For any cruisers planning a passage to the Caribbean this winter, here is a round-up of some useful articles, advice and links from Noonsite.

Published 6 years ago, updated 5 years ago

Before You Go

Considerations for marine lightning protection – survey results

Citizen Science Programmes for Cruisers

Join a Rally: World Cruising Club Events

Pre-Passage Checks & Preparation

Find out as much as you can

Passage Planning

Atlantic Crossing Reports and Links

Atlantic Ocean West Reports and Links

Grab Bag: What should you pack for a long voyage?

Unknown Crew on the passage? A word of warning…

Ocean Crew Link

A sailor’s guide to whales and dolphins

Fishing from yachts for beginners

The Atlantic Ocean – The Sargassum Phenomenon is a Serious Issue for Atlantic sailors

Garbage Disposal at Sea and in the Eastern Caribbean

Aluminium Cans and the Ocean

Cruising in the Caribbean

Caribbean Sea Routing advice and articles

How to Cruise the Eastern Caribbean 

Caribbean sailing tips: Chris Doyle on making the most of your time there

Cruising West from Trinidad: Cruisers give their advice

Heading to the Caribbean this Fall? Find out about Sargassum…..

Cruising the Caribbean with Pets

News Sources

All at Sea

CARICOM Today

Caribbean Safety and Security Net

Caribbean Compass

Caribbean Journal

Publications

Chris Doyle’s Caribbean Sailors Guides

USA: Print-on-demand Imray Caribbean charts now available

Three Families on a Caribbean Sabbatical

Voyaging with Kids – A Guide to Family Life Afloat

A Thinking Mans Guide to Voyages South

Freecruisingguides.com was a website that housed all of Frank Virgintino’s FREE cruising guides for the Caribbean. This website is no longer in operation and all Virgintino’s guides must now be purchased through Amazon. The SSCA [www.ssca.org], however, have all Frank’s guides on their website – available to members.

Arrival

Covid-19: Open and Closed Countries

Eastern Caribbean Cruising: Simplified Clearance Procedures Explained

A Guide to Checking in and out of Countries with your Sailboat

Demystifying international clearance for cruisers

Warning if cruising the Caribbean with pets

Communications

Cruising Radio Nets Atlantic

Cruising Radio Nets Caribbean 

Caribbean, Bahamas and USA East Coast: SSCA HF Net is a Valuable Service to Cruisers

Caribbean Cruisers’ Facebook pages

Kids4Sail Facebook Group

Cruising VHF Nets Caribbean

Cruisers Network Online: Caribbean, Mediterranean, Africa, South Pacific

Caribbean Cruising and Cell Phones

Optimizing Iridium GO use on board

Marine Services

Boat Repair and Storage: Caribbean Boatyard Updates (All at Sea, September 2020)

Caribbean Boat Boys

eZone: Clearance and delivery of online purchases into the Caribbean, Latin and Central America

Caribbean Boatyard Safety: Good Grounding Saves Lives

Getting work done on your boat whilst long-distance cruising: Cruisers Tips

You, the shipyard and your insurance policy

Weather

Caribbean: National, Regional and Island Weather Websites and Reports

IMO/WMO Worldwide Met-Ocean Information and Warning Service

Gulf Stream Weather

Marine Weather Center – Caribbean

National Hurricane Center
Concerned boaters can subscribe to the NHC Facebook page and get their Tropical weather information directly.

Weather Resources for the hurricane season

Free Forecast Services

20 tips for surviving strong winds

Preparing a marina bound boat for a tropical storm

Bahamas: Lessons learned from a sudden storm at anchor

Hurricane Season is Here: Tracking hurricanes and more

Yacht Security

SAR Contacts – Find Rescue Coordination Centres Worldwide

The Caribbean Safety and Security Net (CSSN)

Cyber-Crime Scams Against Yachts in the Caribbean – CSSN Special Report

Caribbean Security for Cruisers: Everyone’s Concern, Everyone’s Responsibility

Caribbean Navigator
Facebook Group supporting all cruisers who wish to share safe sailing, navigation, and boat security information for the Caribbean Sea.

Securing your boat from intruders

Protecting yourself from boat theft

Island Theft – Our Thoughts

Note: Every Caribbean Country and Port has its own “Security Reports” Section under the Explore/Related Reports tab. 

Health

Keep an eye on the World Health Organisation website to check for any health alerts in the Caribbean countries you are planning to visit so you can prepare you and your crew accordingly. It may be that certain vaccinations are required and certificates carried, or that restrictions are in place at ports of entry if coming from a country with an epidemic and further health paperwork needs to be carried by all crew.

All Caribbean countries have strict entry protocols for yachts during the Pandemic. See our list of countries that are open and closed, and follow the links to the biosecurity section for that country to find out what is required for entry.

There are on-going Dengue Fever outbreaks throughout the Caribbean and the Zika virus is still present on a number of Islands. See the Health sections on all country/Formalities pages for further details.

To be on the safe side, the following documents should be kept on board should they be needed:

• Past itinerary and previous ports of call (up to 14 days prior) 
• Recent crew member and passenger travel history
• Health clearance from the last port
• Crew medical records
• Crew immunization cards

Mosquitos: Chances of a Dengue Fever Outbreak increases in all Caribbean Islands (2019)

Mosquitos: Chikungunya disease in the Caribbean

Mosquitos: Zika Virus

Ciguatera Fish Poisoning

Bugs: Nine Ways to Keep Bugs at Bay

Dangers of the Manchineel Tree

Environment

Small Caribbean Island’s Waste Management: How Cruisers can Help

Garbage Disposal at Sea and in the Eastern Caribbean

Wider Caribbean’s Marine Protected Areas (CaMPAM)

Caribbean: Expansion to the Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS)

End of Season

Caribbean: When to Leave and Which Way to Go?

Caribbean: Where are the Yachts? (end of Season 2021)

Choosing a boatyard for the hurricane season

How to lay up a yacht abroad

Lessons Learned from the 2017 Hurricane Season

Yacht Transportation

Warning Regarding the International Transport of Yachts

Shipping Your Boat – a Guide for transportation

Helping Others

Northern Bahamas: Hurricane Dorian – How you can Help

School Supplies still needed in Dominica’s Schools

Caribbean Volunteer Projects

Caribbean Cruiser’s Blogs

Taking a Sabbatical to Sail, Kitesurf and Explore

Around’n Circles – south to the Caribbean and beyond

Becoming a Sailor

The voyage of a concrete gaffer

(Editor’s Note: Any updates to the above articles or suggestions of links you have found useful for Caribbean cruising are very welcome. Either register on Noonsite and post a comment at the bottom of this report or send your feedback to editor@noonsite.com, thank you).