caribbean cruise thomas cook

In 1994 we retired to living on a sailboat...we did so for 8 years, all in the Caribbean.
I first stepped foot on a sailboat in 1989 on a shore excursion in St Thomas, USVI. We spent 4 hours on a 36 foot boat owned by a nice young couple. That evening as we left St Thomas we looked down from the cruise ship on the sailboats bobbing in the harbor and stated." We are going to be sitting in the cockpit of one of those watching the cruise ships leave in 5 years". We did just that in 1995. I was hooked on the sailboat cruising lifestyle.
We started by reading all we could find on cruising...it is a lot different than sailboat racing, which we never did on our boat. We then took some sailing lessons on Clear Lake south of our Houston home.
We next took sailing vacations in the BVI (British Virgin Islands), the best place to go to start sailing. We went with a captain and cook... 6 to 8 passengers to a 50 foot boat... the crew will let you sail and do boat stuff as long as it was safe. They were bombarded by questions by yours truly. We were living on a sailboat...not ours but on a boat.
After a crewed trip from St Lucia to Grenada...we started taking boats out by ourselves, 36 to 40 footers. This is called bare boating. We were green but we absolutely loved it. These trips were a week in duration...hey we were working.
In January 1994, we took a 3 week bareboat trip in the BVI. We did not get bored and we thought...Hey we can do this sailboat thing. We came home and started looking for a boat and planning our escape from working.
In May of 1994 we bought our only boat, a 5 year old 35 foot Island Packet, we named her Shadowtime. From May until November we spent our weekends on the boat at a nice marina in Kemah, Texas. In November 1994 I set out for the Virgin Islands with 2 friends, 1 with offshore experience. Went from Kemah to Key West Florida...from Key West to Marsh Harbor, Bahamas...then Marsh Harbor to Jost Van Dyke in the BVI. The entire trip took 22 days, 18 at sea.
Once in the Virgin Islands, I returned home to Texas for Christmas. My bride quit her job in January and we flew back to the boat. That started an 8 year adventure living inside the songs of Jimmy Buffett.
That is our short story. See more on my website below.
Does living on a sailboat take a lifetime of having sea salt in your blood? No, we are living proof that anyone with a desire to try this wonderful lifestyle can do so. You can too if you really want to. Enjoy.
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