Charter 27 Caribbean Islands?!?

[underthesea]

Hey,

My GF is attempting to be the first woman from her country to visit all 329 countries and territories. We're just over 100 now (thanks Covid). But looking to get back traveling in October 2022.

Going through Central and South America - and will be up in Trinidad in late March 2023.

She doesn't have a US visa (and no plan for one this trip). There are 31 territories in the Caribbean, 27 of them we can reach.

While it's completely doable via ferries and flights - I thought it might be interesting to see if it's within our budget to charter a sailboat with captain. We only want to anchor 3 days at each destination - so it's about a 3 month charter.

My father, who's been sailing around the Caribbean for the last decade or two advised any charter with a motor would be too expensive. His suggestion was to look for unpaid crew ads - but I'm far too old for that.

Just wondering what we could expect to pay for that long of a charter in a no-nonsense no-frills sail boat?

https://ibb.co/CtRpLkG

(not the dark triangle - just the rest).

Anyone advise on weekly/monthly costs for something like this?

Or is it a wildly undoable flight of fantasy?

[NaClyDog]

I think you will be shocked at the costs of chartering a no frills sailboat with captain anywhere in the Caribbean.


A crewed catamaran for a week in the British Virgin Islands will cost north of $10,000 per week (that's a very conservative number). That's not a typo.


I've not looked into crewed sailboats so someone else will need to speak to that.

[underthesea]

Originally Posted by NaClyDog

I think you will be shocked at the costs of chartering a no frills sailboat with captain anywhere in the Caribbean.


A crewed catamaran for a week in the British Virgin Islands will cost north of $10,000 per week (that's a very conservative number). That's not a typo.


I've not looked into crewed sailboats so someone else will need to speak to that.

Hrm, that sucks. Maybe we'll be looking at a canoe and a kite... (sigh)

[ItDepends]

Your timing is extremely optimistic. You want to spend 3 nights at anchor in each of 27 different territories. You need transit time between them of at LEAST another day, so we are already at 27*4, so you are at four months. And there will be weather delays, and other issues, so figure at least 5 months, realistically closer to 6.

Just to cover the costs of the boat, fuel, and provisions I'd be charging $500 a day, plus another $550 for Captain and crew. Anybody charging less then $1000 a day just isn't thinking about what the costs and risks are.

$1000 a day x 150 days... well you get the picture. It sounds like a lot, but remember, you are hiring at least two people to work for you for 24 hours a day--for months.