Hello! I've been visiting this site for years and hoped one day to actually have a reason to interact with the vast network of experience in this forum. I've been a sailing hack all my life -
racing C & MC scows on inland lakes since I was a kid and had the blessing of
bareboat cruising the
Virgin Islands several times. I'm two years from retiring from the
Navy after 26 years and have convinced my wife that achieving a bucket list of a leisurely (i.e, not in a hurry) sailing around the world upon
retirement is a good idea. Thankfully, I think I have success in this endeavor. I've read lots of posts from folks like me, so think I have a pretty good idea of what is in store vis-a-vis expectations of life on a
boat, but always welcome more even if I've heard it before. Any
advice on the following would be much appreciated:
-
Boat insurance. Tips on helping identify the 'right' plan for full time liveaboards who have the expectation of doing some
water sailing">blue
water sailing. Our plan is to sail the
Caribbean for a year (maybe 2) before crossing to the Pacific.
- Routes. As of today, I would not be comfortable proceeding past
Australia on a
circumnavigation due to the geopolitical dangers of going into the Red Sea, and I've heard the sailing conditions around
South Africa can be very dangerous. Any thoughts?
Thanks for the welcome aboard!