Belieze

Here's a thread from a guy who owns a small marina - sounds pretty good.

Legal and Customs

Currently being introduced as a pilot program in St. Lucia and the British Virgin Islands, and scheduled to be launched soon elsewhere, the voluntary eSeaClear system means that boaters should soon be able to submit data via computer for Customs Clearance for entry and departure. The project is being developed through a partnership of the Caribbean Marine Association and the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council. Yacht captains must still report to customs on arrival, but the goal is to make the process faster.

Bimini Way Points

"There was a rumor that new markers may have one or more missing. Do NOT follow the old range markers into the channel behind the sandbar that is one mile from town." Lee offers these waypoints:
Outside: N 25:42.658, W 079:18.459
Turn: N 25:42.681, W 079:18.261
Inside: N 25:42.830, W 079:18.158
12/18/08

Boat Names

I recently read an article about picking boat names - they were expecting their second child at the same time and of course, he would be thinking about th eboat's name, when she was thinking about the child's name - good thing they discovered their confusion before getting a birth certificate.

Anyway, it took them over 2 years to come up with a suitable name for the boat (Ganymede) and it came from careful deliberation and talking to the boat - ultimately his eldest daughter, who was studying Jupiter at the time, became fascinated with its moon, Ganymede, and would say nothing else but that.

In any event, it is extremely important to me that I name the boat right. Another writer also gave this advice, siting that whatever name you choose in haste, the boat will exhibit the worst aspect of that name, so for instance if you chose Wandering Star, just to pick a name and set sail, you're liable to get yourself lost at sea because your navigation equipment crapped out on you and you didnt' take the time to learn any other method of navigation.

I intend to spend a lot of time thinking about this, but only after I get the boat and have a chance to talk with her.

Here I found a website that's good for a chuckle - it tells you about yourself based on the boat name.

Some ideas:
Lung Ta - Tibetan Prayer Flags - Means Wind Horse - usually depicted at the center of four other mythical beasts (Snowlion, Tiger, Dragon, and Garuda) as the center of the compass - lung ta are thought to bring the buddhist prayers to god or disperse them around the world.

Towing A Dinghy

These days most cruisers use inflatable dinghies or RIBs as their tenders and most also power these with 9.9 or even 15-hp outboards. The combination can be quite heavy and therefore difficult to hoist on deck when you are heading out sailing. There's no question that a boat will sail better and faster and the dinghy will be safer if it is carried on deck. But, if you are like us, you will tow the dinghy on daily runs in everything but storm conditions.

If you have a small inflatable with an inflatable floor, it will tend to scoot around on its painter and has the capability of flipping if air gets underneath it. For such light dinghies, it is best to remove the engine and gas tank and then haul the painter in tightly so the dinghy's bow is snug against the boat's transom. It will ride there easily and safely even in really bouncy conditions.
With heavier dinghies and RIBs, you need a long painter attached to the boat and a good harness on the dinghy that will spread the towing loads to both side of the dinghy's bow. If the dinghy doesn't have towing rings welded to both sides of the bow, you can add them quite easily. You should be able to buy them and the appropriate glue from the dinghy's manufacturer. The harness should extend about three feet in front of the bow and is then attached to the long painter.

When underway, let the dinghy out behind you far enough so it tows one wave trough behind the boat. You want it to be towing in synch with the big boat's motion through the waves and not chasing down the front of a wave as the big boat climbs the next wave.
Make sure the engine is locked in the up position and that it and the gas tank are well secured to the dinghy with strong lanyards.

Motion Sickness

I'm not sure how my relatively weak stomach will fare on extended time away from the protection of landmasses from swells, storms, and other fun, unyielding disturbances. One of the things the experts say to do during your first few times out in the ocean, on an overnight cruise, or whathaveyou, is to experiment with different motion sickness medicines.

In addition to Dramamine, I just discovered this one, which looks promising. It is apparently 100% natural oil (of what variety I'm not sure). You can use it before or after symptoms have begun. It works within 5 minutes and you apply a drop behind the ear rather than ingesting anything. Sounds pretty fantastic - so it definitely needs to be tested.

Step 4: Passage Making

Passage Making is a daunting prospect namely because you leave sight of shore which must have a profound psychological impact.  In addition, if something goes wrong or breaks down, you have to contend with the remoteness of your location and inaccessibility to any sort of help (except the Coast Guard but it can still take them several hours to mount a rescue).  One of the best ways I've seen to make a passage (especially if it's a first attempt) is the Caribbean 1500 Rally.  I plan on doing this when the time comes for my first passage.  However, any passage made in the company of experienced and trustworthy sailors is good alternative.  It's important to take it slowly.

Piracy

THere has been a lot of attention on piracy recently as they have become so audacious off the coast of Yemen and Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. The International Maritme Bureau (IMB) has put together a google map of pirate incidents within the last few years.

Gulf of Aden - Maritime Security Patrol Area
Jimmy Cornell has posted waypoints for a new Security Corridor in the Gulf of Aden for yachts to stay safely within. (Well, we certainly hope so!).
"A Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) has been established to provide a route through the Gulf of Aden which will be patrolled by Combined Task Force (CTF) 150. Whilst it cannot guarantee that attacks will not happen, it is hoped that 150 assets will be able to respond faster to any attacks and the patrols will act as a deterrent."
Coordinates of the Security Corridor in the Gulf of Aden are as follows:
Waypoint: 12 15N 045E;
Waypoint: 12 35N 045E;
Waypoint: 13 35N 049E;
Waypoint: 13 40N 049E;
Waypoint: 14 10N 050E;
Waypoint: 14 15N 050E;
Waypoint: 14 35N 053E;
Waypoint: 14 45N 053E.
The way the patrols are set up on the corridor is that each ship is given a sector that they are responsible for. So along the entire route there are warships patrolling. If yachts stay in the corridor or to the north, depending how they have to sail with the wind, they stand the best chance of being nearby a warship or the Yemeni Coastguard (who have been quite effective as well). As far as a routine convoy, unfortunately that is not being done yet. There has been some call for that and hopefully that will come to reality. From: Noonsite.com.

Cruising World Articles on crossing the Gulf of Aden.
http://www.cruisingworld.com/destinations/middle-eastsouth-asia/attacked-by-pirates-1000071230-p1.html
http://www.cruisingworld.com/destinations/caribbeancentral-america/precautions-in-paradise-1000057358.html
http://www.cruisingworld.com/destinations/caribbeancentral-america/pirate-attack-claims-life-of-beloved-cruiser-1000067340.html
http://forums.cruisingworld.com/videos/viewEntry.php?user=MindTheGap&node=178
http://forums.cruisingworld.com/showthread.php?t=646&page=2


Saftey Sail Net: Community of cruisers who keep up on hot spots
http://www.caribbeancompass.com/

Cruising Social Networks

In addition to the forums and magazine websites, there are social networking sites that allow you to blog, plot passages, upload maps, pictures and videos for other people to follow along with. Here are a couple in addition to Cruising World, which does a lot of it as well.

SailTrac
YOTREPS