Can I Sail Away In 2018?

[Padastty]

Our plan was to liquidate everything, businesses, home and stuff, in 2018, set up in USVI, shop for CAT and sail away.

Noting the devastation of the hurricanes to the boat market we are starting to feel uncertain we should proceed. Is the timing wrong?

Should we consider buying new and putting into charter? Feel new might be easier than finding fair value on used. Wife not too keen on idea of starting in Med or S. Pacific.

Beginning to wonder if unwinding everything won’t be a huge fiasco but it has to happen. If we take that step we can’t turn back. We can sell home and most stuff to charter for 5 years run and grow business to higher valuation.

Or are we just finding ways to talk ourselves out of it?

Share your hesitation you overcame.

[Paul L]

You don't say your price range, but I'm assuming it is fairly adequate. Moving to the USVI to purchase a boat does not make a lot of sense to me. Boats the size you are looking at can be moved, meaning the market for them is far larger than the Virgin Islands. There really is no comparison between buying a boat and putting it in charter vs going cruising. They are just totally different things. Only you can choose which one makes sense for your family.
If you guys are ready to go cruising then open up the areas you are looking for a boat and purchase one you like. If it is further away than you are comfortable with as a starting location then ship it to somewhere you like - by ship or delivery skipper.

[billknny]

There are always more perfectly good reasonable, rational, safe reasons NOT to go than to actually do it. Why be reasonable/rational/safe?

http://fetchinketch.net

[markpierce]

If you have had no serious boating experience .... as in do you have any experience showing you and family are capable or enjoying?

[JPA Cate]

The wife's not on board with the concept. So, if he wants the wife with him, he will need to make the whole situation appealing to her.

Ann

[dwedeking2]

I took his question to be more of a concern with the overall conditions of the Caribbean in general and the Cat market specifically in the area for a purchase at this time. I'm assuming his wife wants to start out in the Carribean (maybe to get experience?)

[CatNewBee]

The Med is easier to sail, but marinas are expensive, if you want to buy in EU, you would start looking around August / September after the season, if you are lucky, you can settle the deal until mid / end of October. The Med is still warm and gets windy in the autumn. You will explore Greace islands or Turkey during the winter, you can also go to Algeria or Moroko and make some refit to the cat. All materials are available in the EU, and labour is cheaper in the southern countries.

You can enjoy the next spring and summer in the Med ot even go north to Scandinavia. next autumn you can sal south to Madeira and Canaries to the Cap Verdes and follow the trades during the winter to the Caribbean Sea, you can also join the ARC for the ocean Xing.

Then spend the season in the Caribbean, go back south before the hurricanes season and go through the Panama channel to the south Pacific islands...

[Pizzazz]

The Caribbean is the easiest place to sail (compared to the Med or the South Pacific). It has by far the largest catamaran fleet vs. any other sailing area.

It is an ideal place to start your cruising life. My advice would be to go there, charter for a few weeks while looking for a boat to buy then sell the business and the house. I think it is more likely we have a correction vs. a continuous growth for the next five years, so it could be a good time to sell land assets . But I could be wrong.

[earlgray]

Can I Sail Away In 2018? .......I do not know. Can you???

[robert sailor]

I can't see what the weather has to do with long term Cruising plans. Hurricanes happen, always have always will, why would that concern you? You shouldn't plan on leaving a boat in a hurricane area, fine for charter companies if they want the risk but as an owner it falls into the dumb category. You can buy a boat pretty much any place in the world, what's the BVI's big importance?
Deciding to go cruising is light years away from deciding to charter, not even connected so it sounds to me like you really don't have plans or they are very loosey goosey. I think you need to make up your mind what you want to do before you worry about anything else.

[zeehag]

your ability to sail away depends on your ability to sail, your ownership or rental or crewing of a boat, and your own innards.
got no guts, get no glory. we each must face our own insecurities in our own way. some folks ask interwebzz others just go and do.
only you know the answer. no one can TELL you when or how to leave or not to leave.
happy new year.

[TrentePieds]

Are we talking "we", or are we talking "I"?

TP

[contrail]

What's your exit strategy, downstream a few years? If you are planning on winding up back in the US, it will be easier if you purchase a boat that has, for example an electrical system that is compatible to the us. That's 110 volts, and 60 cycles, common but not universal in the Caribbean. A 220 system, as might be most likely found in Europe and some other places, will cost a good bit to make compatible.

[akprb]

Check out “What about the stuff” on our blog.

Short of that carefully consider liquidating all would be my two cents.

If you are of some means and have a going business consider incremental steps.

Buy the boat and spend a season knocking around the Bahamas or Caribbean. After that you’ll

A: have a good idea what she needs.

B: know if you even like being onboard for more than two months.

C: If your biz can be remotely managed.

Before season 2 add and tweak the boat and the biz. At the end of that season make the final call to take off full time or continue with a hybrid model.

We prefer the hybrid, 2-3 months of any one thing gets old and mixing it up keeps it interesting.

Good luck!

P

[Dave22q]

You do not sound very experienced. Therefore I would begin with chartering for a week or two. Do that a few times then purchase an older monohull (cheaper) and spend a summer or two cruising Florida and the Bahamas. Liquidating your assets makes no sense unless you and the wife have a far better feel for what you are getting into.