Grenada, West Indies to New York

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
3,370
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
I am wondering what folks think about how one might take a sailboat from Granada - Clarkes Court Bay to be exact - to New York City? I was looking at Jimmy Cornell's book on World Cruising Routes and it's not exactly a listed route. Although from the routes listed it does look like there may be two general weather windows, April, May and then in December. He also talks about running the Gulf Stream up or going into the ICW for an "easier" trip.

I then pulled out my old Admiralty book on Ocean Passages for the World and it seems there are two traditional (potentially) sailing routes. One would be rather quite off-shore, almost as if one were coming from Africa, and another that would shoot you more towards Florida where you might actually then go up the ICW. So the two pretty much agree on the two general routes.

Any thoughts on a trip like this and potentially how long would one expect to take? Anybody with sailing experience in this region that may have insight into a trip like this? I know there are a number of folk here that sail quite a bit in the Caribbean. Is it really only this fairly small time window that one should consider? any other insights would be most welcome.

This is looking to me like you'd really want a fully prepared blue water capable boat. I had never quite realized just how far south Granada actually is until I started looking at this. I've never been in the Caribbean, sadly...

dj
 

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
3,370
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
Thanks, I've posted there also, will see what comes back...

dj
 
Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Another good read is “Gentlemen’s Guide to Passages South” by Bruce Van Sant. Details strategy for island hopping from Bahamas to Southern Caribbean & back. Van Sant has made a living delivering boats and running charters in the region. Has a wealth of experience. Thoroughly enjoyed reading his books, even though I have no aspirations for taking my boat there.
 
Jul 19, 2015
154
Beneteau 343 BVI
Most people don’t make a straight jump from Grenada to New York. They would Island hop up to the Northern islands like the BVI’s or USVI. As far as how long it will take that depends on how fast the boat is and how long you spend at each island or if you have to wait for a weather window. Right now there is a group of boats about to take off from the USVI to head back to the US. The problem right now a lot of the islands are in lock down so you can’t stop at them and if they let you stop they have a 14 day quarantine.
 

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
3,370
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
That's about where I've gotten in my conclusions as to how this would likely be done. So it's really a long term trip and should really be taken with the mentality of island hopping and truly enjoying the trip. So I'm guessing several months, or longer would be a more realistic answer. It's not a "boat delivery" type origin/destination. @BigEasy Thanks for the tip on the guide - I ordered it even though this is not likely anything I'm going to undertake given the realistic logistics. Also as a FYI, my posting on the Crusiers forum has seen 0 responses to date. I've gotten only information here. SBO rocks!

dj
 
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