You have a great idea, but I respectfully suggest you tweak the details. As you state, you don't have a lot of experience, and thats why you posted here.
1) Plan your trip to always be heading downwind. Get yourself a copy of Jimmy Cornell's World Sailing Routes, and he does a great job of laying it all out...where to go and when the
wind blows. Think of it as the difference of an all uphill trip, or all downhill...of course you want to go downhill (downwind) and just have fun.
2) Avoid the Panama Canal. Why try to go someplace that is definitely not a good place for a small sailboat. Use your small size to your advantage by being able to get into smaller/shallower
anchorages...where would that be do you think?
3) Get a safe/solid boat. If you are going
blue water, you need a
bluewater boat. There has been much written about this already, no need to rehash it here. If the boat
sails well, that is well...IMHO...everything. All the other
gear you can bring or buy. A
small boat doesn't have much space, so you might start making your list and even getting started accumulating
gear right now....origo 1500
stove, handheld
VHF,
Navionics on an
ipad with an indestructable case,
avon redcrest,
garmin etrex 10, LED flashlights,
plastimo Iris 50
compass....you could aquire and learn all these devices long before you hit the
water and ease your
learning curve considerably.
4) Save up your
money.
Money makes problems go away.
I think you have a good starting point. As a friendly suggestion, you might consider something small thats already in
St Martin, and start having fun and exploring right away as you make your way back to the states.
Here's a quick list of boats to consider:
Albin Vega 27
Contessa 26
Bayfield 29
Bristol 29
And there are plenty more. Most of these boats would be around 40 years old, so would be very affordable...under $10,000.
If you are a real masochist, get yourself a Tanzer 22...so much fun!
Heres your boat for free:
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sailboat/otta...ationFlag=true
Best of luck to you, and please keep us updated as your adventure progresses.