Boat for Caribbean vs Sea of Cortez

[zachduckworth]

Hi all,

I currently have an Islander 30 Bahama in Los Angeles. It’s a great boat, I’m a huge fan. Less a fan of LA. I’m a 42 yo professional with great income but houses are so expensive here that it’ll never happen (without paying over 50% of my income on a mortgage). I’m looking at buying a house back on the East Coast now, around Va Beach. My plan is to work remotely there for my job in CA. Eventually I’d like to be able to sail around the Caribbean for a few months every year. I was originally thinking about selling my current boat and moving back east and buying a new, bigger boat, maybe something full keeled. But that got me wondering if that’s necessary. If my plans are to sail around the islands then motor up the ICW to avoid the hurricane season do I really need another, bigger/heavier boat? I know a guy who lives longterm on the same model boat I have in the Sea of Cortez and I am wondering if I could do the same on it. Thanks!

[Benz]

There's no reason that boat won't suit, as long as you have the wherewithal to sail around to the Caribbean. Or truck it VA. If you like the boat enough to keep it, you avoid all the pitfalls of buying and fitting out another one.

[Ryban]

Much of the Eastern Caribbean (The Bahamas all the way down to Grenada) can be reached via day sails, or at least < 24hr sails. So weather should always be predictable enough that almost any boat is suitable with rational planning.

[leboyd]

You could truck it to Galveston and then sail it, although I doubt the additional cost to truck it on to the east coast would be minimal.

[Kettlewell]

Your boat would be a good one for the East Coast down to the Bahamas. The hard part will be getting it down to Panama and then doing the canal. It's a long trip! Sailing up from Panama via Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico is very pleasant (in the right season) and fun. From Florida you can go inside the ICW or outside all the way to Virginia, and both are great. It is handy having the shallower draft for the East Coast and the Bahamas. OTOH, the Chesapeake has thousands of boats for sale and is a great place to find one.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Your boat would be a good one for the East Coast down to the Bahamas. The hard part will be getting it down to Panama and then doing the canal. It's a long trip! Sailing up from Panama via Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico is very pleasant (in the right season) and fun. From Florida you can go inside the ICW or outside all the way to Virginia, and both are great. It is handy having the shallower draft for the East Coast and the Bahamas. OTOH, the Chesapeake [East coast] has thousands of boats for sale and is a great place to find one.

IMO: It would be a long, costly, relocation, for a 40 ➛ 50 Y/O boat, worth <$25K, at best.

[Kettlewell]

IMO: It would be a long, costly, relocation, for a 40 ➛ 50 Y/O boat, worth <$25K, at best.

But, if you have the time it would be a wonderful trip! Not worth it if you consider it a delivery trip, but worth it if you look at it as an adventure.