By Guilherme.Salgado - 23 Nov 2021
After a very long process looking for the right sailboat, I'm finally going to start my sailing journey in January and I'm looking for a partner to join me on Te Arawa (a 1990 Passport 41). She's a very reliable and well equipped/maintained boat. I've been working on her for a few weeks now and soon she'll be back in the water (Rio Dulce, Guatemala) to finish our preparations.
I don't have many plans for destinations/timelines as my main goal on this stage is to gain more confidence as a sailor (but obviously enjoying as much as possible). In those 3 weeks that I've been working on Te Arawa, I've been very fortunate to nearly always have people around to ask for advice or just bounce ideas off of, which made the process a lot more enjoyable, and it'd be great to be able to do that after I cast off as well. That's why I'm looking for a partner who also knows a few (or many) things about sailboats/sailing and is interested in gaining more experience[1] while exploring some Caribbean islands.
Ideally I'm looking for someone who can come to Rio Dulce before mid January so we could do some day sails in the lake before heading out into the big blue. From here, the closest/safest destination is Belize, where there are plenty of beautiful Cayes and anchorages. From there, it's also a relatively short trip to the Bay Islands in Honduras, which have some of the best diving in the Caribbean. From then on it'd be up for us to decide which direction to go: North to Mexico/Cuba, East to Panama, or somewhere else.
With regards to costs, unfortunately I can't provide an estimate but we should be able to stay at anchor most of the time (I have a watermaker, solar panels and huge diesel/water tanks), so we should be able to keep it to a minimum. As for the duration, it would be completely up to us -- we do it for as long as we're both happy to keep the partnership!
If this sounds interesting to you and you'd like to talk more, just drop me a line!
[1] If you're already an expert and is more interested in having fun but also willing to share your experience, I certainly wouldn't mind!
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By Dick - 23 Nov 2021
+xAfter a very long process looking for the right sailboat, I'm finally going to start my sailing journey in January and I'm looking for a partner to join me on Te Arawa (a 1990 Passport 41). She's a very reliable and well equipped/maintained boat. I've been working on her for a few weeks now and soon she'll be back in the water (Rio Dulce, Guatemala) to finish our preparations. I don't have many plans for destinations/timelines as my main goal on this stage is to gain more confidence as a sailor (but obviously enjoying as much as possible). In those 3 weeks that I've been working on Te Arawa, I've been very fortunate to nearly always have people around to ask for advice or just bounce ideas off of, which made the process a lot more enjoyable, and it'd be great to be able to do that after I cast off as well. That's why I'm looking for a partner who also knows a few (or many) things about sailboats/sailing and is interested in gaining more experience[1] while exploring some Caribbean islands. Ideally I'm looking for someone who can come to Rio Dulce before mid January so we could do some day sails in the lake before heading out into the big blue. From here, the closest/safest destination is Belize, where there are plenty of beautiful Cayes and anchorages. From there, it's also a relatively short trip to the Bay Islands in Honduras, which have some of the best diving in the Caribbean. From then on it'd be up for us to decide which direction to go: North to Mexico/Cuba, East to Panama, or somewhere else. With regards to costs, unfortunately I can't provide an estimate but we should be able to stay at anchor most of the time (I have a watermaker, solar panels and huge diesel/water tanks), so we should be able to keep it to a minimum. As for the duration, it would be completely up to us -- we do it for as long as we're both happy to keep the partnership! If this sounds interesting to you and you'd like to talk more, just drop me a line! [1] If you're already an expert and is more interested in having fun but also willing to share your experience, I certainly wouldn't mind! Hi Guilherme,
I spent 2 winters down in that part of the world and loved our time there.
I mention the following, in part, as you say you are new to this cruising life.
One thing to watch out for in the NW Carib, during winter months, is the occasional “norther” that will push its way down from the US and whack that part of the world. Early warning is quite nice and a bit of a safety issue, as many anchorages, just fine in the usual settled weather, can be terribly exposed in a norther. This goes double for being out on the atolls. And one does not want to be moving in these shallow open waters during these high wind times. So we always bailed for a secure anchorage to wait out the blow.
Our method for early warning was our daily morning email from Chris Parker: a for-fee weather forecaster and router based in Florida. We opted for an email as our usual contact with Chris was via SSB, but reception proved spotty in the NW Caribbean.
I also moved around that area in a Bob Perry design, a Valiant 42.
I believe the above still is accurate, but it has been a good while since we were there, so please check it out.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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By Guilherme.Salgado - 29 Nov 2021
+x+xAfter a very long process looking for the right sailboat, I'm finally going to start my sailing journey in January and I'm looking for a partner to join me on Te Arawa (a 1990 Passport 41). She's a very reliable and well equipped/maintained boat. I've been working on her for a few weeks now and soon she'll be back in the water (Rio Dulce, Guatemala) to finish our preparations. I don't have many plans for destinations/timelines as my main goal on this stage is to gain more confidence as a sailor (but obviously enjoying as much as possible). In those 3 weeks that I've been working on Te Arawa, I've been very fortunate to nearly always have people around to ask for advice or just bounce ideas off of, which made the process a lot more enjoyable, and it'd be great to be able to do that after I cast off as well. That's why I'm looking for a partner who also knows a few (or many) things about sailboats/sailing and is interested in gaining more experience[1] while exploring some Caribbean islands. Ideally I'm looking for someone who can come to Rio Dulce before mid January so we could do some day sails in the lake before heading out into the big blue. From here, the closest/safest destination is Belize, where there are plenty of beautiful Cayes and anchorages. From there, it's also a relatively short trip to the Bay Islands in Honduras, which have some of the best diving in the Caribbean. From then on it'd be up for us to decide which direction to go: North to Mexico/Cuba, East to Panama, or somewhere else. With regards to costs, unfortunately I can't provide an estimate but we should be able to stay at anchor most of the time (I have a watermaker, solar panels and huge diesel/water tanks), so we should be able to keep it to a minimum. As for the duration, it would be completely up to us -- we do it for as long as we're both happy to keep the partnership! If this sounds interesting to you and you'd like to talk more, just drop me a line! [1] If you're already an expert and is more interested in having fun but also willing to share your experience, I certainly wouldn't mind! Hi Guilherme, I spent 2 winters down in that part of the world and loved our time there. I mention the following, in part, as you say you are new to this cruising life. One thing to watch out for in the NW Carib, during winter months, is the occasional “norther” that will push its way down from the US and whack that part of the world. Early warning is quite nice and a bit of a safety issue, as many anchorages, just fine in the usual settled weather, can be terribly exposed in a norther. This goes double for being out on the atolls. And one does not want to be moving in these shallow open waters during these high wind times. So we always bailed for a secure anchorage to wait out the blow. Our method for early warning was our daily morning email from Chris Parker: a for-fee weather forecaster and router based in Florida. We opted for an email as our usual contact with Chris was via SSB, but reception proved spotty in the NW Caribbean. I also moved around that area in a Bob Perry design, a Valiant 42. I believe the above still is accurate, but it has been a good while since we were there, so please check it out. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
Thanks a lot for sharing that, Dick. The people who mentioned safe anchorages there to me had actually said they sometimes bailed to marinas to wait for bad weather to pass, but it's good to know what to look out for!
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By Dick - 29 Nov 2021
+x+x+xAfter a very long process looking for the right sailboat, I'm finally going to start my sailing journey in January and I'm looking for a partner to join me on Te Arawa (a 1990 Passport 41). She's a very reliable and well equipped/maintained boat. I've been working on her for a few weeks now and soon she'll be back in the water (Rio Dulce, Guatemala) to finish our preparations. I don't have many plans for destinations/timelines as my main goal on this stage is to gain more confidence as a sailor (but obviously enjoying as much as possible). In those 3 weeks that I've been working on Te Arawa, I've been very fortunate to nearly always have people around to ask for advice or just bounce ideas off of, which made the process a lot more enjoyable, and it'd be great to be able to do that after I cast off as well. That's why I'm looking for a partner who also knows a few (or many) things about sailboats/sailing and is interested in gaining more experience[1] while exploring some Caribbean islands. Ideally I'm looking for someone who can come to Rio Dulce before mid January so we could do some day sails in the lake before heading out into the big blue. From here, the closest/safest destination is Belize, where there are plenty of beautiful Cayes and anchorages. From there, it's also a relatively short trip to the Bay Islands in Honduras, which have some of the best diving in the Caribbean. From then on it'd be up for us to decide which direction to go: North to Mexico/Cuba, East to Panama, or somewhere else. With regards to costs, unfortunately I can't provide an estimate but we should be able to stay at anchor most of the time (I have a watermaker, solar panels and huge diesel/water tanks), so we should be able to keep it to a minimum. As for the duration, it would be completely up to us -- we do it for as long as we're both happy to keep the partnership! If this sounds interesting to you and you'd like to talk more, just drop me a line! [1] If you're already an expert and is more interested in having fun but also willing to share your experience, I certainly wouldn't mind! Hi Guilherme, I spent 2 winters down in that part of the world and loved our time there. I mention the following, in part, as you say you are new to this cruising life. One thing to watch out for in the NW Carib, during winter months, is the occasional “norther” that will push its way down from the US and whack that part of the world. Early warning is quite nice and a bit of a safety issue, as many anchorages, just fine in the usual settled weather, can be terribly exposed in a norther. This goes double for being out on the atolls. And one does not want to be moving in these shallow open waters during these high wind times. So we always bailed for a secure anchorage to wait out the blow. Our method for early warning was our daily morning email from Chris Parker: a for-fee weather forecaster and router based in Florida. We opted for an email as our usual contact with Chris was via SSB, but reception proved spotty in the NW Caribbean. I also moved around that area in a Bob Perry design, a Valiant 42. I believe the above still is accurate, but it has been a good while since we were there, so please check it out. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy Thanks a lot for sharing that, Dick. The people who mentioned safe anchorages there to me had actually said they sometimes bailed to marinas to wait for bad weather to pass, but it's good to know what to look out for!
Hi Guilherme,
My information is 15+ years ago now.
Marinas are always a possibility, if not full.
The marinas back then were often shallow to get in for Alchemy’s 6’4” draft. Cucumber Marina was a plow through the mud, for ex. and was the only marina I went into during our 2 winters in the area. And that, only to do some inland excursions.
Marinas were also on or near the mainland which is often farther from the preferred places to cruise: the atolls and the outer islands.
We always had in mind anchorages we could bail out to and often they were mangrove-y areas which was a nice change from sandy beaches and dive sites.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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