caribbean good or bad

[captain58sailin]

Your odds are much better finding nice places to visit versus winning a lottery. Actually I think being able to sail to the nice places is better than winning the lottery, usually no shirt tail relatives show up at the party trying to get you to invest in their Chinchilla ranch.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by sww914

Some people can find the bad in anything.
Many people dream of winning the lottery. Some people can find the bad in that.
1. If you win the lottery you'll just have to pay 50% in taxes. ...

Lottery winnings (& insurance payouts) are TAX-FREE, in CANADA.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Lottery winnings (& insurance payouts) are TAX-FREE, in CANADA.

As they are in most enlightened countries....

[donradcliffe]

I enjoyed cruising both the Med and the Caribbean, for different reasons. I also liked Southeast Asia. However, the South Pacific is still my favorite part of the world.

[capn_billl]

GO to the carib, out of 30 countries there are only a couple you may want to pass. Boat boys only on a few, only a couple have been implicated with theft. The entire rest of the Caribbean beautiful cruising paradise. Every island is different and has it's own culture, most of them very friendly. Basic security like locking up things you don't want "borrowed" is sufficient in most areas. There have been attacks in some areas associated with the drug trade, If you see two boats anchored in a remote area at night transferring tightly wrapped packages, don't pop over to ask if they need help.

I've been to the Bahamas many times, great place, but I may be biased as I AM an American. If you don't like people there are over 7000 islands, you can easily find one that's currently empty.

[zeehag]

skroo the lottery-- i am going sailing and aint gonna wait until you dont win any money.... dont need a lot....many places to sail sans huge hordes of turistas from wtf, why worry about it .. are you sailing or worrying? sail where ye want and stay aware.

[Hud3]

I've never been to the Med, but I can tell you that the eastern Caribbean is fantastic for cruising.

Only a few island have boat boys, by the way. Frankly, we always enjoyed meeting them and getting to know them. You'll never have a minute's problem if you start by treating them with a little respect. In the Caribbean, that means greeting them with a smile and engaging in a little small talk before "getting down to business". Consider offering a cold drink or glass of water.

If you don't want their services, just say so, and thank them for offering. They were never pushy with us. They can be very helpful if you need something, though, so establishing yourself as a friendly yachtie can pay off. If you start off being negative and dismissive, you might get the same in return.

[CFR]

Morning, nice reading and thanks for ideas and advices. I have traveled a lot so far to asia , china, Hawai and europe and up to now i did not experienced any problem even in big cities like Bombay, Shanghai or Paris. Be friendly worked out so far because we are visitors in a foreign country.

Someone asked if i mean crowded or americans....... i assume that arround big charter basis there are many americans, like many german are sailing in the med. this was no offending. I like nice people and hate idiots doesnt matter colour, country, age, gender or income.....

[svBeBe]

Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer

CFR,
<snipped>

The best boat workers in the Caribbean in Cartagena charging $7/hr

So we decided to do it all again for another season but this time missing out the 20% of places that are not great...

Phil & Nell

Gosh!!! That is bad news. When in Cartagena in Sept/Oct 2007 the going rate for "skilled" boat labor was $20 per day. Quite an increase to $7 per hour!

We sailed the Caribbean for many, many years. Lots of great places to visit; only a few areas have boat boys and they are easy to deal with. We are in eastern Med now and have found wonderful free anchorages in Turkey and Greece.

My advice would be to visit both Med and Caribbean. Both have both good points and bad. And both are very enjoyable.

Judy
S/V BeBe

[s/v Moondancer]

I forgot to mention a wonderful cruising community...people who without thought of reward go out of their way to help others...

When a friend had cardiac problems 10 people turned up to help evacuate him and take care of his boat.

Thanksgiving dinner with our French and English friends

Xmas dinner with German, Canadian and US friends.

Cid an American who fixed my water heater for free and even brought his own spare parts,

Diving in Bonaire with Canadian, US, English and Argentinian friends.

A Mexican family that invited us into their home for a series of Xmas parties.

Jennifer a young US girl who is like a second daughter.

The three years cruising in the Caribbean have been amongst the best of my 62 yrs and the friends we have made are irreplaceable!

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Boat boys are not all bad. The good ones are your concierge in a country and will arrange groceries, tours, dispose of trash and bring you fruit for a reasonable cost. And you have a first friend in the country. Before going to Dominica, for instance, we had the name of the "boat boy," although he was a grown man, that we wanted and we asked for him and everyone else backed off. At some point we owed him money but he couldn't just come get money, he needed to deliver something in return and so brought us grapefruit. yes, they are free for the picking in the street but the reluctance to just take money even when owed is strong in Dominica.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Hannah on 'Rita T'

Boat boys are not all bad. The good ones are your concierge in a country and will arrange groceries, tours, dispose of trash and bring you fruit for a reasonable cost. And you have a first friend in the country ...

For instance:

Boat Vendors of The Grenadines
Find out about the most famous of these on-the-water entrepreneurs, their quirks, and how best to deal with them.

Here ➥ http://www.usual-suspects-sailing.co...oatVendors.pdf

Then, see also ➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...boys-8105.html

[MollyBloom]

We are first time cruisers.....having just sailed from Florida through the Bahamas and then in the Caribbean to Grenada. We just arrived in St. Georges Grenada today....yeah....that was our goal, so it feels great.
Do come to the caribbean....first of all you will find many many europeans here....much more than Americans (and we are an American Boat). We of course dealt with boat boys in the southern Caribbean....they are not so bad, just be nice and courteous - use their services if you need them and say no thanks if you don't. We needed them in some islands and not in others.
As for a comparison between the Bahamas and the Caribbean - I say go for it.....all the way.....sure there are no boat boys in the Bahamas, but then again, you pay big bucks to cruise there, and big bucks for everything else you can find. IN the west indies islands prices are much cheaper and people are very friendly and helpful. We did not have any problems (and sailed alone), just were careful of course to tie up our dinghy at night to the boat.....really.....we didn't have any issues at all and sailed the entire chain down to Grenada. Go for it.........enjoy........and don't worry.....be happy.

[CFR]

ok folks got it maybe i visit my boss today and will inform him about going sailing....... no 1-2 years i have to save some money but i am only 47 so my goal is to leave before 50 to enjoy the other side of life beyond sitting in front of a computer.......

[sailingaway221]

Love the Caribbean... seems to be a lot of people that set off to sail around the world and never leave these islands.