Reflecting on 2017 – Cape Town to Martinique

Six thousand five hundred miles of sailing in the past 12 months took us from Cape Town to the Caribbean. This includes several trips up and down the Windward chain of Caribbean Islands.

It’s not as far as many other sailors have sailed this year but it’s a fair distance, more so in cultures and wealth than actual miles. Here in the Caribbean we are constantly struck by the wealth of the western world and the way this wealth is displayed. From private Caribbean islands to mega yachts to million dollar sailboats that sit in storage for the majority of the year, we are astounded.

It doesn’t seem to matter the summer hurricane season destroyed most of the sailing fleet in the northern Caribbean. New boats are arriving every day either by ship or delivered by professional crews. The fleet was decimated but the insurance companies are paying out and those who lost boats have money in their pockets to buy a new one. There are those that can’t afford, or choose not, to buy insurance that are hurting. However, I have heard expressed in this area by boat owners ‘if I lose my boat I have insurance so I can buy another’. And the cycle continues.

I guess we are an anachronism. We started offshore sailing in the 1980s in a 27 foot boat, a 35 foot sailboat was considered average and a 40 footer huge. The boats then may have had refrigeration but washing machines and microwaves were unheard of. Now the average size of sailboats is around 45 feet and equipped with all the mod cons and enough water making capacity to have a bath every day and communication technology to stay attached to the ups and downs of investments.

While unemployment rates in North America are at a 20 year low homelessness is ever increasing and the gap between those who have and those who have not is ever increasing but here in the Caribbean the party goes on and the money is flowing. Most of our sailing in the past 8 years has taken us through areas where there isn’t excess displays of wealth. Yes, there is wealth there but not like here.

Our next 8 months will take us deeper into the wells of wealth as we approach NYC. What are we going to discover? How are we going to react?

I hope for everyone 2018 will prove to be better than 2017. Let’s not forget how lucky we are just to have food on the table, a sunset to enjoy and friends and/or family to enjoy life with. Lets not forget the many that have way less and find ways to help out.