# Places to keep a boat in Caribbean ?



## Tspringer (Jan 11, 2008)

I am contemplating purchasing a boat. I would want to keep the boat in the Caribbean at least 6 months out of the year and then probably bring her north to NC or places north for the Hurricane season.

One boat I am currently considering is based in the USVI. But based on the research I have done so far, keeping a 47' monohull sailboat anywhere in the VI is going to run HUGE money. Like $1500+ per month just for a slip. Thats just no doable for me.

Where else should be considered? AS long as its reasonably accessible via airlines I am open to suggestion. Puerto Rico? Windwards? Bahamas? 

Any experience with slip or mooring availability and costs in various places is much appreciated!


Terry


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Try here in Grenada:
http://www.clarkescourtbaymarina.com/whoweare.htm

Easily accessible from PR and monthly rates should be in the $5-600 a month range + any electric. Safe and out of the way and run by good people.


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## speciald (Mar 27, 2007)

Puerto Del Rey, PR 75 cents per foot per month including water. Nice Marina - "St Hoags" in Captain Ron. Simpson Bay Lagoon - prices went up first of yearto buy a bridge part - but still only $40 per week to anchor + bridgeentry fee that is length dependent. Like Annapolis in that every boat service is avaialble, French and Dutch restrauants, all the comforts of home; English speaking and U S dollar based economy and duty free. Even a sports bar to watch fotball games. Puerto Rico is cheaper to fly to but St. Maatttrten has brand new international airport and a place to store your private jet while tou are on your Yacht ( a boat bigger than mine). We like it here so much we bought a retirement condo here.


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## gtod25 (Aug 5, 2000)

*Salinas, Puerto Rico*

Google

"Marina de Salinas Puerto Rico"

Great bay, nice people. Good expat community. Hurricane hole in case you can't get out before hurricane season. I had a mooring there for 3 years. $100 p.m. with full maria access. Prices may have gone up since.

Easy flights to PR, long taxi ride but people do it all the time.


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## FarCry (Apr 21, 2007)

Tspringer 

I keep my boat in a slip on St Thomas and most of the marina rates that I am aware of are not even close to the nearly $30/ft that you indicating. It sounds like you got the daily rate of $1/ft and turned that into a monthly. I would be interested in what marinas you have contacted. Feel free to PM me if you wish.


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## Tspringer (Jan 11, 2008)

Thanks for the replies... keep them coming. 

Perhaps I am not computing the rates correctly. This may seem like a stupid question..... but check out the rates page for American Yacht Harbor at Red Hook:

Sorry... it wont let me post the link.

Confusing? I take that to mean that for a boat under 50' on a monthly berthing the rate is $1.20 per foot per day. So thats $56.40 per day and about $1,692 per month. Where am I screwing this up?


I am very interested in learning more about basing the boat out of PR. How is the cruising locally? Any links to other threads or info? It sure is cheaper to fly into PR from Atlanta than ST!

I do very much appreciate the help!

Terry


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## FarCry (Apr 21, 2007)

Your math is correct. If you are interested in marinas on STT you should check with Compass Point or La Vida (Independdnt Boat Yard). You might also check with Lattitude 18. Many of these marinas are more like $12-$13/ft per month plus water and electricity which is less than 1/2 of AYH. For AYH prices you might as well stay at the new Yacht Haven Grande which is much fancier than AYH. You might also check at the Crown Bay Marina which is the closest marina to the airport and still very nice.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Terry....you are looking at rates in the newest, high dollar marina in the Virgins. Nothing wrong with your analysis. Around the corner...you can get 1/3 of that price: http://www.independentboatyard.com/IBY4.HTM

As to PR...I agree with Gtod that it can be a great place. We stayed in the Ponce Yacht Club on the souther shore close to Salinas that he mentioned...great people and reasonable. I would think that somewhere on the East Coast would be better however for quick access for easy sailing to the Spanish Virgins and the USVI. There are several large marinas in Fajardo.


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## FarCry (Apr 21, 2007)

Camaraderie

You are a little confused. IGY bought American Yacht Harbor which is on the east end of the island where the ferry dock is located and has been around for many years. IGY recently opened Yacht Haven Grande which is the new $150 million dollar marina and shopping center located adjacent to the cruise ship dock and has been open less than a year. Why the pricing at these two places is equal is beyond me.


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## Tspringer (Jan 11, 2008)

All good info...

Looking at Google Earth, Marinas in the Fajardo area would seem to be perfect. I have heard lots of good things about the Spanish Virgins. Also, flying into PR from Atlanta as opposed to ST is about half the cost with more flight options. 



Terry


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

FarCry...you're right...I assumed wrong! Thanks.

Tspringer...right. The Spanish Virgins are great except on weekends and you can easily get to anywhere in the USVI or BVI on an overnight sail. The thing you need to be sure of though is that you will have the boat out of there or in storage for hurricane season as that whole coast is quite exposed.


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## sidney777 (Jul 14, 2001)

*Place to keep boat. Trinidad*

Maybe Trinidad. I met a few USA sailors who stayed there.


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## billyruffn (Sep 21, 2004)

You might checkout Sint Maarten as a spot to keep the boat for seasonal sailing. There seem to be a lot of local boats more or less permanently anchored in the lagoon, and the airport is a dinghy ride away. There are also several marinas there, but I usually stay on anchor. Also, you should note that hurricane season storage in Chagauramas, Trinidad is still reasonable (should you choose not to make the N-S trip every year). Re. Puerto Rico -- nice place but is downwind from everywhere else you might want to go.


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## sailnetone (Apr 11, 2017)

speciald said:


> Puerto Del Rey, PR 75 cents per foot per month including water. Nice Marina - "St Hoags" in Captain Ron. Simpson Bay Lagoon - prices went up first of yearto buy a bridge part - but still only $40 per week to anchor + bridgeentry fee that is length dependent. Like Annapolis in that every boat service is avaialble, French and Dutch restrauants, all the comforts of home; English speaking and U S dollar based economy and duty free. Even a sports bar to watch fotball games. Puerto Rico is cheaper to fly to but St. Maatttrten has brand new international airport and a place to store your private jet while tou are on your Yacht ( a boat bigger than mine). We like it here so much we bought a retirement condo here.


I keep a 39 foot boat at a slip or drydocked in a beautiful marina in a popular and scenic part of southern Maryland. I pay about $150 per month. Who is so crazy to pay more than that to anchor out in Puerto Rico? If you want the tropics go to Cuba. Super safe and far cheaper than the American ripoff places. In fact, your best guide is to start avoiding the US, Bahamas, BVI, Caymans and most English speaking islands. French islands are also a better bet


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## sailnetone (Apr 11, 2017)

billyruffn said:


> You might checkout Sint Maarten as a spot to keep the boat for seasonal sailing. There seem to be a lot of local boats more or less permanently anchored in the lagoon, and the airport is a dinghy ride away. There are also several marinas there, but I usually stay on anchor. Also, you should note that hurricane season storage in Chagauramas, Trinidad is still reasonable (should you choose not to make the N-S trip every year). Re. Puerto Rico -- nice place but is downwind from everywhere else you might want to go.


Staying at anchor is challenging if you re not there all the time and also a hassle to use the dinghy constantly. Slips on St Maarten cost a ton of money. Forget Puerto Rico/ It's a ripoff and very dangerous


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

sailnetone said:


> I keep a 39 foot boat at a slip or drydocked in a beautiful marina in a popular and scenic part of southern Maryland. I pay about $150 per month. Who is so crazy to pay more than that to anchor out in Puerto Rico? If you want the tropics go to Cuba. Super safe and far cheaper than the American ripoff places. In fact, your best guide is to start avoiding the US, Bahamas, BVI, Caymans and most English speaking islands. French islands are also a better bet


Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! You mean I can move to Merryland and rent a cheapo slip instead of being anchored here in this lovely bay in the Caribbean?
It sounds great that I will have to have numbers, registration, pay taxes, carry PFD's and a fire extinguisher in my inflatable, if I want to go for a buzz around the marina.
Oh yeah, I'll get a ticket and be required to get one of those silly boat driver's licenses because they won't have a clue what my master's ticket is. I can start paying taxes on my sailboat too, how grand! And have all kinds of bored water LEOs patrolling the waters where I sail, just dying to give out tickets.
Oh, the possibilities are endless! Thank you so much for inviting me up there. lol


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## sailnetone (Apr 11, 2017)

Forget about Puerto Rico. Huge crime and high costs. And it all gets worse in the USVI. The last time I was in St Thomas there were two bodies floating near the ferry dock and locals thought nothing of it. St Croix, another high crime island, recently lost its main employer, the oil refinery. Since then crime is off the charts. The other problem in the USVI (but not in Puerto Rico) is that many locals despise people from the mainland and if you get into any trouble you've got the law and the community stacked against you. Don't take my word for it, just google this issue and will find plenty of testimonials online.
Just checked some marinas in Cuba (the safest island in the Caribbean and close to the US). Slip rates are a fraction of US islands rates. Labor, if you need work on the boat, is also very reasonable. And the beaches are very nice too. Lots of culture and nice food. Unlike Puerto Rico and the USVI/BVI where only rich Americans can afford to go, in Cuba there are tourists from all over the world. It makes sense now that they also have regular and cheap flights from the US and Canada.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

And yet, I've known countless folks who have loved living and/or keeping their boats in the USVI and/or BVI. Yes, there are places you need to be careful and there is crime, just like in most of the world. Cuba is not a legal option for a US citizen, being that you are so focused on crime, but you may not be one.

Consider this when you find low cost service in Cuba and who you are really taking advantage of. Their people are virtually enslaved with State mandated salaries. 80% of their citizens make less than $200 per month. To make it in the top 1%, you make $1000 per month.


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

ZOMBIE ALERT 

This is a resurrection of a nine year old thread.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

sailnetone said:


> Cuba there are tourists from all over the world.


It is my understanding that you cannot cruise Cuba as one would the other Caribbean islands. You are limited to staying in marinas or approved anchorages. This, if true, would put Cuba on the bottom of the list as a cruising destination or boat storage place.
Apparently the new administration is also going to take us backwards in Cuba/US relations, which might leave your boat in a country you can't get to without expensive, convoluted flights through Mexico City or some other Latin American country.


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## sailnetone (Apr 11, 2017)

You can cruise and stay at marinas but there are government controls, which in part account for the lowest crime rates in the Caribbean and Latin America. Of course if you started a political campaign you would probably be deported but most cruisers would not do that. The opening of diplomatic relations thanks to the great President Obama is here to stay. The new guy in the white house won't change any of that. Cuba is closer to the US than other Caribbean islands and is easy to get to. The sights are wonderful and the prices rock bottom. Just make sure you do it legally as there are still some restrictions.


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## sailnetone (Apr 11, 2017)

_Consider this when you find low cost service in Cuba and who you are really taking advantage of. Their people are virtually enslaved with State mandated salaries. 80% of their citizens make less than $200 per month. To make it in the top 1%, you make $1000 per month.
_

Cuba is a developing country so your comparisons should be with similar places. Unlike some banana republics, they have free education and free health care. I wish we had that in the US. In fact, the US has lower literacy rates and educational levels than Cuba. Three quarters of bankruptcies in the US are caused by medical bills. In many ways, Americans should look up to Cuba.


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## sailnetone (Apr 11, 2017)

Southern Maryland is not like that at all. Very laid back and friendly. You just have to pick the right marina. It does get cold in the winter but then no place is perfect.


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