Hmmm. I gotta say, ya really don't need any of that fancy crap in the BVI...including wind instrumentation.

I know that you think it's ancient history, but I chartered my 62 foot ketch in the BVI with NO instruments and no charts - just watching the colors of the bottom - and a placemat to show the guests where we were.

I'm not a super-sailor, but I was inexorably in tune with my boat. That was the magical beauty of it all...whether I was puttering around the BVI, or sailing offshore. The more you rely on instrumentation, the less you are in tune with your boat - that's an indisputable fact.

And if you seriously don't know when to reef without looking at an anemometer, ya got some sailing to do before you head offshore.

If it's a completely worry-free vacation that you want, give up the ruse of sailing, and get a power cat. It will get you to the same mooring balls, and bars that are your goals.

If you want to sail, then sail, and leave your technology at home in your BMW. It will be there when you return.

I've owned a couple of boats in the Caribbean, and my mantra has always been 'less is more'. Maintaining the electronic crap means less time sailing.

I feel just a tad guilty about really loving my autopilot on my last boat,however. As a single-hander, it was really nice to have a 'friend' (I named him Otto) take the helm. Except one day I was lulled into a deep sleep by the gentle swells returning from Anegada, and nearly crashed into Larmers Bay. Oops. Technology.