Bob - Thanks for thinking of this from an "experience" perspective, I appreciate it a lot. We'll be taking about 10 weeks to make passage from Ft. Lauderdale to Panama, with at least 2 weeks in the Bahamas. We are a home-schooling family of 4. We have spent quite a bit of time in the Caribbean previously, and therefore are being selective with where we visit this time. In particular it is fair to say that we'd rather visit a smaller number of places for a longer time, than a large number of places for a short time. The 10 week time schedule allows us to explore in depth, but also gets us back home (Honolulu) to avoid our children becoming too dissociated from the various things they are engaged in at home (Scouting, for example). So, in a sense it is a delivery cruise in that we are bringing the boat closer to where we live. Still, our intention is to absorb as much as possible before leaving, and then spend plenty of time in each place enjoying the experiences along the way. Hopefully, although one could of course spend 10 weeks just in the Bahamas, the 10 weeks will give us enough time in a few places to enjoy them. I think if we spent much more than that amount of time, it would begin to run counter to our family life. Dan On Dec 11, 2010, at 7:00 PM, passagemaking-under-power-request@lists.samurai.com wrote: > From: "Bob Austin" <thataway4@cox.net> > Date: December 11, 2010 9:01:49 AM HST > To: <passagemaking-under-power@lists.samurai.com> > Subject: [PUP] Which side of Cuba? > > > Daniel, > I am wondering is this a delivery trip--that you are taking with a > professional crew, or is it going to be a family cruise? The reason I ask, is > that you seem to be making some long passages, rather than kicking back and > enjoying the people and cultures etc--beaches are often over-rated. What > experience do you and your family have, if they are the crew, voyaging? I > see a lot on your site on some of the technical sides of how you are preparing > the boat. But for a successful cruise, the the "crew" part of the equation is > most important; often more important than the boat. The reason I mentioned > various places to visit along the way--especially in the Western Caribbean, is > that there are some very interesting places. Actually the same is true of > down Island Bahamas, which are less visited. They are different than what you > may find in the S. Pacific or where ever else you may voyage. Yes, the San > Blas Islands are interesting--as are the Kuna Indians of the Kuna Yala Nation. > But it is not a one or two day stop, if you want to experience the area in > depth. Unfortunately this area has changed thru the years that we have been > visiting it--with the inroads of cruise liners and more exposure to tourism. > The plus side is that the Kuna are an extremely independent group, and realize > the dangers of loss of their culture. [...] > > Bob Austin