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Epic 2 month Leewards Islands Trip! #135518
07/12/2017 01:34 PM
07/12/2017 01:34 PM
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 111
Denver & Breckenridge, CO
B
BreckSailor Offline OP
Traveler
BreckSailor  Offline OP
Traveler
B
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 111
Denver & Breckenridge, CO
I'm recently back from 2 months aboard 40' Lagoon 400S2 cat with my family (of 3 including wife and 7 yr old son) which was truly epic and fantastic.

In some respects the journey started on this board with me asking about extended boat charter possibilities last fall. (I have to report that it is amusing that many told me privately "plenty of people ask, but never actually do this so we can't take you too seriously." However, others provided great help/advice in my planning which was invaluable even if this board is really focused on the weekly charter/vacation traveler and my situation was entirely unique.)

In any case, it was truly a fantastic trip of a lifetime for my family. We started and ended in Tortola. Ironically, we spent very little time in BVIs - and that was almost entirely Anegada - my hands down favorite island for 30 years. (And we got married on the beach in Jost van Dyke after stepping off a cat there years ago...) After many trips to the USVI and BVI over the years, I know those islands well and this was a chance for a greater adventure down island.

In 8 weeks we visited 10 countries between BVIs and Guadeloupe, covered 900 NM, visited probably 40+ islands (inhabited or otherwise), met wonderful people, had incredible experiences only capable through this type of trip and, incredibly, had generally great weather with no major problems that were insurmountable. (Though you have to be very prepared for issues - and ultimately no one's there to help you but you regardless of the issue/situation.)

If anyone ever has interest in something remotely similar, feel free to ask me directly. A broader trip report is probably unrealistic as there's simply too much - it could be a book - but I'm happy to help others on an individual basis as possible, as others did for me.

While I've been sailing for 30 years with several offshore trips under my belt, I'd never been aboard for 60 continuous days (12 days was my previous high - an all offshore delivery to Tortola which was far more challenging than this trip but great experience for me).

In any case, I hate we're off and back in Denver though who knows what comes next down the road?

Thanks again to those that were so helpful in making this trip happen for me and my family!

Best,

Kevin

BVI Sponsors
Re: Epic 2 month Leewards Islands Trip! [Re: BreckSailor] #135519
07/12/2017 02:42 PM
07/12/2017 02:42 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347
USVI
LocalSailor Offline
Traveler
LocalSailor  Offline
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347
USVI
Glad you were fortunate enough to do a trip like that - exploring the Caribbean has been my sailing life for decades and I would go off again tomorrow if the chance arose.
Thank You for posting.

Re: Epic 2 month Leewards Islands Trip! [Re: LocalSailor] #135520
07/12/2017 03:13 PM
07/12/2017 03:13 PM
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 396
Pacific NW
S
snmhanson Offline
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snmhanson  Offline
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 396
Pacific NW
Sounds like fun. We did a two week Leeward trip last summer and it was our best charter to date. Although, as you said, a full trip report would not be feasible, how about a few details? What was your favorite islands? Beaches? Dining experience? Friendliest locals? Anything else that stands out as a positive or negative?

Matt

Re: Epic 2 month Leewards Islands Trip! [Re: snmhanson] #135521
07/12/2017 03:53 PM
07/12/2017 03:53 PM
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 850
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Cleobeach Offline
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Cleobeach  Offline
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 850
Did you make it to Barbuda? If so, your thoughts?

Re: Epic 2 month Leewards Islands Trip! [Re: BreckSailor] #135522
07/12/2017 08:16 PM
07/12/2017 08:16 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
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BEERMAN Offline
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BEERMAN  Offline
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
This definitely sounds like a trip of a lifetime! We have talked fairly seriously about an extended trip in the future and have looked at the charter options that we could find. Curious which company did you go with and why? Sounds like you were satisfied! Any chance you'll post photos?? Cheers!

Re: Epic 2 month Leewards Islands Trip! [Re: BEERMAN] #135523
07/13/2017 08:52 AM
07/13/2017 08:52 AM
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 308
Tampa, FL
denverd0n Offline
Traveler
denverd0n  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 308
Tampa, FL
This is something that I've been wanting to do for years, so some details on how you arranged it would be wonderful.

Re: Epic 2 month Leewards Islands Trip! [Re: denverd0n] #135524
07/14/2017 12:18 AM
07/14/2017 12:18 AM
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 111
Denver & Breckenridge, CO
B
BreckSailor Offline OP
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BreckSailor  Offline OP
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Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 111
Denver & Breckenridge, CO
So, I'll add a couple of details, thoughts, etc. here in response to requests here.

Major Islands/Countries Visited/Sail Path: BVI > Saba > Statia > St Kitts > Nevis > Montserrat > Guadeloupe > Antigua > Barbuda > St Barths > St Martin (Dutch & French) > Anguilla > BVI

Certain islands/places we loved in particular? Well thats hard to say other than a blanket statement that I'm pretty done with the BVIs after 30 years of traveling here (I know, ironic, on this board - it has just changed in many ways that makes it less appealing to me, though we still love Anegada). I don't begrudge those that love the BVIs - its just not the best place for me and my family anymore.

We'd probably say that Guadeloupe, Antigua, Barbuda and Anguilla were particularly awesome and special. But, heck, so was Saba (very challenging getting on and off this island), Statia, and some other places so, we really liked all of the places we visited. I'm a kiteboarder and I particularly enjoy unique and out of the way places, so Barbuda was particularly special for me. With that being said, Guadaloupe is the most diverse with incredible beaches, true rainforest, and ridiculously good food.

Special beaches, restaurants - well, let's just say that there are so many that I can't begin to detail them - we found them everywhere.

As to how we did it - well, that's quite interesting. It took an incredible amount of persistence in the search for a boat in that we had some general parameters that were have to haves (boat type, size range, age, equipment, and importantly, price - I wasn't about to pay full retail for 8 - 12 weeks). We actually looked for boats from the Bahamas all the way down through the Grenandines. Whereever we could find a boat, we were prepared to go. Ultimately, we found a boat in charter (BVI Dream Yachts Charters) and I worked up a unique partnership deal directly with the boat's owner. I think it was a good partnership between him, me, and Dream Yachts. That's all I'll say about that here - I could provide more about this arrangement if someone wanted to contact me directly. (More about my arrangement or about Dream Yachts, or the charter industry in its entirety.)

What I will say is this - planning for this trip took me at least 6 months of steady work. That planning included taking a diesel engine course, updating my navigational skills (even though I've got thousands of miles of offshore experience), going to both Annapolis and Miami sailboat shows for additional meetings, knowledge, etc. And then there was the planning for what we would need that's very different from the many typical weeklong charters we've taken - and the planning for how to pack all of that stuff, and then the actual process of packing all that. Now, that was the real challenge. (And to be clear, my family of 3 each took small backpacks of clothes as carry-ons though we had 7 pieces of checked luggage packed to 50 pounds each with various gear, sporting equipment, etc.) The planning and packing (really, the planning for the packing) required a lot of work.

Just as information, here are just a couple of items that we brought that were particularly important - none of which are necessary for a typical week charter trip:

1. Sunshade "equipment" so that we could rig a sunshade for our catamaran to protect us from the setting set each afternoon. This was brilliant and, unbelievably, it worked well despite never having stepped on the boat before.

2. Yeti cooler. Our cooler was packed with food for the trip down but we never bring food to the BVIs - its just too easy to buy good food there. (The frequent conversations about this always amuse me.) However, having an awesome cooler to keep ice for 4 - 5 days - now that was invaluable.

3. Safety equipment: Harnesses, inflatable PFD's, carabiners, jackline rigging - all necessary and, of course, never on a charter boat.

4. Handheld VHF

5. Delorme Inreach Tracker with 2 way Iridium messaging - awesome piece of equipment at very reasonable price

6. Tools - I brought some, bought some others locally, but didn't have enough - I could have used more. (Next trip I'll make sure to have Carb cleaner with me as I had to take apart and rebuild the carburetor on the dingy on a beach in Antigua when it crapped out. It was a relatively easy hour process on the beach with the help of another boat's liveaboard owner who had cleaner and tools.)

7. Spare Parts - the basics were put on board for me by Dream Yachts in cooperation with the boat's owner: impellers, belts, filters, fluids, etc. (Fortunately, didn't need them, but I was fully prepared with both parts and knowledge in the event I did.)

As for real challenges - we had some though none too serious (in the end). In one situation on Saba the boat got lodged sideways on top of a mooring ball despite our bridle (I don't like mooring balls and use them only when I have no other good option). I've never experienced this before and I had just returned to the boat with my family after dark in 3 - 4 foot choppy swells and 18 knot winds - the boat was pitching and heaving to the seas as it was being hit sideways by both wind and seas - it was dicey as I had to get on the boat and we had no PFDs. In another interesting situation, we'd made a fairly routine 30 mile sail and the mainsail halyard was fully jammed at the top of the mast - when we went to pull the sails down, nothing would drop. (It was a good thing that we weren't sailing at night then and that we didn't need to reef.)

So, I'll leave the commentary at that for now. It was a special trip but required a huge commitment of time. The planning I did made the trip wonderful. I'm "semi retired" so I had that flexibility (in addition to the actual 2 months on the boat). Even though it's nothing like my friends who have sailed aboard for years with multi-week passages, it was an awesome trip that was everything (and more) than we'd hoped it would be. I hope others get to enjoy the same - it can be done!

Re: Epic 2 month Leewards Islands Trip! [Re: BreckSailor] #135525
07/14/2017 03:51 AM
07/14/2017 03:51 AM
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,996
U.K. and Spain
Jeannius Offline
Traveler
Jeannius  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,996
U.K. and Spain
Very pleased to hear Dream Yacht Charters can accommodate less usual requests. I'm hoping to arrange an extended charter around French Polynesia as my retirement present to myself (receiving pension present really, I retired years ago!) I had looked at DYC web site and it seemed likely that they would be able to help and now you've pretty much confirmed that. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Re: Epic 2 month Leewards Islands Trip! [Re: Jeannius] #135526
07/14/2017 02:56 PM
07/14/2017 02:56 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,296
Colorado and Sailing the World
Maria_and_Steve Offline
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Maria_and_Steve  Offline
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,296
Colorado and Sailing the World
Congratulations on a great trip (from one Colorado person to another). All your planning worked out well too!


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