Adventure Cruising - Dominican Republic to Turks and Caicos
I am offering 3 cabins on my 2023 Lagoon 42, 4 cabin catamaran for Bluevana's 11th adventure! We will be sailing and island hopping about 350-400 miles over 21 days. This is a cruising trip focused on adventure and exploring vs being rushed. Often times we spend a few days at a location. There are some great scuba dive and snorkeling sites , hiking and many amazing beaches to use our SUPs and beach games. If conditions are good, we could get some kiteboarding and/or surfing in as well!
ITINERARY and DATES
• Crew to arrive to Dominican Republic (Cap Cana Marina) on Feb 22 and can plan to fly out of Turks and Caicos (Marina TBD) on March 15. We will be exploring the many amazing coves on the Eastern and Northern coastline of DR then do a 90 mile offshore passage to the Ambergris islands on our way to Turks and Caicos.
BOAT
• Bluevana (Nirvana on the Blue!) is a well equipped 2023 Lagoon 42 Catamaran with 4 private double cabins. She was received in Feb 2023 in La Rochelle, France.
• She has many upgraded amenities, including lithium power bank fed by twin Integrel generators and solar to quietly run watermaker and air conditioning. There is an induction cooktop, microwave/oven combo, gas grill, TV and Starlink
• There are 2 SUP's, good fishing inventory as well as beach toys (football, frisbee, beach tennis).
• She has proven to sail well in a variety of conditions due to a good sail inventory with code 0 and furling gennaker as well as folding propellers.
• The boat is set up for offshore adventures and live-a-board in comfort.
• There is autopilot (heading and windvane) AIS, Quantum 2 Radar with collision avoidance technology, EPIRB, 8 person offshore lift raft, VHF at navigation station as well as handheld VHF at the helm, Iridium GO and all the safety equipment for offshore sailing including Spinlock 6D vests with harness and individual AIS MOB devices.
• I have exercise equipment on board as well!
MY SAILING EXPERIENCE
• I have been sailing since a young teenager and have not lost the passion! Prior to Bluevana I sailed in Canada, Mexico, Bahamas and the Mediterranean. Since I received Bluevana, I have sailed her across the Bay of Biscay and along the Spain and Portugal coast to Gibraltar. Then ventured to Morocco, Canary Islands and to Cape Verde then crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean arriving in Grenada. Since in the Caribbean I have sailed her to Antique via island hopping and exploring the Grenadines, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe as well as back down to Trinidad for her first haulout. I have now worked my way to St Martin and will be sailing to Dominican Republic to start this leg.
IDEAL CREW
• Ideal crew would be upbeat, outgoing, flexible, openminded and ready to make adventurous memories.
• Those with sailing experience will be welcome to help sail, set anchor, pick up mooring balls and dock. I would be happy to help share my experience with sailing, navigation, weather and passage planning. Those without sailing experience are welcome to learn as much as they want and help sail as well.
• This would be a great opportunity for those looking to buy a boat as Bluevana is set up well for offshore independent sailing and has many custom modifications for live-a-board as well as well as boat set-up and maintenance.
• This would be ideal for those looking to get a feel of the cruising lifestyle before purchasing their own vessel.
• This is not a typical charter so crew to participate in the regular daily chores like cooking, cleaning and keeping the living area organized etc
WHAT IS UNIQUE?
• Less expensive: Most captained charter usually charges $500 - $800 per day per cabin.
• Longer periods: We usually do 20-30 days which allows the feel and flexibility of what it is like to live on a Catamaran, experience a more relaxed journey and be able to pick better weather windows.
• Larger cruising ground: We explore multiple countries and make open water passages.
COST
• Crew to pay own travel expenses to and from the boat as well as $200 per day per double cabin. Contributions go towards 2 meals a day onboard (Breakfast and 1 other as well as snacks), customs fees for each country and boat running expenses (fuel, charter insurance, marina, mooring, marina fees etc). Crew responsible for personal alcohol (not while underway) as well 1 meals per day on shore, drinks and activities on land.
• If someone is looking for a formal captain charter with catering and are willing to pay $3000-6000 per week per cabin, there are many out there and some are quite good. I have heard many good things about Sailing Luna. Dream yacht and some other larger companies also offer captain charters as well.
REFERENCES
• References from crew can be provided.
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First time sailing ever
This was my first ever sailing experience & Im glad it was with Mark. We spent 20 days Nov/Dec 2024 in the Caribbean. Everyday was a blast! I was intimidated and needed hand holding to learn but Mark was great about it, very patient & always very kind and thorough in teaching me the basics. He let me take my time learning. Active guy with tons of energy and larger than life (literally a big healthy in shape guy with a lot of personality.). Everyday was fun with so much swimming & hiking. The food was delicious & very plentiful. I was comfortable the whole time w/ ac, plenty of water, ample refrigeration & a spacious comfortable boat. This was a wonderful trip!!!!!
15th Dec 2024