St. Croix, often overlooked by cruisers, delivers secure marinas, skilled contractors, excellent provisioning, and authentic island charm—proving itself a reliable, welcoming Caribbean cruising destination.
It’s on par with the largest fjords in the world, found in Norway, Greenland, Chile, and New Zealand. It encompasses an astonishing 1,000 islands and 15,000 miles of shoreline, and is surrounded by the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, the Tongass National Rainforest. Behind it is an icefield that is 90 miles long and 40 miles wide which feeds the ocean with fresh water from 40 large valley glaciers and 100 smaller ones. Water that is vital to the health of chinook, coho, chum, and pink salmon species, which in turn nurture a vast concentration of coastal brown bears and black bears, who also feed on abundant Sitka blacktail deer, grasses, and berries.
So you’ve crossed Biscay (woo! Go you, what an achievement!) and the Torre of Hercules is looming over you as you sail across the bay into A Coruna. But now what!? If you’re anything like us, you want the boat moored up and a crisp, cold cerveza in hand ASAP, quickly followed by some tapas.
The marine industry has faced daunting economic and market challenges. Until recently, one major obstacle—an increasingly expensive and restrictive platform for buying and selling boats—has held businesses back and limited choices for consumers. What started as a groundbreaking and efficient marketplace has now become a costly barrier to growth for brokers of all sizes.
There’s always a reason not to go cruising. The boat’s not ready. The budget’s too tight. You’ve got a job to think about, or a kid who still naps twice a day. There’s always something. There are a thousand reasons not to go, and only one reason to go… The Dream.
I’ve been sailing with Frank for a dozen years. In that time, we’ve cruised in many parts of the world together and he’s brought various family members along, but never the whole clan, not until now. The Tahiti trip formed around the perfect vortex of graduations, birthdays, engagements, and so forth, so the tribe tapped into the Bank of Dad and converged on paradise.
For one thing, there’s the immensity of the spectacle. There are tens of thousands of people exploring over 175 boats and 500 exhibitors connected by two miles of floating docks. For a few days each year, Annapolis is transformed into a reunion of sailors from around the world.
Picture this: your ultimate week-long getaway on the water. The sun is blazing, the breeze is just right to keep you cool as you zip through the crystal-clear waters between the breathtaking British Virgin Islands on a pristine, spacious new catamaran.
In October 2020, communications for leisure boats and commercial vessels changed irrevocably, although we didn’t necessarily realize it at the time. That month, SpaceX launched the “Better than Nothing” beta tests for a new satellite communications system that most people had never heard of: Starlink.
While the Aegean, Dodecanese, and Cyclades are top sailing spots, Greece's west coast facing Italy should not be overlooked and as is well worth exploring.
