Which way?

[ian snell]

Hi,
Can anybody tell me which route would be best to take from Georgia to the BVI's? there seems to be a lot of different ideas floating about... no pun intended. If the offshore route is best how far east shoud I head before turning?
Cheers

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by ian snell

Hi,
Can anybody tell me which route would be best to take from Georgia to the BVI's? there seems to be a lot of different ideas floating about... no pun intended. If the offshore route is best how far east shoud I head before turning?
Cheers

Bermuda.

TaoJones

[JusDreaming]

head southeast to 65 and turn and turn right,

[Amgine]

Taojones has it right. The Admiralty description (available here) says to get east, passing either side of Bermuda, continuing east to not quite 60° W (depending on the time of year) before entering the tropic and steering southward, allowing for the leeward current.

[GordMay]

Route 65

The following was originally excerpted from an article by noted cruising guide author Donald M. Street.
< Donald M. Street Jr. - Home >
I regret that I don’t recall the original source location.

Picking Your Point of Departure ~ by Donald Street

The departure points on the U.S. East Coast for most boats bound for the Caribbean can be grouped into four geographical sections:
Southern New England
Beaufort, North Carolina, just south of Cape Hatteras;
The Virginia capes
Southern Florida

From southern New England: The passage sailed directly from southern New England presents the same problem as the Virginia-capes route: You have a long distance to sail before crossing the Gulf Stream. On this route, you’ll have to sail 400 to 450 miles to clear the Stream. But as competitors in the annual races to Bermuda have shown, you can use the features of this current to your advantage.
Unless you’re sailing a very big boat (90 feet or longer), you don’t want to leave from southern New England on the face of a northwester. Wait till the front blows through, then get across the Gulf Stream as fast as possible. If the wind is light, turn on the engine. This is the time to use your fuel. It’s important to get across the Stream and south of 30 degrees north as quickly as possible.

When departing from Beaufort, wait for a northwest front to come through. Take off at the top of the tide and head south, paralleling Cape Lookout shoals. Once clear of the shoals, head east/southeast (until the butter melts, as they say), then turn south to the islands. Usually the northwester will blow you across the Stream; then the wind will clock north to northeast, all favorable on your east/southeast course. Sometimes the northeast wind will carry you down to the trades, providing you with wind all the way to your destination. Early in the passage, it’s important to work your way as far east as practical before you hit the trades farther south, which in my experience tend to blow from the east, east-southeast, or southeast in November.

If the Intracoastal Waterway isn’t an option, the next best jumping-off point is the Virginia capes. Wait in Little Creek, Virginia, for a good weather report. From here, you don’t want to take off on the face of a northwester unless you’re on a very big boat capable of making good time. To cross the Gulf Stream will require 300 to 350 miles of sailing, and if you don’t cover this stretch before the northwester clocks to northeast, the wind will be blowing directly against the Stream while you cross it. Depending on where you hit the Stream, it will be setting northeast at anywhere from 1 to 3 knots. A northeaster against this current can set up survival conditions for many small boats.
When sailing from the capes, leave with a good weather report, steer east southeast, and get across the Stream as fast as possible. Once across the Stream, head south to get below 30 degrees north, which is pretty much the southern boundary of the gale area.

If you’re in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area, the fast and easy way to get to the Caribbean is to cross the Stream to Freeport, in the Bahamas, then wait there until a norther is approaching. As it arrives, take off through Northwest Providence Channel. The norther may blow hard, but since you’re starting in the lee of Grand Bahama, you may have smooth water until you exit Northeast Providence Channel, where the sea will increase.

The northerly wind will allow you to hold a course due east. Again, try to make as much easting in this wind as possible, because the wind will gradually ease and clock toward the east. When it does, go on the port tack and see what you can lay.

There is, of course, the so-called "thornless" path extolled by Bruce Van Sant in his popular cruising guide, The Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South. This route leads through the Bahamas and along the northern coast of Hispaniola. It’s based on the premise that you have plenty of time and can wait for weather windows. But as I see it, with all the stopping and waiting for weather windows, the whole winter season may be over by the time you reach the eastern Caribbean. Then you’re left with the choice of either heading back to the States or south to Grenada, Trinidad, or Venezuela to get out of the hurricane zone.