Maine vs. The Caribbean

Having sailed in both of these great cruising grounds, I have been thinking about the differences.

Season: Maine is a summer trip and The Caribbean is done in the winter. You don't want to be on a boat in Maine in the winter. It is cold enough there in the summer and there are no services, restaurants, marinas, etc. open in the winter. And in summer the Caribbean is hot and subject to hurricanes. Your insurance will not cover you.  The disadvantage of the summer in Maine is that you cannot sail with your friends in Long Island Sound because you can't be in two places at once. But the Caribbean allows you to sail all year round, enjoying the destination area in the winter and your home sailing grounds in the summer.

Water: The Caribbean and especially Bahamian waters are delightfully clear and warm. Snorkeling and swimming there are fun activities. Outdoor showers in the cockpit in secluded areas or underway or at night are a treat. No one swims in Maine waters unless they have to, to inspect the underside of their boat; and a wet suit is desirable in case such an activity is needed. Water clarity is not as good in Maine but who cares since you are on it not in it. We did get an afternoon cockpit shower one warm day in Maine but don't count on it.

Proximity: Maine is a heck of lot closer to New York than is the Caribbean. Less sailing required to get to the place you want to be and there are no passages that require an overnight sail, because ports are so close to each other.

Food: In Maine you are in the good old US of A: supermarkets are readily available and the foods are familiar, cheap and described in English. And lobsters and blueberries are abundant and inexpensive. In the Caribbean, and especially the Bahamas, good supermarkets are few and far between and on non-English speaking islands you get the pleasure (but also the anxiety) of eating strange foods. The French islands of the Caribbean are departments of France and serve real French foods, such as you can obtain only in French places.

Culture: In the Caribbean, except for reggae/calypso/Afro-pop/Latin music, which blares from radios everywhere, there is no culture: Movies, theater, good bookstores and classical music are not to be had or rarely.  In Maine they are available in many places. Museums can be found in both locales, but more so in Maine, and with more variety

Nightlife/Bars: Readers of this blog who enjoy nightlife must unfortunately be disappointed by our lack of reportage on this subject. We are early to bed and early to rise people and unable to compare the venues on this subject.

Communications/blogging: In Maine these are easy and ubiquitous, except on some uninhabited islands and in Eastport Maine. In the Caribbean, finding wifi, even with a booster, is a constant battle, each nation requires you to get a different SIM card and the cost is high.

Customs and Immigration: Maine is part of the US while in the Caribbean each island or island group is a separate nation requiring time and money upon entry and mostly also upon leaving.

Visitors from home: We had a lot more visitors, either we visited them or they visited us, on the Maine trip than in the Caribbean. I think it is the expense of time and money required for folks to fly down to the southern cruising grounds that deters visitors. Many were invited but few came.

Navigation: Many Caribbean charts show the soundings in meters or fathoms. In Maine we did have one chart in meters, near Canada, but otherwise they are in feet.

Different, but both are great places to sail!