I have a friend who is planning on retiring within the next 10 years.
He’s mid-50’s now and teaches college. He’s caught the sailing bug and,
after retiring, wants to buy a boat and sail around the Caribbean. Does
anybody on the forum have any first-hand advice? Anybody ever done
that? I realize the F-21’s are not suited for ocean voyages, plus, my
friend is a big guy. I told him to go book one of those 5-day learning
cruises. Just wondering if anybody has read an account or book about
sailing the Caribbean.
I have a friend who is planning on retiring within the next 10 years.
He’s mid-50’s now and teaches college. He’s caught the sailing bug and,
after retiring, wants to buy a boat and sail around the Caribbean. Does
anybody on the forum have any first-hand advice? Anybody ever done
that? I realize the F-21’s are not suited for ocean voyages, plus, my
friend is a big guy. I told him to go book one of those 5-day learning
cruises. Just wondering if anybody has read an account or book about
sailing the Caribbean.
Posted by esx123 (scott_shuler@…>)
I’ve been following the trip of a just retired Coastie on a Westsail 32 from Rhode Island who is now in Dominican Republic. http://www.sailblogs.com/member/svchrista/ There are several other blogs at sailblogs.comAllen McClung <amcclung@…> wrote: I have a friend who is planning on retiring within the next 10 years. He’s mid-50’s now and teaches college. He’s caught the sailing bug and, after retiring, wants to buy a boat and sail around the Caribbean. Does anybody on the forum have any first-hand advice? Anybody ever done
that? I realize the F-21’s are not suited for ocean voyages, plus, my friend is a big guy. I told him to go book one of those 5-day learning cruises. Just wondering if anybody has read an account or book about sailing the Caribbean. Allen Laissez les bons temps rouler
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I’ve often thought the Freedom 21 would be an ideal
boat for poking around the Bahamas or other island
groups. Especially if the sailor is resourceful and does not need a lot
of luxuries. The boat is more seaworthy than most in her size range.
But it’s a cold wet ride in rough weather.
The only real drawback to longer voyages is that the cockpit
is vulnerable to pooping. The cockpit drains provided are simply not
large enough to allow water to exit quickly. If a wave fills the cockpit,
it won’t drain in time and the next wave could fill it higher than the bridgedeck,
flooding the cabin and sinking the boat. I’ve heard of at least one
story of exactly this scenario happening to an otherwise well-found Freedom
21 in a storm on Buzzard’s Bay.
If I were planning extensive cruising in my Freedom 21 I
would seriously consider having the transom altered to allow water to flow out
more quickly. I’d think about building watertight storage boxes in
the footwell to cut the volume in half. I’d certainly build some
strong watertight companionway boards and install then whenever sailing
offshore.
Best,
Richard Meltz