Chartering from St. Lucia

[Michael Webb]

I am about to charter a 43 footer from the Moorings in St. Lucia. Does anybody have a 14 day passage plan with mid-day stops and no legs in excess of 4 hours sailing. All help appreciated.

[maytrix]

Can't help with the plan, but please do share your experience when you return!

Now that my wife and I own a boat with Sunsail, we are looking for other destinations to try out!

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Michael Webb

Does anybody have a 14 day passage plan with mid-day stops and no legs in excess of 4 hours sailing.

Don't get me wrong; I love St. Lucia. But with those parameters, it might not be your ideal destination. A 14-day passage out of St. Lucia is going to involve legs longer than 4 hours.

[dennisjay]

Not sure you can do many legs under four hours unless you just stay on the leeward side of St. Lucia. You can island hop southward to some nice spots in 4 to 8 hours.

On St. Lucia, I'd recommend Rodney Bay, Marigot Bay and Soufriere. On Soufriere, there's a wine bar run by a Dutch woman who can arrange rain-forest tours and transport to good restaurants.


One island south is St. Vincent. Good place to stop is Wallilabou Bay where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. There's a great local restaurant around the southern corner operated by a German woman and her chef husband, who's local. The boat boys in St. Vincent are annoying.


Further south is Bequia and then Mustique, which has beautiful beaches and a great view (and a nice hike) up the mountain to Firefly.


The most spectacular place we visited was the Tobago Keys and the marine wildlife sanctuary there where you can snorkel with sea turtle and rays.






Enjoy your cruise. Wish I was there now.


The most specta

[Michael Webb]

Maybe in that case skip the mid-day stops and look at 5-6 hours per day.
I am really looking for somebody eho knows the area well who can point out the good spots and better eateries. Chris Doyle may be out-of-date.

[Play Actor]

The south end of Martinique is about 4 hours from Rodney Bay. Ste. Anne has a lot of small restaurants, as does Le Marin. From St. Anne, a few hours westbound along the south coast takes you to Petite Anse d'Arlet, and Grand Anse d'Arlet, both very pretty wih good restaurants. A short sail north puts you in Fort de France, itself a worthy destination with shopping, restaurants, a museum, and interesting sights. An hour or two across the bay is Trois Islets. A few miles up the west coast is Ste. Pierre, a pretty place of historical interest. Lots of French and Creole restaurants in Martinique. For a slightly longer sail, 8 hours north of Ste. Pierre is Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica -- a whole different world. Four hours, or less, north of Prince Rupert Bay puts you in the Saints -- part of Guadeloupe. Beautiful spot with lots of good French cooking.

Hope this helps. The Doyle guide is great, but doesn't cover all of the restaurants. Go ashore and check them out. That's part of the fun.

We routinely sail from Prince Rupert Bay to Rodney Bay and vice versa in daylight.

Rodney Bay, Marigot, and Soufrierre are nice as well. Going north to Dominica involves one ful day in each direction, but with lots of places to stop in Martinique.

Ejoy your charter.

[Play Actor]

Oops. I meant to say we routinely sail from Prince Rupert Bay to Rodney Bay in daylight with an overnight stop in St. Pierre, Martinique.

[Otia]

If you go south, I presume you want to head to the Grenadines, You make your first stop in Soufriere (the Pitons). Then you should go to Bequia, or the south of St Vincent (Young Island Cut), this will be the longest stretch of your trip, after you will sail 2-4 hours between islands. You should be careful around St Vincent, there are security concerns there, although it is a beautiful island. This is why I recommend you go directly to Bequia.

[Otia]

I forgot to say, the stretch from Soufriere to Bequia is a long sail, 8-9 hours. The St Vincent channel can be rough when near the north end of St Vincent, expect strong wind gusts and choppy seas.