ESSENTIALS for Carribean Cruising

[Captain Bill]

There has been lots of good advice on items to put on board. I would like to add a couple of other recommendations. I would put on a Reynolds handivac and a good supply of quart and gallon bags for it. We put one on board for our trip to the Bahamas last year and it worked tremendously well. We bought some bagged salad and vacuum bagged it in the gallon bags. The salad was still fresh when we finished the last of it nearly three weeks later. We caught several fish which we could not eat all at once and vacuum bagged it. It worked great. The handivac ran the entire six weeks without needing new batteries and we used it nearly every day. It is much smaller than conventional vacuum bagging systems is much more convienient. Anytime we could not use something all at once we vacuum bagged it. The food sure went a lot further since spoilage was so reduced.

The next item, I learned about from an old sailor who used to sail without any refrigeration. It is an Igloo playmate cooler used to store vegetables. The secret is to put a double layer of paper towels on the bottom and to build up layers of vegetables with the hardest (potatos, onions) on bottom and softer on the top (tomatos) placing a double paper towel between each layer. The Playmate is used because it does not have an airtight top, which is important. The paper towels need to be replaced about every 5 days. We used this method and had no rotten vegetables on the whole trip. That was a first.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by peterroach

When I came back from my first year in the Bahamas I made the attached list of things to take so I would not forget something next time. Reading through it now I am amazed what I thought was important and what I did not include. I post it here with the caution - you can sink your boat with too much stuff. Go have fun - that is why you do it.

Thank you for the list.

Another tool.

[sestina]

Sense of humour!!
Respect
Sun hat

Don't get such a big dinghy that two of you can't get the ***ker up the beach.

[SailingPassage]

Originally Posted by peterroach

When I came back from my first year in the Bahamas I made the attached list of things to take so I would not forget something next time. Reading through it now I am amazed what I thought was important and what I did not include. I post it here with the caution - you can sink your boat with too much stuff. Go have fun - that is why you do it.

looks like there is some great information in all of these posts, so thanks again for all the reponses. peter, you mention that looking back on your comprehensive list that you are amazed at what you included/did not included. what are the important things that really pop out at you that you would be sure to change or include if you were to do a new list now several years on?

[Sandero]

cabin fans... several
anchor windlass - chain
awning (makes boat cooler and keeps cockpit dry). Get one fast and easy to rig and it doesn't make the boat unattractive and interfere with seeing sailing when sailing.
good inflatable and OB
refer
SSB for extended communications
sun screen

[Zanshin]

We are drifting from "must haves" to "nice to haves" or even "Wish-I-Could-Haves".

I did forget another requirement for Caribbean cruising - time.

[nautical62]

I can't image cruising without:

Ground tackle I'm very comfortable with

Bimini

Autopilot

GPS

VHF

There are many other things I'd like and many more required by law, but those are "optional" items I can't imagine going without.

[SailingPassage]

do women need to be brought to the caribbean...or can they be found there?

[Keegan]

Originally Posted by SailingPassage

do women need to be brought to the caribbean...or can they be found there?

If you want certainty of having a woman in the Caribbean then I would bring one. Finding one there is certainly possible but not predictable. Besides, we dont know how you look, to judge if you can find one anywhere

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by SailingPassage

do women need to be brought to the caribbean...or can they be found there?

HaHa...that's funny!

I haven't come across that many unattached women in my cruising down here, and those that are tend to want to stay that way. Actually it may be easier to find a female sailing companion in a port city that has a cold season. Back in 2001, the Caribbean 1500 fleet was getting ready to shove off from Hampton, Virginia, for Virgin Gorda, BVI. A waitress in one of the local restaurants heard the sailors talking about the trip, became intrigued with the thought of sailing off to warmer climes. She quit her job on the spot and hitched a ride on a boat to the tropics.

[peterroach]

The best two items were the first two Dingy (with big engine) and bimini! I would add to the dingy that it should have BIG tubes (I have a carbie). having a wet butt seems like a trival matter when you are sitting in a dry chair at home; however, it is very important when you have a bad case of diper rash.

Other things I would take - iPod (or equivalent) Life is just too short to not have tunes. WiFi extended range antenna (keeps everyone at home from launching a search for you when you are safe in harbor.

Other little things that make life easer:
Bag of clothes pins (drying everyting on the lifeline)
Lemon Fresh Joy (you can bathe with this in salt water - it foams up in salt)
Pillow shams (it is amazing what you can store in these and they look good sitting out)
One working barometer
LED lights in the cabin (12V rope light is cheap and gives a lot of light)
Link system to see how much battery power you are using
Art work in the boat
Any Wibur Smith novel for the trip
Small GPS with anchor watch for above my bunk (sleep through the night with this)
SSB receiver (If you cruise the east coast give Rick Parker his fee - he is great!)
Kit of electrical crimp connectors
Ratcheting crimp plyers (Harbor freight $14)
Kit of stanless screws
Light bulbs for everything on the boat
Nice refrigeration
Head rebuild kit (take two you will not be disappointed)
Anchor chain, anchor chain, and anchor chain
Someone who you like cruising with


Also rember Bob Bitchin's advice (Lats and Attudes) - the difference between an adventure and an ordeal is attitude.

The best advice of all is get as much of the list as you can in 3 months and then untie your lines. Go make frends, learn new recipies, have paties on your boat, sleep in a hammock, learn about the stars - go cruising.

[dpruitt3]

A GOOD CREW

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by peterroach

... having a wet butt seems like a trivial matter when you are sitting in a dry chair at home; however, it is very important when you have a bad case of diaper rash...

Dry Bags aren't just for "abandon ship", but are also great to carry clean/dry clothes to shore.

[Zanshin]

This thread is an interesting one, but drifting again into non-essentials. Put differently,

If I didn't have {Fill in your item(s)} on my boat, I wouldn't go out cruising.

Would I go cruising without good refrigeration or art work? Yes

Would I go cruising without a bimini or reading material or time? No

[peterroach]

I guess that is why they make chocolate and vanilla. What one person wants on their boat is not what another does. My attitude is that I tried having a bad time once and did not like it.