Spring as the vagabond sailor

By Sailor Keddy -
The plan I wrote about previously continues as, um, planned. I'm back in the Sarasota area and taking my captains license course and exam in the first couple of weeks of 2011. It has been a long time since I've spent any real time in this part of the country, close to my mother and brother along with his new wife and her family. I'm really enjoying it and I think I'll stay here for a couple of months, at least. After talking with some people I've met along the way, it seems the next thing to do is to log more miles and sea experience. From what I've been able to gather, the winter sailing season in the Caribbean seems to culminate around Antigua Sailing Week during the last week in April. I've been told its a great place to meet people and network. And by network I mean find my next boat to crew on towards my next destination. If I start in Fort Lauderdale around the middle of February and try to hitch crew spots down to Antigua, I should make it in plenty of time...right? I've also heard that the Heineken Regatta in St. Maarten is another major sailing event to network at. Cash will be super tight, and I hope to pick up some work along the way, but I'll keep a bit in reserves to get myself back to the US if need be.

I'd like to spend the summer in San Diego and see what that coast has to offer for opportunities in this field. So, after spending some time in the Caribbean in the late spring, I think my next move will be to follow my original plan set forth last March. Although it won't be on my own sailboat, I'd like to make it through the Panama canal and up to southern California by late May or so. That's the very tentative plan as of now. We'll see how this all pans out...

Comments

Bill said…
Awesome, and good luck!
January 4, 2011 at 11:34 AM
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