For what it's worth ... I have been actively seeking investment and retirement land opportunities throughout the Caribbean. I also have a boat and have been traveling throughout the Caribbean over the past several years. A couple of observations ...
Real estate in the Eastern Caribbean is not getting any cheaper. Property values in many areas have tripled over the last five years and, although the increases may be tempered somewhat now, I think the trend will continue. I wish I had .... (fill in the blank) .... when I first started investigating. In the Western Caribbean there are still some very good values. Belize, as someone pointed out, is good. Nicaragua, Honduras (Bay Islands, especially Guanaja), Panama are all worth looking at. But, if you need surfing ... My suggestion is to determine your objectives and establish some pretty firm personal criteria. If you need to travel to establish those criteria, I suggest you sample some of the areas by air. It simply takes too long to sail to Belize from the Eastern Caribbean for example (Not to mention sailing back!) Once you narrow your focus, then explore by boat. With regard to the boat alternatives ... the trouble with your option #1 is that the air fares will kill you. You can always find mooring but add the mooring fees to the air fares and ... WOW. The advantage with option #1 is that you will see a lot more areas en route. If after developing your personal criteria as suggested above, you move the boat there, it is relatively easy to find safe, long term moorings that are relatively affordable. I, and others on the list, can make suggestions. Another issue is risk and insurance during hurricane season. The risk for any single location is small but the cost of insurance "inside the box" is quite high. If you leave the boat in high risk areas you will need to weigh the alternatives. On the other hand, you could leave the boat "outside the box" and use your sailing time to explore nearby sites elsewhere. For example, you could moor in Grenada and easily explore St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I'll be happy to make additional suggestions on or off the list. Take care, Jerry Peters s/v Mucho Gusto > We're looking for advice or other options - here's what we're > considering: > 1) Sail the boat in that direction a week or so at a time, leave it > wherever we get to, fly home, then fly back to the boat a few weeks > later, repeat till we get down to the windward, then repeat at a > slower (movement) pave, stopping to scout each likely island. > 2) Sail the boat straight there (say, St Vincent) and then > proceed as #1 above > > distant third choice) Fly to each likely island in turn and spend a > week looking around > > > My biggest question/concern is how to find a safe place to 'leave' the > boat for a few weeks at a time in between our visits to move her > (costs at marina vs lack of security anchoring out, etc) _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
