getting a small boat to South America from the States

[GB]

Hello folks


I came across your website recently as I have been  thinking of buying a small sailboat with the potential of going offshore and wanted to seek advice from your members.

I am at present living in the Colombian city of Cartagena on the caribbean coast and am learning to sail.  As the only sailboats we see here are blue wáter cruisers on their way to the Panama canal there are no small starter boats for sale so I am working out the feesibility of getting a small boat across the caribbean from the United States !!!!!!!!! ( Putting one in a container would incur almost 50% import duty)

A  friend  I work with brought  a 27 ft trimiran over from Florida last year and is willing to help me sail a boat over next year .  His route was Bahamas,  then non-stop past Cuba, Jamaica and on to Cartagena.

The boats I have been looking at on yachtworld   for example have tended to be  old, small  Alberg designs like the cape dory 25d and the Pearson  Ariel.  There are several Ariels on yachtworld at the moment.  Assuming a boat like this has  been checked out by a surveyor what sort of modifications would one expect to do in order to do a trip offshore? 

Also any candid remarks about what I might be letting myself in for would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!

If you want to check out some sailing areas  along our coast google  "islas del rosario Colombia" ,  "isla Fuerte Colombia"  "islas San Blas Panama"


All the best

Gordon Blackhurst

P.S. S/V Faith.....splendid looking boat Craig!

[AdriftAtSea]

I would highly recommend you read John Vigor's 20 Small Sailboats To Take You Anywhere, as well as James Baldwin's Boat List.  What actual modifications are necessary will depend on the specific boat.  Some boats, like the Flicka or Dana, are pretty much ready to go with little modification. 

It would help greatly if you said what your rough budget is going to be.  I'd also recommend reserving a large portion of your budget for the inevitable upgrades, modifications, repairs, and such that any boat you buy will need.

One of the sister ships to mine is currently lying in Guatemala after having been taken there via the Caribbean.  It was bought in St. Petersburg, FL, and sailed in a combination of passages, some single-handed and others crewed.

[Tim]

Welcome Gordon.  :)

I spent a couple of months in Barranquia and Santa Marta back in the early 70's. I flew into Cartagena to get there, it was all so beautiful then and I am sure it still is though it has grown tremendously from what I can see.

Although I have no blue water experience in my Ariel I would think that it would need little actual modifications.

It would require all that you would need for any bluewater cruiser though. Including but not limited to a complete seaworthiness check of hull, systems and sails. Also requisite safety, emergency and communications gear.

Then of course it would require a captain with enough open water experience to navigate her safely to Columbia, which it sounds like you may have already.

Tim

[s/v Faith]

Gordon,

  Welcome aboard, thanks for the complement.   ;D  As you may have guessed I am very pleased with the Ariel, and agree with what Tim and others have said.  The rig would need a good look, and I would recommend a full haul out.  I really tend to find "survey" to be overkill on a small boat, but your case may well be an exception.  I would want to sail and work on a boat for a while before I took the route you plan.

  WRT the basic boat, an Ariel in sound shape with a good rig and sails should need very little.  I would want to strengthen the aft chain plate (some easy ways to do this).  I would also add a dodger, as they can be wet boats. 

  If you come across something here in NW Florida let me know if you would like someone to take a pre-survey look at it.

Good luck, and welcome aboard!

[Tim]

If you are looking at an Ariel, I suggest perusing this site http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/ for a wealth of info on them.

[Auspicious]

Gordon,

Welcome.

A 25D or Ariel in good shape would have no trouble crossing to Cartagena.

Based on my experience I suggest -- if you can -- that you do a passage of 2 or 3 days with someone else to get a feeling for what you are facing before launching in a new-to-you boat. Otherwise you should be fine. It just isn't all that far and the boats you listed are solid well-found boats.

[GB]

Goodness me!

I didn't expect to get any responses so quickly.  Thanks a lot guys.

Adrift at sea, I actually got John Vigor's book  last Christmas which kind of started this whole notion off.  This had me thinking about  the 25d. I then stumbled across James Baldwin's boat list on the internet which has the Ariel in it and from there I found the owner's websites e.t.c.

As far as budget  goes me being  an elementary  school teacher earning pesos puts the project on a shoestring by yachting standards.  I would put it at about $15000 if exchange rates were kind to me.  It looks like this would cover  an Ariel plus upgrades but a 25d would have to be pretty much ready to go.  I am not sure how much it actually costs to get  essential work done in a yard in the states though.

Incidentally  by workmate had a Telstar back in England which he had for about 12 years. He was sad to sell it. The trimiran he bought last year is an F27.

Tim, yes Cartagena has grown a great deal.  There has been a lot of investment in the old town center and there are many international  conferences and events as well as tremendous modern property developments.  Also the city has been gaining a reputation as a safe place for tourists.

You mentioned a complete seaworthiness  check of the hull and systems e.t.c. and S/V Faith mentioned rig inspection.  Is this the kind of thing I would expect from a standard survey or are we  talking about something more stringent? 

Auspicious, very sound advice about doing a 2 or 3 day trip. I have done a couple of overnighters with a stop in port before sundown but no sailing at night.  I think this will be the next stage in the venture as I am interested to see how I would find it.  The other side of the caribbean looks like the other side of the planet  at the moment!

Anyway thanks for all your comments , it looks like a possibility after all!!!!

Thanks Craig for the offer.  I will let you know if I see anything  up that way next year.

Gordon

[Auspicious]

Gordon --

Your first overnight trip doesn't have to be far. I've taken a number of people out for their first overnight by leaving shortly before sunset with an estimated arrival at the destination in early morning. My girl friend's first overnight had more breeze than we expected so we ended up in the selected anchorage around 03.00.

Look to people who have really made meaningful passages for input. We may not all agree, but at least you won't get bits and pieces of books quoted at you when you can read the book yourself. Just because you hear the same bit of advice over and over doesn't mean it's good: it could mean many people have read the same book that may not actually be good advice.

You don't need lots of expensive stuff to go sailing. I don't recall the name of the lady who planned to sail around the world on a Flicka (anyone?), but her story is illuminating. Her biggest issues were personal preparedness and some minor mechanical issues (including a companionway slide that locked her out of the boat).

If the boat is solid, the rigging is in good shape, and you have confidence in yourself you will do fine.

I wouldn't be averse to the passage you describe in either of the boats you describe with fairly minor outfit. You will want detailed charts for your start point and end point, a cruising guide that covers possible bail-outs with chartlets, and a large chart (I use pilot charts) that covers everything, just for plotting. A couple of hand-held GPS units and lots of batteries. Sleeping bags, including extras duct-taped into trash bags; keep extra dry clothes and towels in trash bags as well.

You seem to have been doing some reading. My thoughts:

I'm generally not a big Pardey fan, but "Care and Feeding of Sailing Crew" is very good and relevant to your plans.

Chapman's is very good general reference (and better than the Annapolis Book of Seamenship - don't get both).

Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Handbook is interesting but not a requirement.

I'm a big fan of Brion Toss' Rigger's Apprentice. It's a good read from cover to cover and an interesting diversion on watch.

In my opinion everything else is extra.

From where I sit on the boat I can also see Bowditch (sailing geek stuff), Advanced Bluewater Cruising by Sutphen (good but beyond what you plan for now), Gentlemen Never Sail to Weather (very entertaining but overly opinionated), North Sails Sail Trim (excellent -- sail trim is important for cruisers as well as racers), Cornell's World Cruising Routes (the stuff dreams are made of), and many others -- and these are the ones I pared down to when I moved aboard in 2006.

Is there a racing group near you? Crewing for other people on their boats is a great way to see clearly what does and doesn't work.

Now if you'll excuse me I'll go back to working on my air conditioning.

sail fast and eat well, dave
S/V Auspicious

beware cut and paste sailors