where to go for a year of sailing?

[APETE]

Hi!

My wife and I (both in our 50s) plan to buy a boat and spent a year or two sailing somewhere in the world. We have sailed as crewmembers for some months on a few different sailing boats, but we are not experienced sailors (will start taking some sailing classes and maybe pay to have an experienced captain on board for the first few weeks). We would like to start somewhere warm and exotic, as we like snorkeling, diving, fishing (incl. spear fishing) and remote places. We are flexible about when to start and can to some extent time that according to the sailing season in the region where we would start.

We have considered the following five regions and from what we have gathered (including on this forum) they may have the following pros and cons? We would love to hear your ideas and opinions:

French Polynesia:
Pros: Very exotic, great sailing, snorkeling, diving and fishing. Cons: Fairly remote in terms of getting help with mechanical issues etc. Few boats for sale and probably difficult to sell the boat again. Maybe too demanding for inexperienced sailors in terms of weather and navigation?

Eastern Caribbean:
Pros: Not too remote, relatively short distance between islands and harbors. Lots of other sailors around to get information etc. Cons: Maybe not equally good for fishing and diving? Need to go somewhere else during the hurricane season (maybe ABC or the American east coast?)

Mediterranean:
Pros and cons: Same as Eastern Caribbean? (except that we could stay there all year)

Mexico’s west coast (and possibly Pacific Central America):
Pros: Very exotic, great snorkeling, diving and fishing. Cons: Too difficult in terms of weather and sailing?

Indonesia:
Pros: Very exotic, great snorkeling and diving. Relatively short distance between Islands. Cons: Maybe not the best region in terms of lack of/unpredictable wind and weather?

We’ll appreciate any help and input. Thanks in advance!

[mvweebles]

Would help to know what style of cruising appeals to you - lots of sailing or day trips between anchorages. Marinas, mix of marinas/anchorages or mostly anchorages. Do you like visiting towns or more rural places (or a mix). Do you plan to leave the boat and take inland trips? Are you looking for a full 1-year of full-time, or seasonal?

I can only speak to the Mexico Pacific side. There is some fantastic cruising based out of Mazatlan. North to Sea of Cortez; south to Bahias de Huatulco. Very acttive cruiser community - many who cruise seasonaly and leave their boat somewhere for the summer. Also decent anchorages, typically with a small beach community nearby. Many inland trips possible - we spent 2-weeks in Oaxaca after leaving our boat in Chahue (Huatulco) and split a rental car with another cruising couple. THere are also interesting festivals in Zihuatenejo (Guitar Fest; Cruisers Fest) and Barra de Navidad which is an enchanted town. Marina Mazatlan can be very sticky - we stopped for a few days around Christmas time and ended up heading home for a couple weeks as flights were super easy. Mazatlan is a great city and while the marina is a ways out of town, bus access is simple. Very friendly place. Many interior trips to take - fellow cruisers left their boat for a couple weeks and went to Copper Canyon. Other folks went to San Miguel Allende for a couple weeks. Others went places I had never heard of but are on our list. I love Mexico but would guess you can have similar experiences anywhere in the world as long as you lead with a smile.

Pro's I'd add to Mexico are ease of access to US (I'm assuming you're American). Ease of getting parts in/out (not easy, but easier than other Central American places). Very active cruising community. Easy to buy a boat. Food is fantastic. Fairly easy to get by with very basic Spanish. Fairly easy to convert currency. We have traveled in Mexico for about 10-years on/off and feel safe, but that's a personal choice. We are in our 60's now and drug/party scene is long ago in our past so we don't have bad habits that places us in harms way. That said, there are scattered reports of troubling incidents in Mexico. But we are not aware of first-hand reports.

As far as challenging weather, we had no problems finding comfortable weather for passage planning. We're a 36-foot trawler and a bit more tender than a sailboat, plus we are wimps. Finally, I'll say there are always decent boats for sale in La Paz or Mazatlan.

Just depends on what you're looking for. I'd imagine you cannot go wrong as long as you just do it.

[fox9988]

The Bahamas. If you're having fun, continue down the Caribbean.
Easy. Cheap. Local (assuming).
If you get tired of if, move on.

[fxykty]

Do consider SE Asia. Lots of boats for sale in Malaysia as for many circumnavigation cruisers that’s as far as they want to go. Indonesia (having spent 8 months in the eastern half so far) is relatively benign weather wise - the two monsoon periods are well known and good weather can be found in particular areas for both seasons. But boat maintenance and repair is difficult and you need to be self sufficient so a bit more difficult for new cruisers. However, Malaysia and Thailand both have lots of facilities.

Also consider Australia. Lots of boats for sale, especially catamarans. The Queensland coast from the Gold Coast in the south to Thursday Island in the north, with particular concentration on the central section from Bundaberg to Cairns, is some of the easiest and most pleasant cruising that exists on this planet. And as you get more adventurous you can head out to the Great Barrier Reef and other offshore reefs. Spend the southern winter months in Queensland, then head south for the summer to visit NSW and Tasmania.

[Tupaia]

For one year only I would second FVYKTY, SE Asia, including the Philippines. Culturally diverse (if you like people). Good variation in sailing conditions. Fabulous diving. Remote but not so remote you can't get spares or things fixed. Plenty of boats for sale in Malaysia.


You need much more than a year to cruise the Pacific and the Caribbean and Med will always be there wait until you are old and grey.

[APETE]

Thanks a lot for the replies, guys – I really appreciate your help.

Nice to hear that you believe that both Indonesia/SE Asia (incl. Philippines – will definitely look more into that!), Pacific Mexico and Bahamas/Eastern Caribbean (although the latter apparently may be too big for 1 to 2 years of cruising) might be good options.

In terms of buying a boat: For Mexico, would you recommend looking in southern California or in Mexico, considering price, quality, number of boats for sale, having it surveyed etc.?

Same question regarding Bahamas/Caribbean – would you focus your search on Florida/Gulf Coast or the Caribbean Islands and starting the adventure from there? I’ve read somewhere that US Virgin Islands was supposed to be a good place to buy a boat but can’t find much for sale online in our range (<40 feet and <50.000$)?

And likewise with Malaysia/Langkawi – very few featured at ex. Yachtworld and Boats.com etc. in our range – again, am I looking the wrong places or do I simply just have to travel down there to find something? Any websites, FB-groups etc. you can recommend?

In terms of interest and types of cruising: We are more into nature, anchoring at remote places and going places which we could only reach by boat. Hope to do a lot of sailing as our skills and confidence hopefully build up. Plan to do full time at least one year and then maybe seasonal after that.

Thanks again!!

[APETE]

Sorry @mvweebles – you already answered my question above regarding boat market in Mexico – definitely looks a lot better than what I can find in Malaysia/Thailand/Philippines and Caribbean. And thanks for your overall recommendations about Mexico – sounds absolutely awesome and is complementing all the good things I've heard about the diving and fishing - moving up on my list! 😊. Thanks again!

[clamshack]

$50,000? I think what you will find is that's not a comfort level you can tolerate. $100,000 is probably the basement and you'll need to put $10,000-$30,000 into it before you get going.

[slipaway2.0]

The med is not a good option in the winter, to use a full year, savatical I suppose, you can spend the winter in the N of the caribbean and the hurrican season in the summer south in Grenada etc... (Beryl being the exception to the norm)

That means no ocean crossings ==> you can get a cheaper less well equipped boat but perfectly comfortable.

I did 1 year sabatical and did UK- atlantic Europe-Canaries-caribbean- Azores and back. It was great but it involves a lot of moving, lot of sailing and challenging passages

[donradcliffe]

When I met my wife, she had already circumnavigated. When I asked her where was the best cruising, she said, "take 5 laps of the South Pacific and forget the rest."

We did two laps of the South Pacific and then did the rest of the world. She was right.

[APETE]

Originally Posted by clamshack

$50,000? I think what you will find is that's not a comfort level you can tolerate. $100,000 is probably the basement and you'll need to put $10,000-$30,000 into it before you get going.

Just to be sure before giving up our dreams here: The advice of being prepared to spend more than 110.000$ for a boat to go sailing for a year in a region like Indonesia, SOC or Bahamas; is that mainly a question about the comfort level of the boat, or also about safety?

Regarding comfort: Combined my wife and I have spent years hiking, biking and kayaking some of the remotest corners of the world, always based on sleeping in a small tent, cooking primitive food on the stove outside and having very limited access to electricity, showers and bathroom etc. If we end up not going sailing next year, that is probably what we will be doing instead. The few months we have been sailing (20 years ago) were on fairly primitive boats around 30 feet with no showers, limited electricity etc. but I still remember them as a lot more comfortable compared to our travels in Himalaya, Alaska, the Amazon etc.

The idea of focusing on one of the regions mentioned above, is both that we don't have the experience to plan for long passages and because we thought that it would mean lower requirements for the boat including size and equipment. From the many posts on this forum, I had got the impression that it may be realistic to find a seaworthy and reliable boat around 30-36 feet for less than 100.000$ - but maybe not in those regions?

Thanks again!

[APETE]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

When I met my wife, she had already circumnavigated. When I asked her where was the best cruising, she said, "take 5 laps of the South Pacific and forget the rest."

We did two laps of the South Pacific and then did the rest of the world. She was right.

Yes, the South Pacific (ex. FP) was our initial dream, but it seems as a more difficult region in terms of finding a boat and maybe also more demanding in terms of minimum sailing and general boating experience required?

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by APETE

Just to be sure before giving up our dreams here: The advice of being prepared to spend more than 110.000$ for a boat to go sailing for a year in a region like Indonesia, SOC or Bahamas; is that mainly a question about the comfort level of the boat, or also about safety?

Regarding comfort: Combined my wife and I have spent years hiking, biking and kayaking some of the remotest corners of the world, always based on sleeping in a small tent, cooking primitive food on the stove outside and having very limited access to electricity, showers and bathroom etc. If we end up not going sailing next year, that is probably what we will be doing instead. The few months we have been sailing (20 years ago) were on fairly primitive boats around 30 feet with no showers, limited electricity etc. but I still remember them as a lot more comfortable compared to our travels in Himalaya, Alaska, the Amazon etc.

The idea of focusing on one of the regions mentioned above, is both that we don't have the experience to plan for long passages and because we thought that it would mean lower requirements for the boat including size and equipment. From the many posts on this forum, I had got the impression that it may be realistic to find a seaworthy and reliable boat around 30-36 feet for less than 100.000$ - but maybe not in those regions?

Thanks again!

There are boats in SE Asia well within you price limit available that are sea worthy. You may not want to cross oceans in one but most cruising in SE Asia is short distance.

https://www.bahtsold.com/quicksearch...00000&top=0&s=

https://www.mudah.my/malaysia/for-sale?q=sailing+boat

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by APETE

Yes, the South Pacific (ex. FP) was our initial dream, but it seems as a more difficult region in terms of finding a boat and maybe also more demanding in terms of minimum sailing and general boating experience required?

Cruising the S. Pacific is much more challenging with longer distances and few places for maintenance and repair. You also need to go north of the equator or very far south to avoid the cyclone season. However, it is the best cruising, we spent 6 years there and barely scratched the surface. One year would be a milk run.

[fox9988]

We don't think spending more on a boat equates to having more fun. We often see the opposite. Each to their own.