Caribbean - tips and hints

[jmh2002]

And as was discussed in the recent solent / cutter thread, and alluded to by sailcrazy, a flat cut 100% blade type headsail is very appropriate compared to the typical slightly tired, overlapping and roller furling genoa for going upwind in trade wind conditions.

I preferred to reef the mainsail and keep the headsail unfurled to maintain the flat blade sail shape for windward work.

We could switch to a much smaller hank on staysail on a removable inner forestay if the wind really got up but we never did this during normal cruising down island. That was really for offshore sailing.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

for you caribbean veterans; how often did you use the third reef in your main?

Never. The trades are pretty consistent and strong. 1 reef in the main and the staysail was the most common configuration.

[sck5]

Once did an informal survey of a bunch of cruising boats anchored in Tyrell Bay. All had either a 110 or 115 genoa. Get it cut high enough off the deck to see where you are going.Third reef is entirely boat dependent I would think. I often had one reef in and sometimes two in the eastern caribe. But my boat liked sailing very deep with a poled out genoa and triple reefed main. Seemed almost to sail herself that way. Go figure.

[jmh2002]

Originally Posted by sck5

Once did an informal survey of a bunch of cruising boats anchored in Tyrell Bay. All had either a 110 or 115 genoa. Get it cut high enough off the deck to see where you are going.

That doesn't necessarily make it ideal. There are plenty of boats out there with less than ideal setups and that is often what you can see when you look around at other boats.

In my opinion if you are going for around 100% (110-115) it makes sense to make it non-overlapping to do away with any possibility of chafe on the rig (adding longevity), and also to enable the headsail to be sheeted (or barber hauled) both inboard and outboard for different sailing conditions.

I agree that higher cut sails aid visibility but they also sap performance, which is not what I would want for the one sail that I really need to perform well when I need to go upwind in the trades.

On a normal sized cruising boat just looking to leeward should give the necessary visibility when cruising.

[jmh2002]

Some up to date info fo you here in a new thread: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ds-222815.html

[RickG]

Originally Posted by jmh2002

Some up to date info fo you here in a new thread: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ds-222815.html

jmh, thanks for the cross-post. If you want to live cheap, the DR or Puerto Rico are fine places for it. As a US citizen, Puerto Rico is a lot easier. In the DR you technically need Navy permission to go for a sail.

Cheers, RickG

[caradow]

Originally Posted by Dan Mosby

Ayup. The carribean is the place where every white face is an invitation to robbery....at least I heard that somewhere before.

There are exceptions, like the Caymans. Go there. It's very nice.

Well I have sailed throughout the Caribbean since the late 70's to include Venezuela and Cuba. I have returned many times to "dangerous" St. Vincent plus many other "native" islands. Never had a problem in all those years.
On my last return trip I spent some time on Grand Cayman. Actually rented a dock in a very exclusive gated neighborhood. My dingy was on my swim platform with a fairly new 25Hp Yamaha padlocked with heavy chain.. Came back to the boat one time and found the heavy chain on the Yamaha was cut and motor gone. But the island is nice despite being overdeveloped.

[Pete O Static]

Yup, certainly agree with a non overlapping headsail for going up wind. That and a single reef in the main works really well for us. I agree that having a low clew on the headsail gives better performance and an occasional glance to leeward will give you the visibility but I went with a higher clew to allow the spray coming over the bow to not be constantly pounding into the jib and we also sail with the dinghy on the foredeck, so tacking is much easier when the headsail can clear the dinghy.

Dinghy gets hoisted on the spin halyard and locked at night no question. Have never been worried about my personal safety and have been sailing the Caribbean since the 70's. No terrorists, no mass shootings. Just people who don't have much, so petty theft is the biggest issue. Best to blend in with old flops and ripped shorts. Leave the bose headphones and LaCrosse polos at home. Use some common sense and there will always be an easier target readily available. It boils down to the path of least resistance.

[sailorboy1]

OK let’s talk air conditioning. Currently I’m in the Gulf and it would be unbearable without air conditioning. A quick check shows temp in the Caribbean to be like here.

So let’s get some real answers to air conditioning as that really factors into fuel and slip needs.

On a related item, what are marina cost like in general? Are there monthly rates (the few I’ve looked at didn’t list a monthly rate)

[RickG]

We are based in the Virgin Islands. The temperature is usually lower with tradewind breezes than the East Coast or Gulf Coast. We ran our a/c in the summer on the Chesapeake. In the Virgin Islands, we might run the a/c for an hour or two while cooking dinner to cook things off once or twice a month. Sometimes the trades die off in September, then it gets sweltering.

Marina prices range pretty widely. The DR and PR are less expensive.

Cheers, RickG

[accomplice]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

OK let’s talk air conditioning. Currently I’m in the Gulf and it would be unbearable without air conditioning. A quick check shows temp in the Caribbean to be like here.

So let’s get some real answers to air conditioning as that really factors into fuel and slip needs.

On a related item, what are marina cost like in general? Are there monthly rates (the few I’ve looked at didn’t list a monthly rate)

From November through April in the Eastern Caribbean one usually experiences the trade winds that blow night and day. If you're anchored out with your bow into the wind, the ventilation can make/keep things quite comfortable without a/c. However, in many places being in a slip changes both the wind strength and apparent wind angle.. By April the sun can get quite hot/strong, but in the winter months I've found the breeze is all we need. If you're going to be in one place for a while, and find the sun is too strong for the breeze to overcome, consider a boom tent.

As for marina costs, it depends where, but most in the eastern Caribbean do offer monthly rates. We need to leave the boat for a month and were quoted 576Euro for our 58'LOA at Marina Bas-du-Fort Pointe A Pitre.

[sailcrazy]

sailorboy1.....from our experience, now starting our 6th season in the PR/USVI/BVI area, the only time we even consider our aircons is when we're stuck in a marina. We've got the genset, and the aircons, but there's no need unless you can't swing to take advantage of the VERY frequent trades. But then we've spent lots of years in Asia and the Medd, so maybe we're more used to warmer wx. As far as marinas go.....avoid if you can!!! They've gotten crazy expensive! PR is some less costly, and the longer you can commit the better rate you'll get. But the marinas in the USVI are now asking north of $100/nite for a 43' monohull....we didn't pay even close to that near Rome. North Bay, on Virgin Gorda, BVI, is still reasonable, but I don't even dare ask in Roadtown. Maybe that's why so many seem near empty except for the mega-yachts. We avoid them all like the plague if we can!

[sck5]

Re: Worrying about performance loss from a high cut genoa in the Eastern Caribe was never really a concern. The beautiful thing about sailing in the Windwards is that rarely is too little wind the issue. More often the question is whether or not to reef. That is why I went for a 115 genoa because almost all the time I could just unroll it all the way and it was good.

Of course, if you are a racer you would have other goals than most cruisers - I tended to take a more relaxed approach, but most people who sailed a lot down there believe that the best way to have good headsail shape is to never have to roll it up. Hence a 110 or 115. But that was just me and my boat and the people I partied with in Tyrell Bay.

Any sail that gets you there is a good one.

[sck5]

Re: AC - Yes, only in marinas but pretty nice to have when you are in one. And they dry everything out which is also nice every now and then.

[sailorboy1]

Sitting here in Gulfport MS (with the AC running) and checking weather in the caribbean shows it is about the same temperature. Now the wind never blows in a way to get it down below here, but am still getting a good sense of what it will be like on the boat in the caribbean summer.

So me and my new $76 sewing machine are staying busy making window covers and sunshades.