Keeping a sailboat in the Caribbean

[sailcrazy]

Let me suggest you also check out Marina Puerto Del Rey, on the east coast of Puerto Rico. My insurance likes it. It is a very large marina (+1000 slips) with repair contractors and multiple chandelries at the marina and in town, the hard stand is significantly elevated and removed from the water, is bordered by mangroves and surrounded by a chainlink fence(7/24 guards), the boats are placed on temp stands that are chained together, and then the boats are strapped to buried massive concrete beams. Rental cars are available, and there are lots of places to provision, and San Juan airport is easy to fly in and out of. It's not "cheap", but no more expensive that any of the other haul-out facilities we've investigated in USVIs and BVIs. We've been there for the past 3 off-seasons, there now, and plan to return again.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by dick sargent

How about Rio Dulce?

No worries about hurricanes there, has never happened in recorded hostory...though I have experienced squalls there with gusts over 60 knots.

High heat, humidity, and heavy rainfall means a boat needs to be well tended to or it will suffer badly.

[inchcailloch]

Marinas are expensive and not always secure. Ask where is the most reliable is at the time but few are 100% thief proof. Grenada I found the best place for hurricane season. Very beautiful, plenty of provisions, good socialising especially in Prickly bay with good transport to town. You can go further up if the forecast permits yet only a nigjt sail to Trinidad if in the unlikely event a hurricane is forecast for Grenada. The ABCs are beautiful, Curacao is particularly yacht friendlt with the aupermarket providing free transport for yachties to their well provisioned store some 5 miles away, (Good to have Uk and USA variety here after some limited places in Windward and Leeward Isles) plus when finished shopping they provide free tea/coffe and internet before returning you

However 1. Set off no furthe south than Grenada to avoid piracy from Venezuela. 2. Where will you go after ABCs,? A long way into headwinds back to the main chain unless going through Panama Canal in which case highly recommend Colombia, especially Cartagena, one of the most beautiful cities with a good friendly yacht club (helps if you have a splattering of Spanish, but they are patient and Belli, the manager, particulary helpful)

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Sea Life

Check with insurance companies first. No sense wasting time finding the "perfect spot" to find it is uninsurable or cost prohibitive. Panama gets my vote, but I assume you mean Eastern Caribbean.

We have already had 3 close calls with Tropical storms in Grenada this year. Last year in Panama, nothing except Otto which was far off.

Panama is a good option. Been here mostly for a few years now.

Almost no hurricanes, only 1 ever to make landfall in Panama and then Otto last year forming off Panama.

[BernBruce]

Just dont plan to leave your boat at Marina Hemmingway without totally locking everything up. We had ours there and literally all of our ropes, and everything that could be stolen was stolen. It was a horrible experience, the whole marina Hemming way, and we were there for over two years off and on. We paid for undelivered shrimp, we were drugged in the bar Fiesta, and then robbed of a gold chain, the list goes on an on. However the rest of Cuba is AMAZING with amazing honest kind people. Not sure why the marina is a licence to rob people blind!! The staff and all the sailors will tell you the same, these are not just isolated incidents!! Hire a girl for 20 CUC and expect your boat to be robbed blind by a.m.!! A nasty part of the world!! The marina San Antonio at the other end of Cuba is the total opposite, very safe, and honest with spectacular beauty!! However not sheltered for storms.

[Nani Kai]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Was going to bring up a similar point. Not just ventilation, mold and mildew but everything on a boat tends to go downhill when it's left sitting. The humidity causes corrosion in all the wire connections and terminals, light bulb sockets and everything else electrical. Like electric motors: bilge pumps, engine starters and such tend to quit working.

Aloha skipmac...my wife and I are looking to purchase a Leopard 444 this winter or next, basing it out of St. Thomas or St. Croix. Our semi-retirement plan is to live aboard the boat from November to Mid April, cruising, diving the Caribbean then returning to our seasonal business May to October. Options for the boat while we're not there would be to 1) leave it in the water and have it checked periodically by someone local for a fee 2) have someone live aboard the boat and care for it in the water, moving to hurricane hole if necessary 3) put it on the hard for 6.5-7.0 months. I would be able to get to the USVI for 2-3 days every 6-8 weeks during our busy season to check on things.
Does this make sense or are we setting ourselves up for a maintenance nightmare?

[doublewide]

We like to have our cat hauled in Grenada during hurricane season. Grenada is so far south that a hurricane is extremely unlikely and insurance rates reflect that fact. And Grenada is much dryer than Trinidad so one doesn't need to build a tent or run air conditioning while in storage. We have cruised the eastern Caribbean every winter for 10 years and have not tired of it yet. Come on down!

[johnnyH]

My BVI experience in connection with hurricane anchorage is only with Tortola. Marinas there are outrageously expensive there any time of year. Staying on the hard is a little better but then there is the haul-out cost and hurricanes routinely plow through there. Grenada and Guadeloupe are priced well and not nearly as many cruisers to deal with. Good luck

[DMCantor]

We have spent 7 winters in a row in the Caribbean, mostly in the eastern part, but a couple on Bonaire. We loved the diving on Bonaire, dove several times a week, but there really isn't much else to do there. We stored our boat on Curaçao those years. It has the advantage that it is extremely dry there. Your boat is in customs impound when in long term storage, and that means that no one can go aboard for any reason.

The rest of the time we have hauled out at Spice Island Marine on Grenada. That's a fine choice. Service levels seem to go up and down a bit from year to year, but generally acceptable. We have acquaintances who haul out on St. Lucia or even further north, but that's asking for trouble. There were numerous boats damaged in a storm on St. Martin not long ago.

For cruising, we are the sort that loves variety, and we sample as much as we can. We much prefer the French side of St. Martin, the Dutch side is one big strip mall. Even though most people just use them as customs stops, we have really enjoyed exploring the neighborhood around St. Pierre on Martinique and Des Hais on Guadeloupe. Diving is terrific in Carriacou, Bequia, and the Saintes. On our way back from Bonaire we visited several ports on the south coast of Puerto Rico and loved the area, as well as Vieques and Culebra.

We used to love the BVI, but never go there anymore. It has become way too crowded, and more and more commercial. On our first visit to the Bight on Norman Island (years ago) there were a total of four boats anchored, and no mooring balls at all. Now you can nearly walk across the harbor on the boats on moorings.

Probably our favorite island is Dominica, and we spend a lot of time there each season. We have hiked nearly all the segments of the Waitukubuli nature trail, and really love the scenery.

The comment about customs is correct, it is a non-issue on the French islands, and can be a bit of a pain on the ex-British ones. The customs office at English Harbor is usually fine, the office in Jolly Harbor is often terrible.

Well, good luck on your adventure. If you see a monohull named Callisto, stop by for a drink. There is also a 300-foot motor yacht by that name, don't get us confused!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

No worries about hurricanes there, has never happened in recorded hostory...though I have experienced squalls there with gusts over 60 knots.

Are you saying the area of Rio Dulce has never experienced a hurricane? That didn't fit with my memory so checked.

I found a few that made landfall within 20 miles of Livingston. One notable was Francelia in 1969 that made landfall about 10 miles north of the Rio Dulce at a Cat 2-3. Did not see any storms where the eye of the storm passed directly over the Rio but if I was 10-20 miles from the eye of a Cat 2 storm I would count that as a hit

[GordMay]

“The Rio Dulce is world famous as one of the best hurricane holes in the Western hemisphere ...
... The closest a major hurricane has ever come to the area was hurricane Mitch in 1998 which had maximum sustained winds of 180 MPH. The Rio Dulce experienced torrential rainfall but winds were only reported as nothing to a slight breeze ...”
http://riodulcechisme.com/index.php?...=1180&Itemid=1

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Are you saying the area of Rio Dulce has never experienced a hurricane? That didn't fit with my memory so checked.

I found a few that made landfall within 20 miles of Livingston. One notable was Francelia in 1969 that made landfall about 10 miles north of the Rio Dulce at a Cat 2-3. Did not see any storms where the eye of the storm passed directly over the Rio but if I was 10-20 miles from the eye of a Cat 2 storm I would count that as a hit

Originally Posted by GordMay

“The Rio Dulce is world famous as one of the best hurricane holes in the Western hemisphere ...
... The closest a major hurricane has ever come to the area was hurricane Mitch in 1998 which had maximum sustained winds of 180 MPH. The Rio Dulce experienced torrential rainfall but winds were only reported as nothing to a slight breeze ...”
http://riodulcechisme.com/index.php?...=1180&Itemid=1

None have ever made it into the Rio Dulce, not per NOAA records or local memory dating back many decades.

They have gotten close enough to dump more wind and rain on the Rio, but never actually made it in and have never created sustained winds in hurricane range in the Rio.

However, Mitch, which did everything a hurricane is not supposed to do, appears to have been trying. If you look at the path of the remants of Mitch when they moved over Guatemala it looks like they were trying to find a pass to get through the mountains into the Rio. They almost completely circumnavigated the Rio Dulce area..not being succesful at gaining entry they headed off N.

We did have little tornados spin up in the Cañon once though as the result of approaching tropical weather....that was interesting.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Nani Kai

Aloha skipmac...my wife and I are looking to purchase a Leopard 444 this winter or next, basing it out of St. Thomas or St. Croix. Our semi-retirement plan is to live aboard the boat from November to Mid April, cruising, diving the Caribbean then returning to our seasonal business May to October. Options for the boat while we're not there would be to 1) leave it in the water and have it checked periodically by someone local for a fee 2) have someone live aboard the boat and care for it in the water, moving to hurricane hole if necessary 3) put it on the hard for 6.5-7.0 months. I would be able to get to the USVI for 2-3 days every 6-8 weeks during our busy season to check on things.
Does this make sense or are we setting ourselves up for a maintenance nightmare?

Hi Nani Kai,

Based on my experience as an absentee owner a few times in the past, it might not be a nightmare, but leaving a boat untended and unused for months at a time certainly has the potential, especially if that includes hurricane season in the Caribbean.

The ideas you mention can work or at least minimize the hassle but all have potential pros and cons.

1. In the water. Allows periodically running the engine and easy use if you come down for a visit. But if a hurricane hits you will be one of many trying to get to shelter and could end up stuck in an exposed situation. I'm also always nervous with a boat in the water when I'm a long way off. Leaking hoses or through hulls, dragging anchor or mooring or lines (anchor or dock lines) chaffing through. Just thinking about all that can go wrong gives me ulcers.

2. Out of the water. Even properly braced I don't like the stresses it puts on a boat long term. If you want to use the boat, you can't or you have to schedule and pay for a launch then rehaul. You can't easily run the engine and any water cooled equipment like air conditioning.

Hiring a boat sitter or maintenance person can work and I've had pretty good luck with that but I've also heard horror stories of neglected boats, damaged boats, one even stolen by the boat sitter. Even with a boat sitter, boats with absent owners are at a higher risk of theft as well.

If I were to do this again I think my preference would be to keep the boat stored on the hard, make sure there was good ventilation (solar vents or a solar panel to keep the batteries up to run a 12V vent fan), someone local to keep an eye on things and remove all the easily portable or removable expensive items like radios, GPS, binoculars, etc

Bottom line, not saying it can't work, lots and lots of people do this or similar plans but it's not without some concerns.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

None have ever made it into the Rio Dulce, not per NOAA records or local memory dating back many decades.

They have gotten close enough to dump more wind and rain on the Rio, but never actually made it in and have never created sustained winds in hurricane range in the Rio.

However, Mitch, which did everything a hurricane is not supposed to do, appears to have been trying. If you look at the path of the remants of Mitch when they moved over Guatemala it looks like they were trying to find a pass to get through the mountains into the Rio. They almost completely circumnavigated the Rio Dulce area..not being succesful at gaining entry they headed off N.

We did have little tornados spin up in the Cañon once though as the result of approaching tropical weather....that was interesting.

Well I wasn't there and no idea what the winds were like on the Rio but here's a map of the track of Franceila in 1969. Sure looks close to me.

[P3sailor]

Hello, Paul and Tracey,
I crewed on a Amel 53 Super Maramu, the owner opted to put the boat on the hard at Prickly Pear Marina, Granada. He is a very particular owner and has left his boat there for the past two off seasons. The marina does not have berthing facilities but does have plenty of mooring available, has a sail loft, steel fabricating, electrical/electronic technicians, pretty much everything you may need. The personnel are friendly with some of the "techs" from the UK.
The owner of the Amel, has had some extensive work done (solar panels, wind generator, and davits) this past off-season and will be going down 14 Sept to ready the boat for the 2018 ARC in January. If desired, I will contact him to request permission for you to communicate with him directly.
Fair Winds,
Steve