Dis No Big T'ing

Windjammer, Windjammer where have you been?: 18 Apr 09

This year’s sailing plan is no small feat! We are headed north and hope to eventually arrive at 35N the upper limit of the Caribbean hurricane belt. The Motleys are now nervously sitting in Trinidad at 11N, below its lower limit, hoping that the seasonal south easterlies start coming in, soooon please! This could mean a pleasant but quick sail northwards. So there may be little time for sightseeing until we arrive in the Bahamas, where we hope to have 2 weeks of bobbing about on the Banks before crossing the Gulf Stream into West Palm Beach and the ICW. We’ve planned 5 stages…

Stage 1: Leeward & Windward Islands

Firstly we intend to hike up island, over-nighting only until we reach Bequia where we will recoup for a few days. From there our next rest-stop will be Pointe a Pitre on Guadeloupe for a quick touristy diversion through La Riviere Salee, a “creek” that separates the two islands of Guadeloupe. After that, we will sail for English Harbour, Antigua to catch our breath before crossing to Nevis, St Kitts, Statia and Saba (& bypassing volcanic Montserrat). This leg (I hope) should take us just over 2 weeks.

We did make: Montserrat's tropical gardens

Stage2: US & Spanish Virgins

From Saba, after another long & overnight sail, we will rest at St Croix (said “croy”), then Culebra before sliding alongside the south coast of Puerto Rico for about 4 to 5 days. From Boqueron (SE coast of Puerto Rico) our destination will be Providenciales, in the Caicos Islands. This will be our longest leg yet and involve a crossing of the infamous Mona Passage before bypassing the Dominican Republic – no time to stop! All this, given fair winds and calm seas, we hope to achieve by early to mid June.

We also managed to stop in St Croix

Stage 3: Bahamas

Once in the Caicos, we should have an easy passage to George Town, Great Exuma. There we can then slow down for a 2 week mooch across the Bahama Banks to either West End (on Little Bahama Bank) or the Bimini Islands before abandoning ourselves to the mercy of those fickle Gulf Stream gods for a safe arrival at West Palm Beach, on the Florida coastline late June to early July.

Shallow Exuma Island chain 

Stage 4: Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway

For those who thought our destination was Miami, we chose West Palm Beach instead as it's further north along the ICW and is also (relatively) quieter; away from Miami’s concrete canal canyons, stink boats and maze of bridges that must be negotiated – all in a 46 footer which will suddenly assume QE2 proportions in the ICW’s confined spaces. Dashed are my hopes of running into the guy (with the sunnies) from CSI Miami, the Everglades and Key West…darn.

Once in the relative safety of the ICW canal system, we can say goodbye to turquoise blue waters & tropical charms. However, we can amble along, motoring over 800nm for a month to 6 weeks, stopping to tour grand southern mansions of the Carolinas before spitting out at Norfolk into Chesapeake Bay. We will, by then, be well above said safety margin of 35N (yeah!!) and hopefully not had to use towing insurance – fingers crossed!!

Yes, many more bridges to come along the ICW

Stage 5: Chesapeake to New York & return

Depending upon remaining time & energy – we are flying out of New York in early October – the Motleys hope to take in a little of the Chesapeake, visit Washington DC and then round Cape May to New York. WJ3 will then be left to her own devices in a Chesapeake Marina to winter in much chillier waters than she’s used to.

So far, the Galley Slave has produced serious passage notes on Stage 1 only…she needs a white board! Personally, I think she’s gone into decline since our little stove has been taken away for servicing.

And who could miss New York City?