Routes from BVI to FL or New England

[livbysea]

Having a good experience in BVI/USVI - will be heading back to Maine starting in late April. Would like to combine short (1-2 nights) passages with day sails between the islands and FL. Probably do a passage home from there. We have a 6'3 draft. Any recommended routes/marinas? We are interested in PR, DR???, Cuba or T and C. Hearing different opinions on north vs south sides of islands. Welcome suggestions!

[skipmac]

North side going back to the states. Generally less wind and fewer places to stop on the south side.

Downwind so an easy trip. If you want to limit passages to two days max you will have to island hop through the Bahamas. Under Trump sailing to Cuba might be problematic and I'm not willing to take the risk for now.

Stops in PR, DR, T&C then pick your islands through the Bahamas.

[livbysea]

hi and thanks

we agree - cuba is not as clear as it was pre-trump - we're doing research on that now.

interesting about north side - I had the impression there were more places to stop on south - but my husband and I have split up the research, so I am not very well informed!

cheers,

livbysea

[Cool Hand Luke]

This is the path I took last Spring. Worked out great. Sailed from BVI to St. Croix. Then from St. Croix sailed to Great Inagua and then dropped off my friend there. Then, onto FL solo sailing. I didn't stop anywhere else, as I was on a time budget. Looking back, I wish I stopped by all, or most, of the islands. Again, no time :sad:

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by livbysea

hi and thanks

we agree - cuba is not as clear as it was pre-trump - we're doing research on that now.

interesting about north side - I had the impression there were more places to stop on south - but my husband and I have split up the research, so I am not very well informed!

cheers,

livbysea

Would be interested in anything new you might find about Cuba. It's on my bucket list but I just don't want to risk a large fine (there have been a few) or confiscation of my boat.

Regarding stops on the south side, the only time I did this route was almost 40 years ago and I was on a delivery to the VI, didn't plan to stop anyway so my details on this may be fuzzy.

Going on the south side, especially of Hispaniola, would make access to the Bahamas a little more problematic. You would have to round Haiti and sail north through the Windward Passage. With the current state of things in Haiti I really wouldn't want to stop anywhere except Ile a Vache on the south side so a longish trip to the next stop at Great Inagua. Also, iIf you go south of PR and then cut north the Mona Passage can be bumpy.

Through the SE Bahamas there are lots of lovely stops and very few cruisers. One of my favorite trips.

[livbysea]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

This is the path I took last Spring. Worked out great. Sailed from BVI to St. Croix. Then from St. Croix sailed to Great Inagua and then dropped off my friend there. Then, onto FL solo sailing. I didn't stop anywhere else, as I was on a time budget. Looking back, I wish I stopped by all, or most, of the islands. Again, no time :sad:

hi

so you did this as a passage solo? wow! how many days?

[livbysea]

sadly, i agree about haiti - we are applying for US permission to enter cuba - not sure that it will work out.

there seem to be folks who know a lot - and can help organize - but in one case, they have a window of jan to march- and we can't head back until late april

be thrilled to get more good info!

livbysea

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by livbysea

hi

so you did this as a passage solo? wow! how many days?

4 days with my friend from St. Croix to Great Inagua Island, Bahamas. Then we stayed there overnight and he flew back home the next day while I left solo. Took me another 4 days solo to get to North Palm Beach, FL, via the route shown in the screenshot. Loved it! It was end of April 2017. I wish I had more time and I'd stop by a bunch of places, but I was on a time schedule due to work.

I would totally do it again!!

[livbysea]

4 days solo sounds tough - great you had such a good experience.

what is your draft? can a 6'3 draft do that route?

[mike carder]

Skipmac says Mona passage can be bumpy
We will be bringing our AP36 ketch back from Puerto Rico this spring. On the way down we went offshore to BVI. Coming back we plan to take the ‘inside’ route via the north coast of the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. The first leg will be along the south coast of Puerto Rico then aross the Mona Passage to Samana. This will be in late march, early april.
There’s plenty written about going east, with many cautions about how nasty it can be in the Mona Passage. But what’s it like going east to west?
I assume it’s better to get round Cabo Rico and go up the west coast of Puerto Rico. Clear out at Mayaguez and head NW from Punta Higuero, leaving Isla Descheo well to port. It doesn’t look as if there is any advantage to be had by going all the way up to Aguadilla.
Given leeway and the current, if we stay on a close reach, heading as much north as we can, we should end up due east of Bahia Samana and well clear of the shoals.
Any advice from people who have done this passage would be much appreciated.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by mike carder

Skipmac says Mona passage can be bumpy
We will be bringing our AP36 ketch back from Puerto Rico this spring. On the way down we went offshore to BVI. Coming back we plan to take the ‘inside’ route via the north coast of the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. The first leg will be along the south coast of Puerto Rico then aross the Mona Passage to Samana. This will be in late march, early april.
There’s plenty written about going east, with many cautions about how nasty it can be in the Mona Passage. But what’s it like going east to west?
I assume it’s better to get round Cabo Rico and go up the west coast of Puerto Rico. Clear out at Mayaguez and head NW from Punta Higuero, leaving Isla Descheo well to port. It doesn’t look as if there is any advantage to be had by going all the way up to Aguadilla.
Given leeway and the current, if we stay on a close reach, heading as much north as we can, we should end up due east of Bahia Samana and well clear of the shoals.
Any advice from people who have done this passage would be much appreciated.

I have sailed west to east crossing the Mona on the south side twice and east to west on the north side once but never gone through. It was a bit bumpy on the north side crossing, not bad on one of the south side crossings, the second south side we were pretty far offshore so didn't really count. So my experience inside the Mona is nil but all the sailing guides and local info has said it can be rough so that's where that came from.

Regardless, unless you hit a late season norther going west is generally a piece of cake.

[NakedCity]

Early October 2014 we left Tortola , daysailed south coast of PR making 3 overnight stops. It was a newly purchased 30year old boat, so we fixed stuff each night. Then overnight passage thru Mona Passage (easy sail) and into the Bahamas. At this point we could have stopped daily but due to the time of year we wanted to get back to north Florida with our favorable weather window. Overall a very nice trip.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by livbysea

4 days solo sounds tough - great you had such a good experience.

what is your draft? can a 6'3 draft do that route?

Yeah, definitely. Mine is 1.99 meters or 6.5 feet.

[livbysea]

great - will look at charts! thanks

livbysea

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by livbysea

great - will look at charts! thanks

livbysea

Hi livbysea.

The routhe from Great Inagua taken by Coolhandluke is the Old Bahamas Channel. I've taken that route before and it is probably the fastest way to get to south Florida. You have the winds and a nice current pushing you west.

The down side, once you leave Great Inagua and pass the Ragged Islands there's really no place to stop for a few hundred miles except Cuba until you reach Bimini/Cat Cay. On the north side of the OBC are the Bahama Banks and no islands to speak of. There are generally no reefs or dangers along the edge of the banks but they do effectively block easy access to any of the Bahamas Islands north of the banks.