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boatingnewbie · 07-05-2019, 12:03

Sorry if this is a dumb question...

I'm interested in getting a boat and cruising around the Caribbean primarily. I've read that hurricane season is technically June 1 - November 30th. This is obviously HALF the year.

Is the Caribbean still very active during these months with cruisers? But everyone just has their own "Exit Plan" if they see a storm forming on any given day?

I can't imagine 'most' don't cruise the Caribbean for that entire half of the year every year.

Just curious how people on average manage the hurricane season in the Caribbean.

Thanks for any insights.

callistov42 · 07-05-2019, 12:32

We have kept our boat in the Caribbean for 25+ years.
For most of that time we didn't haul it for the season but after Irma in St Martin two years ago, we do haul it now.

June and July are great months to sail down there (if you have an air conditioned boat, we do). Historically. the storms come in September and October. This year we are hauling on July 6 and resplashing October 30. That is about the timing we were on last year. The biggest issue now is regards to insurance. For the past 25 years a few extra hundred dollars in premium allowed us not to have to get out of the "hurricane box". After Irma the big insurers either just stopped insuring boats completely, require you to get the boat out of the hurricane box or required hauling with the sticks out of the boat. Pulling the sticks was a PITA. This year we went with a Caribbean based insurer and can leave it in the water or haul it but can leave the bare sticks on the boat.

**a64pilot** · 07-05-2019, 12:59

Callisto, who is your Insurence with? I need Insurence, that kept us from going South this year to Grenada.

As far as hurricane season, look it up, it like most things is a bell curve, incidence in Jun and Nov pretty much bottom put, but look out Sept. and Oct.