caribbean cruising
Daily briefing on liveaboard cruising life in the caribbean
Latest Gobbles
Full-time sailboat life is possible — but it’s not a permanent holiday
3 things every liveaboard eventually meets: weather, maintenance, and paperwork.
Caribbean customs: the paperwork shuffle every island seems to do differently
US$25 a year is the price of a little more border paperwork—and, in about 20 Caribbean islands, a little less time in the office.
The sea-view version of a space epiphany
1987: that’s when Frank White coined the “overview effect.”
Atlantic, twice, and then again
10 days from Mindelo to Antigua is the speed story here — not the old-school three-week holiday at sea.
Waiting on weather in the boatyard
It’s been raining almost every day.
Full-time afloat is a different beast
18 months aboard a sailboat can still feel like a squeeze, even after years of sailing vacations.
What I’ll Miss About Yachting
Eight different boats: that’s how many vessels she’s crewed.
From dock-life to moving aboard full-time
Two weeks later, the condo was gone, and they were officially homeless.
The Mesoamerican Reef is beautiful, busy, and buckling
700 miles of reef, 12 million visitors, and a coastline that's running out of slack.
Big dream, small space, lots of spreadsheets
2 years is the span of the trip Erin and her spouse have planned around the US and the Caribbean.
The Caribbean cruising starter guide is built around the basics that actually matter
1 is the only number in today’s fact pack, and it’s carrying the whole briefing.
Northward Journey Part 1: Boat Refit and a Look Ahead
90℉ in Solomon’s, Maryland.
10 Lessons You Only Learn Living on a Sailboat
9 years aboard a CT-41 sailboat is long enough to make “normal” feel like a moving target.
Household food waste meets a very Caribbean kind of tech fix
June 18, 2026 is the day this pack says to think about food waste before the fridge starts winning.
Chuck Leinweber keeps the sailing math brutally honest
Small Craft Advisor’s new interview series is built around experienced sailors and true old salts who’ve spent decades on the water, and today’s subject is
Small boats are small houses — with far less forgiveness
Living on a small boat works best when you treat it like a small, moving house with limited power, water, storage, and redundancy. The practical side is th
The boat is the teacher. You are the homework.
March 12, 2026 — and the framing is clear: living onboard a sailboat is a masterclass in quick adaptability, constant communication, and the humbling reali
From corporate finance to the open ocean
44-foot sailboat through the South Pacific, South Africa, and the Caribbean — that’s the kind of route swap that makes a desk job look hilariously small.
Full - Circle
A full-circle day for this crew: Jasper gets the birthday spotlight, the boat logs its 1000th nautical mile, and the route from Fort Pierce to Jacksonville
Let go, because the boat will not cooperate with your spreadsheet
After 1 year of living on a sailboat with her husband and cat, Tara A. Pierce says the big lesson is simple: let go. The year was “wild,” full of wondering
Curaçao’s most practical entry point is also the least stressful
For cruising sailors arriving from the east—often after Bonaire or the Eastern Caribbean—Spanish Water Lagoon is the practical move. It’s a large, protecte
Rescue, rust, and rebirth aboard ANIMA
Ahoy, I’m Paul — a German transplant officially calling the Caribbean waters home — and the pitch here is pure liveaboard grit: I found an abandoned sailbo
Boatlife's real soundtrack: small frictions, endless fixes
Boatlife gets sold as sunsets, dolphins on the bow, coffee in the cockpit, empty anchorages. That part is real. But the longer game is everything in betwee
Hands-On Sailor
Expert advice for boat owners who want to maintain their vessels and cruise with confidence. The classic model is four hours on, four hours off—but the bes
Blustery bays, smart choices, and the art of waiting
Good morning from a blustery bay in the Abacos. The weather gets a vote whether you like it or not, and this update is basically a masterclass in moving fo
The Caribbean is still the dream — and the calendar still matters
Sailing the Caribbean means over 700 islands, each one a little different from the last. The appeal is not subtle: constant trade winds, warm turquoise wat
Caribbean sailing is still the beginner’s bait-and-switch
Sailing in the Caribbean is pitched as a dream for many beginners: calm waters, beautiful islands, and short distances that make it easier to learn and enj
Three Free Pallets Are Solving the V-Berth Moisture Problem That $200 Products Can't
Free pallets cut into a triangle just became the most useful piece of boat furniture in the anchorage.
The 30-hour run home that says everything about why cruisers keep moving
A US Coast Guard Unlimited Tonnage Master got tired of juggling six open tabs before every departure, so he built his own AI passage planner — and the sail
One Tube of "God's Glue" Could Fuse Your Mast to Your Deck Forever
A sailor on Reddit just discovered that fixing a leaky mast boot with 3M 5200 — the adhesive known to nearly lift an entire boat by its mast when removal w