Local man sells everything, sails to Caribbean
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
Editor’s note: The following is the sequel to an article printed Nov 17, 2023. The Record caught up with Jay Caunter over the internet April 30 while he was anchored near Saint Martin in the northeast Caribbean.
Townshipper Jay Caunter sold his belongings and sailed down to the Caribbean, determined to fulfill his dreams. He is currently in the Caribbean, with his next major goal to be south of Grenada by June. He is staying connected with friends via phone and internet while prioritizing safety.
Caunter lived in Toronto for about 25 years before returning to North Hatley in 2011 to care for his father. After his father passed away, with no remaining family ties, he felt free to chase his aspirations. He sold everything, acquired a larger boat, a 1979 Sabre 34, in Sarnia, Ontario, and embarked on his journey.
“Rainstorms today,” Caunter said April 30 over the internet to The Record, “it’s been crazy.” It had been raining for three days. “Since I’ve been on the boat, I rarely know what day it is, let alone the time,” he added.
He said he has a “buddy boat” with him, and is waiting for him to put on a new sail. He has been in Saint Martin for about a month, which was not a part of his plans. Caunter is making some minor repairs to his boat before continuing on. “There’s always something to do,” he said.
He was in Luperon, Dominican Republic, for two weeks. He made quite a few repairs there, too, with inexpensive parts readily available. He also ordered a new sail while he was in the Bahamas, which he picked up at a friend’s place in the Virgin Islands.
The new sail is “really nice,” his old one was ripping all the time. His old main sail came with the boat originally; it was around 50 years old. Every time he would fold it up and put it away it would tear, and it used to tear in strong winds. He ran out of patching material about a month ago.
