Fantasy islands

[Cold Duck]

Last week I was sitting in a hot tub on the aft deck of a 120 passenger motor sailor anchored 200yds off a sandy beach of Bora Bora sipping some kind of rum concoction (or maybe 3). I know some of you would rather have a root canal than take a cruise ship, but my MS350 was not going to get here on her on bottom. I started to think what it would be like to have my MS350 anchored in this lagoon and cruise the area for a month or two. Thus started the Fantasy. If I could take my coastal cruiser and "plop" it down at any Island(s) Paradise, where would I go, and why? I started to think of some of the possible islands, starting in Europe we have Greek Islands, Azores, then Falklands, all of the Carribean, moving to Pacific, the PNW, Baja islands of the Sea of Cortez, Hawaii, further south Galapagos, Easter, Marqueseas, Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Cooks, Micronesia, Palau, Philippines, Viet Nam, Tialand, Indonesia and thousand more. Well, I had to come up with criteria for my Island Paradise, your criteria will probably be different, but mine starts off with Weather, a tropical clime, lots of Clear, warm water to anchor and cruise. It would have lush Green Island(s), off the beaten path with excellent Scuba locations. It would be in a geopolitically stable area (I'm too old to spend a year or two as a hostage or wake up at 2am being bordered by pirates). Only 1000s of Islands fit my criteria, easy to choose, right? So I put the question to the first mate. Without hesitation she picked the Islands of Palau, funny that was my first choice also. So that is my Fantasy Island group I would drop my MS350 for a month (or two, I am greedy) to cruise and enjoy, a place that otherwise, for a variety of reasons, my trawler would never see on her own bottom. So, what is your "Fantasy Island" and why would you pick it? With 1000s of islands out there, there should be some interesting choices. Obviously, you don't need to have a Mainship to play. You long rangers can play but let's not turn this into a discussion on how small a trawler can be to get there on its own bottom. As I said, for a variety of reasons, this will never happen for most TF members. Let's hear your favorite "Fantasy Islands".

 

[READY]

No specific island but just cruising Greek Isles and Mediterranean would tick a lot of boxes for me.

 

[slowgoesit]

I'd probably pick the islands of the Sea of Cortez! Wait, never mind, we're already there! Next would be Bahamas, but we'll be there in about a year of things go as planned . . . .

 

[Lou_tribal]

Corsica would be certainly in the top ten, like would be Martinique or Bonaire. Ultimately it could be Colonel By island on the Great Rideau Lake or anywhere in Nova Scotia. Weather matters but the feeling matters more, so a place where I could be enjoying life with my beloved wife, having a good glass of wine, cooking a good diner without anybody bothering me about futile things. Good place, good wine, good food, good friends, as simple as it can be.

L

 

[pastoviai]

Wow, that sounds like an incredible fantasy! Anchoring down on any of those islands for a couple of months sounds like the ultimate escape. I can totally relate to your criteria—warm water, tropical climate, and off-the-beaten-path sounds perfect. The Islands of Palau are a fantastic choice, especially if you're into scuba diving.

If I had to choose my "Fantasy Island" for a long stay, I’d probably go for the Azores. Beautiful landscapes, not too crowded, and the perfect mix of adventure and tranquility. Plus, I've been dreaming of setting up a little outdoor oasis with a hot tub, which would be ideal for relaxing after a day of exploring or diving.

What made you lean toward Palau? I'd love to hear more about your experiences there if you’ve visited!

 

[Mako]

Interesting thread, although nearly 2 years old.

If it were 50+ years ago then I would say the Galapagos Islands.

Today however, I'd say the Antarctic peninsula. Turned down a job at McMurdo unfortunately, but planning to take my next boat there in retirement.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Re: Post #5. Welcome aboard!

 

[KnotYet]

Interesting thread, although nearly 2 years old.

If it were 50+ years ago then I would say the Galapagos Islands.

Today however, I'd say the Antarctic peninsula. Turned down a job at McMurdo unfortunately, but planning to take my next boat there in retirement.

Well, that narrows the possible boat choices!

 

[Cold Duck]

What made you lean toward Palau? I'd love to hear more about your experiences there if you’ve visited!

We spent a couple of weeks there and the rides to the dive sites were worth the cost of the dive. Thousands of little islets, bays, and anchorages. Enuff for a year of gunkholing. Probably will not get back now but it had everything to fit my requirements.

 

[Cold Duck]

Interesting thread, although nearly 2 years old.

If it were 50+ years ago then I would say the Galapagos Islands.

Today however, I'd say the Antarctic peninsula. Turned down a job at McMurdo unfortunately, but planning to take my next boat there in retirement.

Did both Galapagos and Antartica. Unfortunately, did Antartica before Galapagos. The spectacle of Antartica kind of took the beauty out of Galapagos. People got excited seeing 2 penguins in Galapagos where we sat on a beach surrounded by half a million penguins in Antarctic. Hands down, Antartica was the most spectacular place we have ever visited, like going to the moon it was so special. But way too cold and hostile for me to cruise a trawler although we did see some 40' +/- sailboats in the area. Galapagos is way too restrictive now to cruise. Back in the '70s it was wide open but like everything today, more people doing it creates more restrictions. Not knocking cruising today, but it was night and day compared to cruising 50 years ago. There is so much more to help you today from navigation to communication. Taking off with a Davies sextant, charts over 100 years old and very little comms except ham radio was a different adventure back then. We can't go back, it is what it is today and certainly safer and more comfortable and still the best life ever.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

My non-trawler is a 16' C-Dory. I pull it with a Hyundai Santa Fe (4WD turbo). I put brakes on the trailer, even though not required, because of some of the steep gravel roads required to access remote launch sites. It is fitted with a 23 gallon gas tank, so once in the boonies I have a cruise range of about 200 miles. That allows minimalist cruising with access to extremely remote areas.

One day I was thinking about what a C-Dory cruise in New Zealand would be like. I know from using the BC Ferry system that my rig and trailer are just under 40 feet. It would be a perfect fit for a standard shipping container. It isn't too difficult to find container ships that also allow passengers. So I went on-line and planned a trip leaving Vancouver, Canada with layovers in Punta Arenas (Chile), Brisbane, Auckland, then I needed someplace in Asia before back to Seattle (I couldn't find a direct NZ to Seattle). It was possible to route this with a single shipping company. And it was surprisingly affordable. Drive it into a container, spend a week on a freighter, drive out of the container in Sidney, Singapore, or where ever. Then look for a boat ramp.

The biggest logistics hurdle was the repeated "importation" of a vehicle, vessel, and trailer into the various countries. Inspections, insurance, interrogations, etc. And it is not the type of paperwork that the shipping company can help with. In some countries the idea seemed basically impossible. Pay a huge duty and then maybe get it returned months after departing from the country by providing proof that the goods were exported from the jurisdiction within the required time frame. What a pain. That was the end of my around the world dream cruise on a boat that fits in my garage.

Nothing like gunkholing in a beach-able boat with an 8 inch draft.

 

[Mako]

@Marco Flamingo that's a fantastic idea, and I appreciate the challenges you listed. Since your plan was for a small dory then perhaps a compromise would be just to fly there and buy a local boat. Sell it cheap when done and perhaps leave it with a used boat dealer. Can rent a small SUV but need to find one with a hitch of course. The biggest headache I had when I lived in NZ (South Island Christchurch) was shifting with my left hand. Couldn't find any automatics. Generally I love sticks, but I felt like a meatball always stalling my rental (and then personal) cars.