Caribbean Compass – October 2026

📖 Hurricane Force — After striking a shipping container in the mid-Atlantic, solo sailor Ian Hordle faces flooding and catastrophic hull damage, forcing him to improvise repairs and rely on hard-won seamanship to keep both himself and his boat afloat.

🍹 Soggy Dollar Daze — Part 2 — Owning paradise was never going to be easy. Just 18 days into running the Soggy Dollar Bar, Bruce and Debby had already faced three storms — and then a fisherman who had survived nearly 24 hours in the sea washed ashore.

🤖 When HAL A.I. Joins the Crew, Part Two — A steering casualty off Bermuda becomes a masterclass in offshore triage, as onboard A.I. helps the crew sort signal from panic. Spoiler: the captain’s still the boss.

🐾 Smooth Sailing with Pets — Planning to cruise the Caribbean with a four-legged crewmember? One paperwork mistake can derail an entire itinerary, but a little advance planning can keep those paws headed for paradise.  

🌊 The Caribbean’s Next Great Economic Opportunity — What opportunities are hiding beyond the Caribbean’s shorelines? A thought-provoking look at an enormous and largely unseen frontier — and what it could mean for the region’s future.

🎨 Creative Waves: Art and Imagination in the BVI — Step inside one of Tortola’s most colorful creative spaces. From driftwood and shells to painting and sculpture, Creative Waves is giving BVI artists and would-be artists a place to create, connect, and experiment.

🌳 Two-and-a-Half Centuries of Rainforest Protection in Tobago — Tobago has been protecting this rainforest for more than 250 years. Its remarkable history offers a Caribbean lesson in conservation that feels especially relevant today.

🌙 It’s a Marvelous Night for a Moondance — What began as a Catalina 36 bought for a sailing school and charter business became something much more. One reader looks back at the unexpected journey of Moondance and her years in St. Maarten.

🐋 Ripples to Waves Needs Whale Watchers — Your next day on the water could help Caribbean scientists. A Vincentian nonprofit is asking sailors and other ocean users to help gather real-world data on the whales and dolphins of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

🌊 SVG Sailors Doublehand at Summer Games — They’d only been sailing together for a matter of months. That didn’t stop Scarlett Hadley and Kai Marks-Dasent from taking on some of the region’s best and finishing sixth at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

⛵ Dasent, Weinhardt Vault onto World Stage — Two young Caribbean sailors are taking their talents to a much bigger stage. After an extraordinary summer, the next stop is international competition — and another big step for SVG sailing.

🏆 SVG Youth Sailing Champions Named at Calliaqua Bay — The next generation of SVG sailors is already making waves. Seven races at Calliaqua Bay crowned new youth champions while helping prepare young sailors for even bigger regional and international competition.