?

Ensenada is a long ways but La Paz is much closer...

If you get after it you can beat hurricane season

 

[IRENE]

Paul Haber
Cross Chartering N.V.
Tel: +1 954.686.6902
Cell: +1 917.922.9099
Email: paul@crosschartering.com

I have referred several clients to Paul and have only gotten positive feedback.

Great experience with Paul and Cross Chartering, LaPaz BCS to Nanaimo BC 2024. All aspects of the evolution (communications, customs processes, loading/unloading, insurance) were efficient and the administrative burden was surprisingly minimal.

 

[NoRain]

How about running her back to La Paz and shipping from there?

Ensenada is a long ways but La Paz is much closer...

If you get after it you can beat hurricane season

Or pop on down to Golfito (Costa Rico). It’s a “regular” stop on the yacht transport routes. Maybe easier than uphill to La Paz….and cheaper too.

 

[ranger58sb]

Delivery wise there's always the in between option. Run it yourself but hire some experienced crew to come along instead of just sending the boat off with a delivery crew.

I thought about doing that, back when we were last shopping. Found a candidate in Fajardo, PR... with engines that would be new to me... and no telling about appropriate tools on board, etc. Would have been big water right away on a relatively unknown ride, survey notwithstanding. I was comparing shipping versus delivering with major crew and me aboard too, but it turned out neither way made great economic sense in that particular case.

The delivery options would have been a real Captain (my ticket's nice and all that, but I have no experience in those waters), with at least one other crew... preferably two... and me... AND with a ride-along Volvo tech familiar with D12s... but I didn't get around to solving the tools issue. It was looking marginally less expensive than shipping -- in money -- whereas shipping might have been marginally less nerve-wracking.

We found a different boat. Which is still kicking my a$$.

-Chris

 

[ranger58sb]

Or pop on down to Golfito (Costa Rico). It’s a “regular” stop on the yacht transport routes. Maybe easier than uphill to La Paz….and cheaper too.

I know Peter mentioned Golfito right from the start... and sure enough, at least that's moving in the right direction.

Not much of a destination, but we were actually there once back in 2013 and it was very pleasant for a one-day stop. I made sure the Fish Hook bar where we landed was being securely kept in business...

I have a few pics of the very nice floating docks there... but I'm guessing a transport ship would anchor in the small bay and lift boats aboard there...

-Chris

 

[mvweebles]

Yes,Golfito is about 600nms south of Chiapas MX. And the Flor de Cana rum distillery is about halfway.

Distance is just one of the price factors for shipping. All ships stop in Ensenada and Victoria. Not all ships stop in La Paz and Golfito. There is more demand for Golfito due to sport fishing boats so more ships stop there than La Paz. If someone wanted to ship a boat from La Paz to Victoria, I wouldn't be surprised if it was only marginally less expensive than Golfito to Victoria even though La Paz 1800nms closer to Victoria.

I'm starting to think there's no prize for deciding early so I may wait and make a decision in the fall when we're underway again. Maybe the Flor de Cana will make my decision (Panama has Abuelo Rum which is also pretty good)

Peter

 

[mydacha]

got my quote from Sevenstars yesterday, mallorca to marmaris, 48ft boat, 19000 euro. 2500km

 

[mydacha]

review about boat damaging with seven stars

 

[ranger58sb]

Here ya go:

Fish Hook Marina

fishhookcr.com

-Chris

 

[JayB]

Maybe the Flor de Cana will make my decision
Peter

They wouldn't let me fire up the boiler so don't count on this train to get Weebles to the Punta Gorda river that leads to the Atlantic Peter.
The distiller was in and added smoke to his oldest ron for me.

Jay

 

[O C Diver]

So this is about 12 years ago.

At the time, I'd made an offer on Aloha (Willard 40, last one made) that was in La Paz. Was looking at several options with the marina in La Paz.

You could get the boat pulled in Guaymas or Puerto Penasco and trucked to Tucson, AZ. There was a yard in Tucson that lifts boats off trucks and set boats on trucks. So I remember it being trucked by a Mexican company to Tucson and then switching to an American truck for US delivery.

The other choice was Guaymas or Mazatlan to somewhere near Brownsville, TX.

I may be wrong on Guaymas as the city, but it was a city where a lot of sailboats were transport North from.

I was told by the marina that both to Tucson and near Brownsville had been done, but required local coordination.

Obviously I didn't buy Aloha, but my preference was to go across Mexico and around the gulf.

Ted

 

[tomah]

I'm considering all options. My #1 priority is time - it's gorgeous in Florida right now and we'd love to have the boat ready for use. From Panama, we landed in Key West with the Nordhavn. To add insult, last week my partner and I drove cross state to St Augustine to spend a few days with our friends with the Nordhavn. We had a great time - St Augustine is a great town with the marina right downtown. Really made me want to have Weebles here so we can do local cruising.

But #2 priority - and this is a bit of a confession, is looking at almost 1000-miles of open water with a small single engine boat. I cannot carry all possible spares and frankly, as mentioned in a different thread, I'm a resourceful mechanic but not a fully credentialed McGyver. So there's a fear factor on my part.

That said, I continue to monitor the weather closely. Right now getting from Colon to Baraquilla Colombia (350 nms) would be a milk run. Similarly, going from Barranquilla to Jamaica (400 nms) would also be a gorgeous milkrun. Those are both okay runs for me, especially since I don't have full coverage insurance so no restrictions on Colombia or June 1 Hurricane season (May is a great month to run the Caribbean).

Based on feedback in this thread, I've started to reach out to trucking as a possibility—and after checking with ShipWorks customer service, I'm also exploring how shipping logistics might work. Rio Dulce (Guatemala) is only about 250 road miles away, so I've started to ask around locally. It’s on my list of places to visit, so it could work out well.

So much consider.....thanks for sharing all the good ideas. Have reached out to shipping (thanks Judy for the contact at Cross) and boatyards in Rio Dulce.

Peter

You should reach out to companies like Sevenstar Yacht Transport, DYT Yacht Transport, or Legend Yacht Transport for updated quotes. Since your boat is in Chiapas, you may need to transport her to a major loading port like Golfito or Ensenada. Each of these companies can help with logistics, customs, and paperwork. I'd recommend contacting at least two of them for competitive quotes and scheduling options.

 

[ranger58sb]

You should reach out to companies like Sevenstar Yacht Transport, DYT Yacht Transport, or Legend Yacht Transport for updated quotes. Since your boat is in Chiapas, you may need to transport her to a major loading port like Golfito or Ensenada. Each of these companies can help with logistics, customs, and paperwork. I'd recommend contacting at least two of them for competitive quotes and scheduling options.

I did that when I was considering buying that boat in Puerto Rico. Think I had quotes from DYT and Sevenstar, Maybe one other, one of those companies but a different name. ??? IIRC all from BVIs to Ft. Lauderdale or West Palm or similar. There was enough $$$ difference to be a thing. Seems to me loading might have been different, maybe one was float-on and the other was maybe lift-on (crane). ???

Might be useful to have quotes for "next availables" from Golfito (after deciding when Weebles could reasonably be expected to get there). After that, it may be possible to look for some discounts if one or the other doesn't have a completely full ship -- that happens to be stopping at Golfito anyway -- on one of their sailings...

-Chris

 

[mvweebles]

DYT's website cites strategic ties to SevenStar so I'm not sure there is an alternative quote from them.

United Yacht , who I contacted several years ago, seems to be out of business.

Legend Yacht Transport - I had not heard of them and will check them out.

My sense is the US to Med run as is the China/Asia to US run for new build yachts. Going between the coasts of North America is less competitive but workable. Trucking or rail is not feasible.

I'm headed south anyway. Golfito is on the way so I'll make a decision when I'm closer and maybe snag a last minute deal on a partially loaded ship.

I haven't ruled out delivery but I'd be more inclined to just make the run myself. Watching the weather, there's another wx window opening next week from Colombia to Jamaica, and running along the Colombian coast has been feasible for a few weeks. May/June seems to be a good time to head north (albeit it's the start of hurricane season).

More to come......

Peter

 

[twistedtree]

DYT's website cites strategic ties to SevenStar so I'm not sure there is an alternative quote from them.

United Yacht , who I contacted several years ago, seems to be out of business.

Legend Yacht Transport - I had not heard of them and will check them out.

My sense is the US to Med run as is the China/Asia to US run for new build yachts. Going between the coasts of North America is less competitive but workable. Trucking or rail is not feasible.

I'm headed south anyway. Golfito is on the way so I'll make a decision when I'm closer and maybe snag a last minute deal on a partially loaded ship.

I haven't ruled out delivery but I'd be more inclined to just make the run myself. Watching the weather, there's another wx window opening next week from Colombia to Jamaica, and running along the Colombian coast has been feasible for a few weeks. May/June seems to be a good time to head north (albeit it's the start of hurricane season).

More to come......

Peter

Watch out for the United Yachts of the industry. They are the guys who took a whole bunch of upfront payments, then disappeared with all the money. And then I think the same people re-emerged under a new name, booked and loaded a whole bunch of boats, but on arrival the boats were all "arrested" because the shipper had never been paid. To get their boats, the owners had to pay the shipping charges a second time. So I would only lean towards well worn paths for shippers.

 

[klee wyck]

We ended the day yesterday at our home dock after booking Cross Charter to ship DOMINO home from Mexico. For us, on this trip, it seemed like a well-oiled machine and a reasonable value. Great communication and execution with our vessel arriving in good condition.
I would recommend them without reservation based on that experience.

 

[slowgoesit]

Peter, my recommendation is for you and Cheryl to take Weebles from Chiapas to Colon, this Fall, then you and I bring it across the Caribbean. Personally, I'd stay from Honduras/Nicaragua. For me, would have to be before 1 March, or after middle of April.

 

[mvweebles]

Peter, my recommendation is for you and Cheryl to take Weebles from Chiapas to Colon, this Fall, then you and I bring it across the Caribbean. Personally, I'd stay from Honduras/Nicaragua. For me, would have to be before 1 March, or after middle of April.

Well theres a great offer! Thanks. Would be great to have experienced crew. Would likely depart from Barranquilla vs Colon and come up the east end of Jamaica and Cuba. I'm sorta leaning towards that way.

Peter

 

[slowgoesit]

Well theres a great offer! Thanks. Would be great to have experienced crew. Would likely depart from Barranquilla vs Colon and come up the east end of Jamaica and Cuba. I'm sorta leaning towards that way.

Peter

Wait, you want EXPERIENCED crew? That leaves ME out!
Just so long as you don't want to make landfall in Haiti!
And look at stability of Jamaica during that time as well, as when we went, it was a tinderbox.

 

[mvweebles]

Wait, you want EXPERIENCED crew? That leaves ME out!
Just so long as you don't want to make landfall in Haiti!
And look at stability of Jamaica during that time as well, as when we went, it was a tinderbox.

I know of two boats that have stopped in Port Antonio (NE tip of Jamaica) in the last 2-months and were fine with the conditions there. It's about 450 nms from Baranquilla/Santa Marta so a workable run. There was a killer weather window 2-weeks ago but alas, it sucks right now so could be a wait. Honestly Scot, I just don't want to sit in Shelter Bay Marina (SBM) for too long waiting on weather. I could stage from Bocas del Toros then hopscotch to Providencia/San Andres (175 nms) but I'm thinking Cartegena and Santa Marta sound like really nice places to visit.

There's another active thread where conditions in Caribbean are debated. One post insinuates its a milk run. Another describes it as hell on a bad day. My experience is somewhere inbetween, though I haven't spent that much time in the Eastern Caribbean.

Peter

 

[hatteras53]

Hi Peter,

You have TRULY helped me several times in the past few years with solid honest advice, so I want to return the favor to you Captain. We seriously considered the purchase of 2 other boats and shipping cost was going to be an important consideration. The initial prices we were quoted were very high from the companies being mentioned in this thread. As we got closer to the ship leaving the respective port, the sales people started calling us and offering huge discounts if we signed on for the trip. I will also tell you that the price quoted is definitely not the total cost. You may find that 'on her own bottom' is a good choice. Your expereince is more than enough to do this blue water journey. You are capable. Michael