Decisions Decisions... or Routing (I am American and do not pronouncing it ROOTING)

[xeon_tsd]

I am in Texas and working out different routes I could take in a year or so (Deaprture Winter of 15/16)... Family of 3 (wife, 11 year old daughter, myself), 44' Mono (Lafitte).

1. Head down to Mexico, Belize, Roatan etc, and through The Canal, off to the Pacific....
I have dreamed of sailing to Easter Island for 20+ years. I know once there the reality is kinda a PITA. Supposed to leave someone on board at all times etc., but man... Might go to Chile 1st and stock up on wine... =)

2. Florida and the Caribbean, figure out where to before the hurricane season.. or head south and sit it out down there...
Maybe the most "sane" option. Though maybe not as "educational" for the 11 year old.

3. Leave the US coast April / May and head to Ireland.. then down to the med.
If we did that I would want to spend closer to a year in the Med and the whole Schengen PITA crops up...


Yes the decision is for our family to make. I am posting here to help us make a more informed decision.

[captain58sailin]

Sounds like a good adventure. A few years ago, I took a supply boat from LA to Venezuela in January and we had head winds until we got past Trinidad, I don't know if you could have gotten out of them closer to shore. I get the general idea that winter time is not very good for trying to sail south. I just got back from a delivery going to Morocco from LA and we got hit pretty hard from LA to Puerto Rico, left on Oct 22nd. we had head winds all the way across, so it would have been a nice downwind sail from Spain to the Caribbean. I am sure there are many other people here that cruise the Caribbean with much better information than I have. All the best to you and yours.

[donradcliffe]

Having been everywhere, I'd say go the Western Caribbean/South Pacific route. You won;t find nicer people and islands than the Polynesians.

We had a 42 ft boat in the totally protected inner harbor at Easter Island, but that was 20 years ago. Don't miss Pitcairn either.

[JPA Cate]

If you decide on going to Europe in Winter, you will find it quite cold. Your daughter will learn more about European history, and honestly, I think 3 months is ridiculous for an area of the world where one could spend years exploring. With Turkey joining EC soon, you'll be limited to Africa for an escape from Schengen, if I understand it correctly.

If you head for Easter Island, the Galapagos, and on out into the Pacific, the focus will probably be more on the humanities and cultural anthropology. The people are, as donradcliffe posted, extremely pleasant. In our own travels, we returned to Tonga, Fiji, NZ, and Australia. But there are so many islands, so little time.

With any of your plans, your daughter will be "broadened" by experiencing different cultures, and perhaps, even pick up some foreign languages. All pluses.

Have a wonderful time, wherever you choose.

[malaka11]

Turkey won't be part of schengen any time soon so don't worry about not being able to use that as a bolt hole. Also Montenegro and Albania are not schengen and offer great places to sit in your boat for three months. Albania is actually coming on in leaps and bounds along its coast.


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[FSMike]

Even Americans should know that "do not pronouncing it" is incorrect.

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by FSMike

Even Americans should know that "do not pronouncing it" is incorrect.

Being somewhat of a wordslinger wannabe, I was thinking about that, too. It occurs to me that it doesn't matter how you pronounce it when writing it. Just the correct spelling will do. Let the reader mentally pronounce it however he likes. Root. Rowt. Roo-tay. As long as everyone is reading and understanding route, what does it matter how they each pronounce it?

I'm a Texan, too. Fifth generation, since it was Mexico the first time. And if I got ten of my neighbors here on Providenciales to pronounce that word, the differences between the Americans, Texans, Haitians, Canadians, Australians, Turks Islanders, Bahamians, South Africans, and of course, Brits, Dominicans, Jamaicans....it would all be different. All within a mile of here. When I moved from Texas to New England, I actually understood Spanish a lot better than I did Boston, Concord, and Lowell Massachusetts dialect. My wife can pick out a Pittsburgh accent in a busy restaurant.

And we all know what route means when we read it.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by xeon_tsd

.......
Yes the decision is for our family to make. I am posting here to help us make a more informed decision.

That is a pretty broad list of options you posted. It sounds like you are leaving for a long term trip. If so, I'd vote for the Fla/Carib choice for the first season. It would allow the family to figure out how to make this all work on a boat. It will allow you to figure out what needs to be changed on the boat to make it more comfortable for family cruising. It is surprising how small changing can remove some real irritants for some people. It is in an area where it is still reasonably easy to get boat parts. It doesn't require any really long passages, yet has enough challenging sailing to really learn the boat for the entire crew. There are plenty of anchorages to go play alone in or at least without crowds, while still not being isolated from other cruisers for any extensive length of time. A winter in the Bahamas is well worth doing. After a season, you will know where you want to go next.

[xeon_tsd]

Originally Posted by FSMike

Even Americans should know that "do not pronouncing it" is incorrect.

intended as a joke.

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by Paul L

That is a pretty broad list of options you posted. It sounds like you are leaving for a long term trip. If so, I'd vote for the Fla/Carib choice for the first season. It would allow the family to figure out how to make this all work on a boat. It will allow you to figure out what needs to be changed on the boat to make it more comfortable for family cruising. It is surprising how small changing can remove some real irritants for some people. It is in an area where it is still reasonably easy to get boat parts. It doesn't require any really long passages, yet has enough challenging sailing to really learn the boat for the entire crew. There are plenty of anchorages to go play alone in or at least without crowds, while still not being isolated from other cruisers for any extensive length of time. A winter in the Bahamas is well worth doing. After a season, you will know where you want to go next.

Agree with this. Head east or west but spend some time getting into the cruising lifestyle and get to know you boat really well and what the pluses and minuses are before deciding which way to go. We spent a winter in the Bahamas and determined what our boat needed before we set out.
We went to the western Carib and were orginally headed to the Pacific and around but the pirates at the red sea made our decision for us and we headed to the Eastern Carribean and the Med.
The Schengren problem may clear itself up soon with longer visas (thread on that yesterday here) so that should not be a problem. But it is a bit more expensive over here.

Enjoy the planning it is sometimes the most fun.

[lesterbutch]

Re: Decisions Decisions... or Routing (I am American and do not pronouncing it ROOTI

Oh my word, I'm an American also and do pronounce it ROOT! I guess it depends on where your from in America. However, that said, I would not use grammar like "and do not pronouncing it" where in America does that come from?

[Dhillen]

Originally Posted by xeon_tsd

I am in Texas and working out different routes I could take in a year or so (Deaprture Winter of 15/16)... Family of 3 (wife, 11 year old daughter, myself), 44' Mono (Lafitte).

1. Head down to Mexico, Belize, Roatan etc, and through The Canal, off to the Pacific....
I have dreamed of sailing to Easter Island for 20+ years. I know once there the reality is kinda a PITA. Supposed to leave someone on board at all times etc., but man... Might go to Chile 1st and stock up on wine... =)

2. Florida and the Caribbean, figure out where to before the hurricane season.. or head south and sit it out down there...
Maybe the most "sane" option. Though maybe not as "educational" for the 11 year old.

3. Leave the US coast April / May and head to Ireland.. then down to the med.
If we did that I would want to spend closer to a year in the Med and the whole Schengen PITA crops up...


Yes the decision is for our family to make. I am posting here to help us make a more informed decision.

This is one of the best things about a cruising lifestyle - you have so many choices. More choices are available to you than normal mortals. It helps stretch the imagination just thinking about them.

We have always had fantastic experiences no matter where we went - even in crappy hellholes that border the Red Sea.

Where does your daughter want to go?

Relax and enjoy the ride.

Dhillen

[Dauntlessny]

Also, do you have Jimmy Cornell's book, World Cruising Routes?

I find it invaluable in planning for the long term.

Ireland's great by the way and spending the entire spring coming up the east coast would give you a chance to get used to the boat and deal with any issues before your passage.

[vivabob]

I agree that the Caribbean should come first, and for sure do it clockwise if you want your wife and daughter to like cruising. There are two stretches that can end one's joy of cruising if you're going counter clockwise: The passage from Colombia to the ABC's and the passage around Gracious a Dios which is eastward and southward from Honduras to Panama. Both are against the prevailing waves and winds and either could sour your attitude and that of your friends and family. Go clockwise and pay attention to the weather and I predict a great cruising future for you. Enjoy.

PS: Taking your daughter cruising is about the best thing you could for her. In fourteen years I've never met a cruising kid that wasn't fun and interesting.

[BentP]

Ahemm "Turkey joining EC soon" that's not going to happen (anyway it is now EU, European Union)