I have Stravaigin in Florida and thinking about sailing down the thorny path and hopefully making it all the way to grenada. Can anyone give me advice as to how long it would take. I suspect I would likely go via the bahamas. Gary I know you have done this. Any other suggestions would be useful.
Stewart, if you have the time then take it going through the Bahamas. They charge you 300+ dollars for a year cruising permit. Even if you are only going to be there 2 days. It is a wonderful place to cruise. Then just work your way down to the T&C. Jump off from there to the Virgins when you get a NE wind. If for some stroke of luck you get a north wind head straight for St Marteen and catch the Virgins on the way back.
But most likely you will end up in the Virgins and St Thomas. Do a major provisioning in STT, as these will be your best prices in the Caribbean. If you can rent a car, go to Cost U Less, Pricesmart and Plaza Extra. There is no one place to go here. When you get in town, give me a buzz and I can help you out.
If your in a hurry, then sail through the NW channel out into the Atlantic. Beat eastwards until u get to 65w then hang a right. Head south to St Thomas. This should take 15-17 days of hard on the wind sailing, unless you get very lucky.
Enjoy the trip!
Hello Stewart,
Calypso did this trip in 1994-1995. We enjoy a slow cruising pace. This will give you an idea of how much time we took between milestones:
Florida - Georgetown, Exuma: almost 2 months
Georgetown - BVI: 2 months
BVI - Grenada: 4 months
Details can be found in the google map on our blog. You can turn on “labels” to get the actual date of each leg (click “all items” > “labels” > “name”):
You certainly could cover the same distance in 3 weeks with minimal stops and very favorable weather. It really comes down to how much time you have; how many roses you want to smell; and whether the weather Gods shine on you.
Regards,
Jeremy