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13-04-2012, 09:50
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Cruising the Caribbean
Boat: Tayana 37 "SAILACIOUS"
Posts: 201
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Cruising the Western Caribbean
We am planning to sail to Columbia and spend a year or two in the Western Caribbean. We will set sail from either P.R. or the D.R. this fall.
Does anyone have favorite cruising guides / sailing routes books they can recommend?
__________________
Janice
www.sailacious.com
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13-04-2012, 14:40
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Wherever the boat is!
Boat: Marine Trader 34DC
Posts: 4,619
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
Freya Rauscher's Guide is still the best along with Pavlidas' Western Caribbean Guide. We only went as far south as Guatemala and left from the Florida Keys. We did go from the DR to Cuba and cruised the south coast. It's an easy hop to Isla Mujeres from the western end of Cuba. The trip is detailed on our Sea Trek blog. If you do Cuba, use Nigel Calder's, the Simon Charles book is a joke. We used it and wondered if he really had ever been there. Chuck
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14-04-2012, 04:01
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#3
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CF Adviser Moderator Emeritus

Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Virginia
Boat: Island Packet 380, now sold
Posts: 8,942
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
Google "Colombia" and put "caribbeancompass.com" in the "site or domain" box, and you'll get a series of cruising guides for, you guessed it, Colombia.
__________________
Hud
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14-04-2012, 05:58
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Presently on US East Coast
Boat: Manta 40 "Reach"
Posts: 10,108
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
Look for the on-line guide put out by the boat "Pizazz" for the best routes and advice from the ABC's to Panama. Email me if you can't find it online.
In the caribe part of Panama, the only useful guide is Eric Bauhaus's. It is expensive, but worth far more than he asks just for the accurate charting of the San Blas alone.
Doyle puts out two guides for the ABC's, but they are not worth paying for. The ABC's are well-charted, well travelled and all information from any guide is available in the tourist offices. Doyle also has a good Venezuela guide, but I imagine you will be skipping that part.
Mark
__________________
www.svreach.com
You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
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14-04-2012, 21:23
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: W Carib
Boat: Wildcat 35, Hobie 33
Posts: 13,320
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
Pat Rains guide is very useful for route planning. This combined with Freya's and Puvladi's is a very good combination.
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15-04-2012, 05:42
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Presently on US East Coast
Boat: Manta 40 "Reach"
Posts: 10,108
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
All the guides mentioned so far are for the NW caribe. The OP states they are going to Columbia, which is the SW caribe. For the SW, it is pretty much Bauhaus and Zydler for published guides on Panama and Pizazz for unpublished cruiser info on Columbia and the passage from the ABC's. We have both the Panama guides and do not find the Zydler guide very useful.
Mark
__________________
www.svreach.com
You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
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21-04-2012, 07:10
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Florida
Boat: Beneteau Oceanis 423
Posts: 53
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
Hello,
I have the cruising guides from PR to Barbados, paper charts and Navionics CF/908P-2 Caribbean. All like new. Never used. Half price. See pictures.
If you have any question, I will gladly answer.
Michel.
ThanThan. Oceanis 423.
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21-04-2012, 07:38
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#9
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Little Compton, RI
Boat: Cape George 31
Posts: 2,278
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
I have to respectfully disagree with colemj. The Zydler guide is far and away the best cruising guide I've ever used. All his hand-drawn charts are completely accurate, and his soundings and directions as well. It is not for those who wish to simply plug in GPS waypoints and routes and follow them, (which is what the Bauhaus guide is all about) but for those who rely on piloting and eyeball navigation (which is safer, to me, than following a 50-waypoint route through shoals). I guess it comes down to a matter of style, but the Rauscher guide to Belize also requires eyeball skills, as do certain harbor entrances in Honduras. Anyway, by all means lay hold of a Zydler guide. It's a great resource.
Ben
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21-04-2012, 07:54
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#10
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Senior Cruiser

Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W
Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt)
Posts: 46,987
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
Quote:
Originally Posted by colemj
Look for the on-line guide put out by the boat "Pizazz" for the best routes and advice from the ABC's to Panama...
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CRUISING GUIDE FOR COAST OF COLOMBIA ~ by Lourae and Randy Kenoffel (Pizazz)
➥ CRUISING GUIDE FOR COAST OF COLOMBIA
➥ CRUISING THE COAST OF COLUMBIA
UPDATED CRUISING GUIDE FOR THE COAST OF COLOMBIA
➥ Cruising Guide for the Coast of Colombia
__________________
Gord May
"If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"
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06-05-2012, 18:45
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Cruising the Caribbean
Boat: Tayana 37 "SAILACIOUS"
Posts: 201
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
Thanks for all the info, now I just have to sort through to find the relevant guides. I said we are traveling either P.R. or D.R. to Cartegena. Then we will travel slowly up to Mexico. Already have Freya's Belize and Mexico, Bauhaus' Panama. Looking at Calder's Northwest Caribbean maybe.....
__________________
Janice
www.sailacious.com
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10-05-2012, 07:30
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: W Carib
Boat: Wildcat 35, Hobie 33
Posts: 13,320
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Re: Cruising the Western Caribbean
Related note: we are currently in San Andreas, Colombia. If you want Internet access here you can purchase Wi-Fi access from T.V. Isla. They have coverage over most of the island. The signal is weak, but usable in the anchorage. Sure beats hauling the laptop ashore.
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