Caribbean

[dw5055]

Hi,
I'm new to this site. So here I go.
I want to lease a 40ft. sailboat for 6-8 months in the Caribbean.....Just my wife and I. I have 20 years of boating experince but no sailboat experience- yet...but am working on it. I've read many post and get the impression everyone will tell me start small, charter a few times, ect. I want the good and bad experince from this. "It's the journey". I'm aware of safety first and wouldn't jeopardize ourselves.
The problem is who's willing to lease their boat for this time frame to a beginner.
Doug

[CaptainK]

Welcome aboard Doug!!

[gosstyla]

Why not contact a few bare boat chartering companies. If you have the right boating experience, but just no sail experience you might be able to work something out. Probably they will insist you take on a skipper for a week or so, or until the skipper signs off on you.

[Pblais]

I would look for local oppertunities to get some sailing instriuction. It can only help you. To go out for that long means you'll run into most any type of situation possible and you'll need to be prepared. Confidence helps more than any other item you can take on a trip.

I would also suggest you do a quick one week skippered charter to mentally get an idea of what you think you need to do to prepare for such a trip. That way there is no pressure on you or your wife for a week as you get used to it and get familiar with the operations. Add a little book study and maybe a class or two and you might actually be in a good position to start. But you clearly would be in better shape to really be honest about this with your wife and yourself.

BTW, you really don't want the bad experience.

BTW, you really don't want the bad experience. It can get far worse than you should ever know.

If you search around you can find some one that will turn you loose with very little training and skill. It might work but I really doubt it will be a positive experience.

I came to sailing with a power boating background and it helped a lot. Piloting, Navigation, and other skills work the same no matter the boat. There is a lot more to it however and it helps to have a good start. Some local classes on a small water in a smaller boat that both you and your wife can participate in is worth your time and money. My wife and I had a great time while we did that and I don't think she would enjoy sailing today if we had not done it that way. That alone was worth all the time and cost plus I learned a whole lot myself.

[hellosailor]

Doug, I think any sailor, or charter company, that would lease a sailboat to a non-sailor would probably be marginally insane. You probably wouldn't want to deal with them.

On the other hand, considering what a boat will cost for that long, t should be a fairly trivial investment for the two of you to take a basic sailing course (from any ASA certified school, or pehaps a school in the Carib or any well-known stateside school) followed by a "bareboat" course which will give you some training, experience, and a piece of paper stating your are competent to handle a sailboat. With *that* I think you'll find you have many more options open to you. And, you'll have less chance of a divorce or other bad experience on the boat.
You're asking someone to risk perhaps $180,000 worth of boat in your hands for a long time in waters where boats often are lost. Without some sailing credentials, I don't know anyone who'd be able to explain that to their insurer, and that's a stumbling block no matter how well you can handle a power boat.
I'd also suggest that unless you and your wife are an exceptionally "harmonic" couple, that she take the basic course separately from you. It seems to defuse tensions and makes the course all the more about sailing, without any personal issues that way.

[Charlie]

Hi Doug:

Welcome aboard. Sailing and powerboating have a lot in common and a lot that is different. I think that the idea of getting bareboat certified is a justifiable expense. Do you have a budget for a 6 month charter? If you had to pay the regular rates it would cost you a fortune. I would pose the question in a letter or email to Latitude 38. Start it off as I'm enrolled in ASA class etc. then ask them if they know anything about where you could charter such a boat. They might Probably will publish it and you might get some answers that way.

[Boracay]

My rule of thumb for the operating costs of a yacht is that they amount to 25% of the value each year with up or down adjustment for the condition of the boat.
So your $180,000 boat would have an operating cost of $45,000 pa or $22,500 for six months.
Any charterer would have to cover that and make a profit.
By my count that comes to $1,000 pw.
It would seem to be more logical to me to follow the advice given here thusly :-
1) Get some lessons
2) Rent a small boat on day charter to get some practice.
3) Buy a boat with known good resale value, use it for as long as you need it then sell it.

[Charlie]

I'm in that situation now. I am buying an Islander 36 to test the waters so to speak. I'm hoping that it isn't going to lose anymore value we'll beable to sail it for a year or two and then we'll sell it and buy something bigger/better/different and then move on. I don't know how a charter company would take care of maintenance during those 6 to 8 months.

[dw5055]

Wow! What a great bunch of answers. I appreicate you helpful advice. I will enroll and take the sailing course and see where it goes from there. By the way, I'm afraid to buy the boat as I wonder if I'll come back.
Thanks
Doug

[Talbot]

chartering is also a good way of discovering what sort of boat you like and feel comfortable operating. As a mobo driver, a catamaran is closer to your experience.