Sailing from Miami to Grand Caicos

[TAGTeamMember]

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone knew the fastest route sailing from Miami to Grand Caicos? 37 foot sloop. Several people that I am with are debating our destination and time it will take to arrive.

[s/v Jedi]

Fastest route? Sounds like the wrong start to cruising.

Stay north of Bimini, over the bank, north of Nassau, over the (Yellow) bank into Exuma sound for a straight run to Caicos

Can’t do north coast of Cuba because of the strong current running there.

[TAGTeamMember]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Fastest route? Sounds like the wrong start to cruising.

Stay north of Bimini, over the bank, north of Nassau, over the (Yellow) bank into Exuma sound for a straight run to Caicos

Can’t do north coast of Cuba because of the strong current running there.

And how many days do you think that would take?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by TAGTeamMember

And how many days do you think that would take?

Can’t say, that is up to the captain as it’s his/her boat and they know what speed can be logged. We count on better than 200nm/24hr but are a very different boat.

[skipmac]

I am guessing from the question you have little sailing experience? If I am wrong I apologize and please correct me. For now I will answer based on that assumption.


First, the answer is not a simple go to there to there to there et voile that is the fastest route. Will depend on a LOT of factors: captain, crew, boat, draft, time frame, time of year, weather and more.


To get the shortest route get a chart, draw a line from Miami to the Caicos, move the line to avoid islands and shallows. Then follow that line. However in sailing the shortest (or fastest) between to points is not always the straightest line. Are you aware that the Bahamas to the Caicos you are sailing in the NE trade winds? That mean that 90% of the time the winds are more or less from the east. Could be NE, E, SE but more or less east. That means that to the Caicos you have about 600 miles to sail dead against the wind. How well does your boat sail to windward? How well does it motor and how much fuel do you carry?


A very big question, are you in a giant hurry and plan to sail non-stop or work your way through the islands. If the former, head through the NW the NE Providence Channels, out to sea then turn right. You will need a solid boat and a solid crew to do this. If the later then you need to know how to navigate the banks and reefs of the Bahamas and allow a few weeks or even a month or more, depending on the weather.



Speaking of weather, In the winter you will get weather fronts aka cold fronts or northers that will change the wind patterns and bring winds from the opposite direction. However those winds can be 20-30 kts or more and especially in the Gulf Stream can generate large, breaking waves so trying to benefit from a favorable N wind that comes with these fronts can be risky.


Maybe a little more information from you would help?

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by TAGTeamMember

And how many days do you think that would take?

If you are truly planning this trip I would hope you could estimate this yourself.



Get a chart, measure the distance, then for your boat estimate 100 nm/day. Then add more days for weather delays, stops for food, fuel and rest. Add a day or two to clear customs in the Bahamas if you plan to stop there.

[Tingum]

Bahamas will require a customs check in if you stop. If so does Turks and Caicos require an exit clearance from the Bahamas? I don’t know for sure, check NoonSite.

[Stewie12]

Buy the book The Thornless Path and that will take you there the easy way.

[Davie J.]

Grand Bahama, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos