See the boating world sailing through the Carribean near the USA

Details

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  Description

  History:
  I've been sailing around the western Caribbean and Eastern USA doing mini-sabbaticals for a dozen years now, with the Florida Keys as a home base. Sometimes taking crew, sometimes solo, sometimes buddy boating with other boats. A friend introduced me to Workaway, which has been a great way to find people who are interested in traveling for more than a day or two.
  About the trip:
  I have left Florida and the Bahamas behind, and am currently in the Turks and Caicos. The next stop is the Dominican Republic. I anticipate being in the DR during the month of March, the latter half of it will be 'playing' the weather patterns to get east, and then continuing on from there across Puerto Rico to the USVI, sometime in or before May.
  What we do:
  Sail from place to place. Shoot fish with spears. Drag fish behind the boat on hooks. Hang around bonfires on beaches. Watch and if we are lucky, swim with dolphins. Explore uninhabited islands. Visit fun locals. Enjoy sun-downer rum drinks, and anchor down beers. Just have general fun, with an occasional dash of terror (storms, sharks, or dodgy coral reef navigation).
  What we also do:
  Deal with bad weather, which happens. Work, because this is Workaway! What kind of work do you do on a boat? Three kinds! The first is work ON the boat - everything from changing the oil in a motor, to polishing stainless steel. The second is day to day stuff, such as cooking, and cleaning. Usually, I prefer breakfast and dinner to be group style, where everyone contributes according to culinary ability.
  About the captain:
  I am Dan. Escaping the rat race by sailing for a month or two at a time. For the last dozen years, I've been sailing on this vessel, and logged over 25k miles between the US East and Gulf coasts, the Mexican Caribe down to Guatemala, Cuba, and the Bahamas, and south to Panama and Colombia.
  About the boat:
  It is a 37 foot Valiant Esprit, a sloop rigged monohull sailboat. She was built as a solid blue water ocean cruiser, and I have been maintaining her in the same way. This is a solid safe boat, not a ratty boat waiting to sink on us!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  See the boating world, and hopefully have awesome sailing and water activities!

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  Help

  How this works:
  The crew will be operating the sailboat during all day to day activities. This includes: cooking, cleaning, fishing, learning to sail - and then sailing - standing watches, helps with videography, and help with general boat maintenance.
  
  I provide the boat and the training of how to do the above things you don't know how to do.
  
  What I require of you: Must be able to swim, and be reasonably fit. Cool with eating fish. Your relationship status with sea sickness can't be bad or worse. Passport, obviously. I prefer non-smokers, and no couples. You must play well with others. Pull your weight with ship duties.
  
  What I don’t require of you: Sailing experience. In fact, I typically prefer if you have none. Its much easier to learn, than to unlearn!
  
  Nice skills to have: Filming, photography, cooking, cleaning, webpage work, and musicians are always wonderful to have.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  I am very poor at languages, unfortunately. But I am patient with my deafness to ones other than English, and am really needing to stop neglecting my Spanish!
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  Accommodation

  The boat has one private cabin in the front, and accommodation for two others in other berths in the common area, and one bathroom. Plus hammocks on deck, or lounging in the cockpit, but crew size is limited to interior berths. I usually sail with one or two other people.
  We have more power than we need with 1000 watts of solar feeding a big battery bank. Propane 3 burner stove, oven, and outdoor grill for cooking. While equipped with a 40 GPH watermaker, we still don't waste water, but strict rationing isn't necessary.

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  What else ...

  Money: I cover all expenses related to the boat and boat operations. If there are costs related to places we go, these are normally shared - i.e., marina fees, park fees, visas, etc. Food costs are shared. Due to the nature of living on the sea and visiting remote locations, I cannot accept vegans or vegetarians, or people with allergies to shellfish. When ashore, you pay for your own meals/drinks, but you are welcome to stay on the boat and cook your own meals for free. Also, alcohol is not included in normal boat operations. This is typically divided among those who drink.
  
  Destination and time: I typically have a rough idea of where I want to get to, but that is subject to change at my discretion. You also have some influence in the decision of where/when to go. Therefore, the time is always subject to change. Therefore, you are welcome to get on or off at any time we are near civilization, gowever, I do not take crew with booked tickets, ie, the weather and tide predicts when we will he somewhere, not the calendar. I can't be responsible for you missing a flight due to nature! If you are not a US or Canadian citizen, to enter any US country (Puerto Rico, USVI) will require a B1/B2 visa, ESTA will not work.
  
  Safety stuff:
  The boat is equipped with a full set of modern navigation equipment, including radar and satellite tracking. All required gear is aboard -things like life jackets, visual distress, fire extinguishers.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Power for computers isn't an issue. Google Fi has worked almost everywhere that cell towers are close by, but I expect to have multiple times on passage with no service for several days at a time. I do not have Starlink aboard. We will need to discuss your personal needs.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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