Route from Florida to windward islands

[Eyeback]

Yes I know this is an age old question and I am going uphill but is it better to head to Bermuda until the trades kick in and then south, or run the gauntlet through the Bahamas?

[MarkJ]

Florida thru New Providence Channel then motor sail due east out to 65 west.
Don't cut the corner.

[Eyeback]

Thanks Mark. I can always count on you. What about Motoring along the south side of Cuba and Hispaniola where there are plenty of places to duck and hide from a tropical storm?

[s/v Moondancer]

I have done it 5 times both through the Islands and off-shore and Mark's advice is the best way but not in hurricane season.

Once I was able to lay St Thomas from 67W but cutting the corner any earlier is a mistake and 65W is a better bet.

I have never done the south side of Cuba but I do know someone who tried that route and hit a reef that was not on his chart.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Eyeback

Yes I know this is an age old question and I am going uphill but is it better to head to Bermuda until the trades kick in and then south, or run the gauntlet through the Bahamas?

There was an excellent article on this subject in the September 2014 Edition of Cruising World, "A Path Without Prickles" written by Todd Duff that you might be able to get through the Cruising World web site. Friends of ours followed the described route/timing, albeit several years before the article was written, and had a fairly painless transit between Marathon, Fl and Tortola in the BVI over a period of several weeks. As they later reported, the toughest part of their trip to the EC was the haul between the BVI and Antigua. Their travels are chronicled at Sail with Ocean Angel. (See the 2011 tab.)

FWIW...

[skipmac]

Answer depends to a large extent on how much time you have to make the trip and whether you want to stop and smell the roses or just get to the destination.

I have made the trip a few times using different techniques.

One trip I took two months from FL to St Thomas. Stopped at a lot of the far Out Islands in the Bahamas, T&C, Haiti (when it was safer), PR. It was a great trip. We would hang at an island until the winds were more favorable and make the next hop.

I also did the trip from Panama to VI and went south of Haiti, DR and PR. Crossing the Caribbean was a major bash but once I got under the lee of Haiti the mountains blocked the winds and I motorsailed due east to St Thomas. That works very well if you have the fuel capacity. I did stay many miles offshore to avoid any potential reefs or any potential for the locals to think I was in their waters without clearance.

If you're going to try the I-65 route and leave from central to south FL you will have to do as Mark suggests and motorsail east to make any kind of time since the dominant winds will still be easterly trades in that zone. If you can leave from north FL then you can probably catch more favorable winds to make easting under sail until you reach 65W to make the turn south.

[DMCantor]

I completely agree that the hardest part of the trip is the stretch between the Virgins and the Eastern Caribbean. We have done this twice, once from St. Croix to St. Martin, and once from Virgin Gorda to St. Martin. Both were gawdawful trips, really the only time ever that my wife has been seasick. The seas were a washing machine, the wind on the nose, tacking turns 75 nm into 120.

We sailed from Bonaire to Puerto Rico, and then worked our way east along the south shore, Culabra, Vieques to the Virgins. No hurry, and a very pleasant cruise.

[Symphony]

I just made the trip in the opposite direction... Martinique to Fort Lauderdale using Virgin Passage then the Old Bahama Channel. I can't imagine going in the opposite direction!

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Symphony

I just made the trip in the opposite direction... Martinique to Fort Lauderdale using Virgin Passage then the Old Bahama Channel. I can't imagine going in the opposite direction!

Been both ways and while I can imagine doing the east bound again I certainly wouldn't look forward to it. Coming back is a great trip (unless you catch a front passing through from the north). Going is a wet, hard, unpleasant bash unless you happen to be one of those fools, masochists, idiots hardy souls that enjoys beating to windward.