BootsnAll Travel Community

Does anyone know of a good place to catch a boat from Central America to the Caribbean - i.e. hitching a ride as a crew member? I was thinking of Roatan in Honduras but am not sure whether there is much of a yacht club there.

cheers,

femke

Crewing on a boat in the Caribbean is definitely doable. You will need to be very flexible as to where you want to go, however.

You can take a boat from Roatan that will be going either North to Guatemala, Belize, or Cuba, or South to Panama.

Almost all cruising boats are sail boats, so they don't want to fight prevailing winds and/or currents. Most of the passages in the Caribbean are circular in a clockwise direction. Only the large ships generally cross the Caribbean East-West. In other words, you won't get a boat going directly from Roatan to the Bahamas.

I am not trying to throw cold water on your plans. I just want you to know that what you are thinking about doing is not easy. Often it takes a lot of time to find the right boat, with the right people, going in the right direction. If you are not an experienced sailor, your best bet would be to plan to be the cook for the passage. A good cook wins friends quickly.

Also, you don't necessarily need to find a large yacht club. Most people who cruse anchor out a great deal of the time. All you need to do is find the favorite bar or restaurant where they hang out. Usually there will be a bulletin board where you can post a position wanted note.

What you are thinking about doing can be one of the best experiences of your life; or, it can be one of the worst. A boat is a very small space after two or three days, if the people on it are not extremely compatible. I suggest you get to know any boat owners for several days before sailing with them.

If you decide you really want to crew on a boat, and have the time, patience, and talent to do it. Come back on with more specific questions and we will be glad to help.

Wishing you fair winds and a following sea.

Bruno's hotel in Rio Dulce is where you want to be to help crew a boat. I was there in Feb 2007 and was asked to be a cook on a yacht from Rio Dulce to Cuba. I would have gone but I had a prepaid 3 day trip in Tikal. The skills needed are either previous boating experience or cooking or cleaning.

There is a bulletin board that had about 6 ads looking for crew when I was there. But I stayed there a few days and had a few drinks and was approached by a captain.

Bruno's can be a rough place at times. I am a single female, 49 years, but I was hanging out with a british couple that keeps their boat there. There were a few fights to watch!