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muttnut · 11-03-2016, 05:41

Does anyone have any experience sailing through The Narrows, the channel between St. Kitts and Nevis. We are planning on heading across from Nevis to Antigua next week, and wondering whether north through The Narrows or around the southern end would be better. From the wind forecast, going through The Narrows might be a better option.

Zanshin · 11-03-2016, 06:11

Muttnut - I've sailed through the Narrows several times. When the seas are down and the wind under 12 knots or so it is very easy to tack upwind through the Narrows since you can see the obstructions and water color easily. If you have a Raymarine chartplotter as I do, the coordinates on the chart and reality are very close together so it can be used for navigation, and the paper charts have excellent descriptions of headings/bearings to take.

I've gone through in rougher conditions and with my 8.5 foot draft I admit I burned through a lot of calories doing it. I think the conditions next week might give some biggish seas on the rocks in the Narrows, though.

One downside of taking the southerly route around Nevis is the large area of shallow waters and the preponderance of fish traps, many of which are just emptied "Tide" or engine oil containers attached with line and are difficult to see, at least until they get tangled on your boat and you get to see them close-up and personal

This is only a problem for you on that leg if you are going at sunrise, but returning from Antigua and rounding the corner around sunset is no fun at all. I have seen fish-traps in the Narrows, but they do seem to congregate on the southern fishing grounds.

muttnut · 11-03-2016, 11:09

Zanshan,
Thanks for the reply. Very helpful information. The forecast we're getting is for the seas to be 4-5 ft. Tues through Thurs. next week, with the winds in the mid teens. We draw 5.5, so should have an easier time than you! Hadn't thought about fish traps. We plan to leave very early in order to arrive in Antigua before dark. Our typical routes always seem to have us heading straight into the wind and swells, so we always allow extra time. We usually end up making 4-5 kts. on average. If we hit 7, we're having a terrific ride.
Best,
Muttnut

Zanshin · 12-03-2016, 02:44

That trip from St. Kitts & Nevis to Antigua is always a slog. Last year I think we ended up going around Montserrat because of adverse winds. I'm off to the BVI today from St. Martin, but next weekend I might be heading to Antigua as well, so perhaps we'll meet up.

muttnut · 12-03-2016, 02:53

We've looked at going down to Montserrat and then up to Antigua, too. Looking at Windguru, it looks like it should be OK to go from Nevis up through The Narrows and over. Chris Parker's forecast seems to have changed a bit in the last couple of days, but Windguru's hasn't.

It would be fun to meet in Antigua. Our boat is Braveheart, a Caliber 47. I expect we'll be there 3-4 weeks, and then will head to the BVI. We're planning on storing the boat on the hard on Virgin Gorda for the summer.