Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and information. I know this is a bit of a 180º from the start of this thread, but the boat owner is now (suddenly) aiming for the Florida Keys for the time being. I think that might be a good idea in this case, so I'm not unhappy about it as a destination. I already had mixed feelings about The Bahamas for a "newbie," and hearing from you-all has somewhat confirmed my thoughts. Not that The Bahamas are Cape Horn -- and I think they could work with the right set-up -- but they are not necessarily a "simple" place to learn to sail and manage a boat.

But, while I'm feeling good about it as a plan, I'm also thinking "Argh, but I just had the good folks at CSBB putting time into thinking about The Bahamas!" I really hope you all know that I'm grateful for your thoughts, and also hope you don't feel you have wasted your time in replying. First of all, he may later head across (I have saved all of your comments), second of all I might like to go over there myself some day (minus the flying back and forth and the marina slip , and third, I bet there are others reading this thread and finding the information useful.

Thank you all again,

CCA-Boater