Every year about this time, KYW’s Jay Lloyd begins longing for the warm Caribbean sun.  He’s at it again.

Island dreaming isn’t just a fantasy trip.  Sailboat charters — with or without crew, depending on experience — are available just a few hours away in St. Thomas (a US territory) or on Tortola (the largest of the British Virgin Islands).

Chartering, as veteran sailors know, can actually be a global experience.

“We’ve been to Australia, we’ve been in the Mediterranean some, we definitely go to the Caribbean a lot,” one told me recently.

The most popular destination for recreational sailors — and those who want to learn — is the sheltered Sir Francis Drake Channel, ringed by the beach-fringed Virgin Islands.

The most active companies that provide boats, skippers if needed, and provisions are the Moorings and Sun Sail on Tortola, and Island Yachts on St. Thomas. Check out their web sites.

With a constant breeze and warm days, more than a few who went sailing for a week stayed for years.  I know — I was one of them.

Reported by Jay Lloyd, KYW Newsradio 1060.