How stupid is this idea?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by KidSheeleen

Go for the gusto! your of legal age. Do not posses or attempt to buy illegal drugs, booze ect. Your age group is in a targeted slot by law enforcement unfortunately.

Some islands and country will jail you and good luck getting the State Dept. to help you! Been there, done that! Was released after 6 days in a hellhole after it was determined my "drugs" were sinus pills LOL.

Good point, be aware that the guys who sell weed on the street often have a scam going with the local cops. They sell to some naive tourist, text their cop buddy, and within minutes...you are busted.

Had that happen to a 20-something sailing student of mine in Belize. He hadn't made it one block from point of purchase before getting busted. Got to spend the night in jail, pay the bribes (a cut I suspect going to the dealer) and then he was free, but I've heard much uglier stories.

I've seen this in Jamaica too. Friend of mine got to spend an extended stay in a really nasty Jamaican jail for a very small amount of weed...which had miraculously transformed into a kilo before trial. Money was extorted and she was released from jail. Just because the local is smoking a ganja stick the size of your forearm in public...dont forget, you ain't local !

[Smourt]

It is stupid not to go...

Go, you will get odd jobs everywhere... just don't get hooked on drugs... I know a few people in St Maarten who have fallen foul... Dont stop in the Carib, head down to Brasil!

Thumbs up for the Holdfast, it made me go sailing a few years back

[reed1v]

Adventure is for the young. Do it before the cares of life take over. Plus when your young, the world is a lot more fun. I took off around the world in my early twenties, although not by boat. You will never regret it unless you get killed in the process.

[aliddell]

Go for it! My brother and I right out of college in 1965 drove from California to Miami (boats were cheaper on the East coast), bought a 35' Bahama Ketch. Worked on it for four months and then spent most of a year in the Bahamas. After buying and fixing the boat we left almost broke, anchored out and ate fish and rice. We have both owned boats and cruised since then but both agree that our "just out of college" trip was the best experience of out lives. Study Bowditch, listen and learn. I agree with making sure you have a sound boat and good ground tackle but you can get by without most of the modern electronics. We had charts, a compass, taffrail log and lead line. No electronics and had the time of out lives. A GPS would be cheap and nice though.
GO, it is a great time to do it.

[FollowingCs]

Oh, and this commercial...

2015 Kia Optima LX TV Commercial, 'A Son's Plan' - iSpot.tv

[westsail374]

Do it, do it, do it!

In 1975 - a few years ago - my brother and I bought a Westsail 32 and sailed from Solomon's MD to the Grenadines and back. Two of the best years of my life. I was 22 at the time and had been sailing since age 9, but never for an extended period. So you are more experienced than I was.

I've been back to the islands many times since, and the bigger ones get more touristy and less genuine every year. There are still wonderful spots that have the old back woods cruising feeling, but they are fewer each year. The best are only accessible by small boats like you are considering. Think about places like the out islands of the Bahamas and the Grenadines.

What boat to take? As many opinions as there are sailor, of course. I suggest the bulletproof Westsail 32. She will never let you down.

Lots of W 32s available now in great shape, very well loved and upgraded. Some dislike them as they aren't the fastest in the world, but you're going to the place where the trades blow well and the waves are big. A boat like the W32 can take it all and more.

Remember that speed is a function of waterline length. We often sailed for hours on end at full hull speed in the trades.

Believe me, when you're offshore and the wind is howling and the seas are crashing, you will want the toughest boat you can be in.

However you go, rest assured that you can do it. We went before GPS, couldn't afford LORAN, and figured our best insurance was the toughest boat we could afford, heavy ground tackle, good charts, proper nav gear (sextant, chronometer, tables and Mary Blewitt's invaluable "Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen", cruising guides), and common sense. Common sense meaning such basics as entering anchorages at noon with a lookout at the bow to guide by eyeball around coral heads when entering an unknown anchorage. A depth sounder is a fine piece of equipment, but more than once we were happy to be able to look ahead and not just straight down! Having the old lead line as a backup was great when the d/s crapped out too.

So do it, mate. Be careful, enjoy the planning process, and you will enjoy the trip all the more!

[Cadence]

I'm glad I am not the only one to say go for it as apposed to the thread,
does it matter - witch damn boat. It sounds like apples and oranges.

[fatherchronica]

go, go now before you get a job you like or a girlfriend you cannot leave. Hurry up, quit screwing around, you screw around too much, I know I could've been a shop teacher if I lived in a cartoon. I started getting ready, studying on it, after my gramps gave me Peter Freuchens Book of the Seven Seas in the fifth grade. I joined a union at 18, got married at 20, had a kid at 21, bought a house at 22, separated at, and eventually divorced at 24. My ex wouldn't let me take my son out of state at all, so I couldn't go yet. Got remarried at 26, had 2 more kids, blah, blah , blah, I left to go cruising at 61, with 3 back surgeries, many many broken bones and we love it. We hope to last 4 or 5 more years. Don't look back, go, you will never regret it. That is my take on it. In my next life I am taking off in the fifth grade.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by fatherchronica

go, go now before you get a job you like or a girlfriend you cannot leave. Hurry up, quit screwing around, you screw around too much, I know I could've been a shop teacher if I lived in a cartoon. I started getting ready, studying on it, after my gramps gave me Peter Freuchens Book of the Seven Seas in the fifth grade. I joined a union at 18, got married at 20, had a kid at 21, bought a house at 22, separated at, and eventually divorced at 24. My ex wouldn't let me take my son out of state at all, so I couldn't go yet. Got remarried at 26, had 2 more kids, blah, blah , blah, I left to go cruising at 61, with 3 back surgeries, many many broken bones and we love it. We hope to last 4 or 5 more years. Don't look back, go, you will never regret it. That is my take on it. In my next life I am taking off in the fifth grade.

He or she wasn't gender specific nor about the sailing buddy.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by fatherchronica

go, go now before you get a job you like or a girlfriend you cannot leave. Hurry up, quit screwing around, you screw around too much, I know I could've been a shop teacher if I lived in a cartoon. I started getting ready, studying on it, after my gramps gave me Peter Freuchens Book of the Seven Seas in the fifth grade. I joined a union at 18, got married at 20, had a kid at 21, bought a house at 22, separated at, and eventually divorced at 24. My ex wouldn't let me take my son out of state at all, so I couldn't go yet. Got remarried at 26, had 2 more kids, blah, blah , blah, I left to go cruising at 61, with 3 back surgeries, many many broken bones and we love it. We hope to last 4 or 5 more years. Don't look back, go, you will never regret it. That is my take on it. In my next life I am taking off in the fifth grade.

Are you sure you aren't writing my bio? Except for my neck surgery didn't go that well.

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by fatherchronica

go, go now before you get a job you like or a girlfriend you cannot leave. Hurry up, quit screwing around, you screw around too much, I know I could've been a shop teacher if I lived in a cartoon. I started getting ready, studying on it, after my gramps gave me Peter Freuchens Book of the Seven Seas in the fifth grade. I joined a union at 18, got married at 20, had a kid at 21, bought a house at 22, separated at, and eventually divorced at 24. My ex wouldn't let me take my son out of state at all, so I couldn't go yet. Got remarried at 26, had 2 more kids, blah, blah , blah, I left to go cruising at 61, with 3 back surgeries, many many broken bones and we love it. We hope to last 4 or 5 more years. Don't look back, go, you will never regret it. That is my take on it. In my next life I am taking off in the fifth grade.

Well exactly. Life happens weather you want it to or not and no matter how "prepared" you are. Might as well make choices / decisions that take you where you really want to go.

[DMBOS]

Keep heading in that direction - get serious - do your homework - and go for it ! If you change your mind after the first leg ....you are young, you'll recover ! Better than playing video games for the next year !

[alansmith]

Good luck to you two. It is a wonderful plan for a young man at your age. The main things are all covered...
1. Get a good solid boat with very little work to be done on it
2. Be mindful that hurricanes are absolutely deadly.
3. Be very careful about recreational mood enhancers. Jails in some countries I wouldn't let a vicious dog stay in
4. Have a great time and report in to us with pics...

[Dave22q]

Sounds good but a decent $10,000 boat will probably be 26' max. Just be aware of the substantial money you will need in fixing up and fitting out your old boat after you buy it and pay the sales tax. Try to involve somebody with real expertise to help check the boat before you buy. That said, it's a great idea. Go for it!

[YachtBroker]

Do it you will never regret it. Boats can be found that would make that voyage for $10K. You won't be living in luxury but I didn't either at 18.
Also see KATIE & JESSIE on a boat | aboard lovely Louise… if you want some inspiration.