> Assuming that BigBliss is still in the loop and leaving in November - which is an excellent month for going down island as there is a window of 2-3 weeks when the winds are reversed - blowing from the west - or are zero'ed out.
> I accompanied and assisted a pair of
Nordic Tug 42 footers down island a few years ago. The optimum
power boat route is from
Miami non-stop to
Nassau via Gun Cay (Triangle Rocks wpt - Explorer Charts) then Northwest Channel Lite to
Nassau which is about 160 nm and after crossing the Gulfstream you can run at optimum cruising speed across the banks. Nassau has a large
power yacht community and it is the last place to get a decent
fuel prices.
> From Nassau it is a fast run halfway down the west side and then down the east side of the
Exumas to
Georgetown, Great
Exumas - about 130 nm. No bargains on
fuel although there is a marina at
Georgetown.
> From Georgetown it is 200 nm to Mayaguana (the last
Bahamas island and no fuel) and if you can do the range another 60 nm to Provo in the Caicos Islands. This leg can be smooth or rough so speeds might be limited. They have good
power yacht facilities at Caicos although the fuel is not
cheap.
> From here you need to decide if the
weather is good enough to
head for Puerto Plata (Ocean World Marina - a power yacht marina) at 150 nm or continue on to Samana - on the
east coast of the
Dominican Republic - 270 nm from Provo or continue to Punta Cana (power yacht marina) at 330 nm from Provo.
> Luperon is not set up for Power Yachts, especially for refueling - although it can be done.
> From the departure from Long Cay, Caicos Island all the way to the
east coast of
Puerto Rico you are going to encounter the strong trades and head-on seas as previously mentioned by others. Normal is 20-25 knots (+your
boat speed) and 6 to 10 foot seas. The 42'
Nordic Tugs could only manage 9.5 kts and still be safely comfortable. Higher speeds were too hard on the crew and
hull and the fuel burn increased drastically. Slower speeds and the
boats rolled too much.
> Samana is not set up for Power Yachts although there is a
fuel pump on the
government dock. Punta Cana, further down the eastern side of the D.R. is a mainly Power Yacht facility - - and - it positions you below the Hourglass Shoal for the narrowest crossing of the Mona
Passage to
Puerto Rico. It is 35 nm to Isla Mona and another 45 nm to Boqueron, Puerto Rico. You can stop at Isla Mona to break the crossing into 2 daylight runs. The Mona
Passage is not known for benign conditions so you will be speed limited by the waves and winds. Boqueron does have a yacht club for refueling if necessary. The big reason to stopping in Boqueron is to clear back into
USA by taking a taxi
service to the Customs/Immigration at Mayaguez. The officials there are consistently polite and low key and the process is quick and painless. (At Ponce there are a few individual officials that can make your day a nightmare if they are on-duty that day.)
> It is only 45 nm from Boqueron to Ponce where there is an excellent Power Yacht facility (Ponce
Fishing and Yacht Club). This is your only full
service refueling until you get to the northern side of eastern Puerto Rico.
> Another 75-80 nm takes you to the Fajardo area and lots of power yacht
marinas. From there to the US Virgins is very fast and only 40 nm.
> Fast running (considering normal winds and waves) is only available on the Grand
Bahamas Banks, the Exumas Banks, inside the Caicos Banks and the Fajardo to St Thomas run. Elsewhere you will be speed limited by winds and waves, especially if you do not have stablizers under the boat.
Like I said above the Nordic Tugs had to throttle back to 8 kts to 9.5 kts to keep from pounding themselves to death. ** If you can afford to wait for up to a month at each major stopping point you can find
weather windows that will allow full cruising speeds, but they are few and far between. There is no lack of things to do and explore while waiting and there is the
danger of not wanting to leave even when a weather window appears because you are having too much fun.
> So that describes the normal Power Yacht
route. Some smaller power yachts
purchase 55 gal plastic drums, put them on the aft
deck and increase their
diesel fuel (or gasoline) range significantly, especially when they want to run fast and hot.