sailing from Tortola to Grenada

[boneboy]

Hello

I am hoping to get enough time off next summer (2018) to be able to do some cruising in the Caribbean. The plan would be to fly to the BVI and pick up the boat (Voyage 480) and do one big jump to Grenada. The admiral and kids would meet me there and we could island hop all the way back to Tortola.

Any idea the time frame I would need to get from to Tortola to Grenada. It would prob be in June, so obviously hurricane season comes into play, but it is the only time I will be able to get the kids out of school (summer break) for such an extended amount of time

thanks

[amiller]

Great question. I want to do the same run this June. I have a best guess at theoretical Transit time, but I'm curious to hear some real world experiences.

[btrayfors]

It's 416nm direct from Tortola to Grenada. The Rhumb line takes you way west of the Leewards and Windwards. Once committed, there's little alternative because working upwind to these islands can be difficult or impossible.

I did that trip around Christmas in a sturdy monohull which had excellent seakeeping properties, including good windward sailing abilities. We had an extremely rough trip. It was an unusual year with 35-45 knot winds the whole way. And, we were on a close reach most of the way, not a beam reach which we had a right to expect.

Doing the passage in summer would likely be somewhat easier, though the normal tradewind pattern of ESE winds would put you on a close reach or beat much of the way.

Don't forget, there's a 1-knot west-flowing current to deal with, in addition to the normal wave pattern.

Frankly, in a cat I think I'd revise my plans to be a bit more modest. Make the trip from Tortola across the Anegada Passage to, e.g., St. Martin, then work your way down the islands. I've done that several times in June-July and it worked out well.

Best to remain flexible as to destinations; get started, see how it goes, and take it from there.

IMHO,

Bill

[caradow]

Having done the trip several times I agree with btrayfors...certainly a voice of experience.
Wondering how much time do you expect to take off? Do you have the whole summer?
You are obviously embarking on a very weather dependent trip and a headwind will not be your friend on a Voyage 480. Are you familiar with the Voyage? Is it your own boat? Also you could be doing a lot of motoring if you cannot wait for weather windows.
Maybe an alternative will be to Island hop all the way down then sail back staying west of the island chains. I guess it depends on where you are coming back to. If you don't make it to Grenada you can save that for another day. A lot of stuff to see along the way.
Again weather weather weather.........will be your determining factor so might even think about the lows that can come up quite quickly that time of year not to mention even a Hurricane.
Anyway you will be in a beautiful part of the world so take the time to see it.
Wishing you a safe and fun trip.

[boatman61]

Setting off for St Martin late afternoon would see you arriving at Marigot Bay sometime around lunchtime if you don't mind a bit of motoring.. the same for getting to Antigua.. after that its an easy run down island to Granada..

[jrau18]

Somebody mentioned it above, but it bears repeating: your proposed trip overlaps with hurricane season. The island hopping doesn't overly concern me, but the direct shot between VI and Grenada does.

A tropical depression can go from being first noticed/reported to hitting you in only a few days. If you're 100 miles due west of martinique (as an example) at the time when you first see it pop up in your ssb/sat phone, it isn't a situation I would want to be in.

Just wanted to throw it out there, in the off chance it isn't already on your radar.

[MarkJ]

I think its crazy to island hop or passage in hurricane season.

Why would you put children at risk of death when they ate too young to appreciate the risk and tell you to take a flying leap?

I have been in the Caribbean with a hurricane right over my head. We found out it was a hurricane at 2pm and by then it was too late. We had 100 knots till 9.30pm

People died.

Died in both St Martin and St Barts. And those were on an island where they could get to shore not at sea.

Real deaths.

Have you any idea of the intensity of a hurricane?

If you want to sail there, pick a place, say Grenada. Put the kids on board and sail that area. First sign of anything get the kids ashore into a hotel.

[robert sailor]

Grenada is usually a safe place to be in hurricane season. There are islands very close that your family would enjoy and you'd have lots of notice to either return or sail to Trinidad should a tropical storm be coming your way. June is early in the season but it's hardly worth the risk but different strokes for different folks.