seeking help and suggestions.

[Subway Sailor]

Good day friends,

i am taking the time to ask you all for your 2 cents on my upcoming vacation with my lady to the caribbean. we will be finishing asa 103 +104 in st. marten in order to charter the first boat and am not familiar with the areas.

Our plan is to do st. marten->st kitts & nevis -> antigua -> barbuda -> anguilla -> then return the boat in tortola as per my pre-approved request to the charter company.

In an effort to keep my lady entertained and give her something other than boat "stuff" to do and look forward to....just wanted to know if you had any suggestions on what to do, eat, and see....and most important of all...what to avoid/safety..
i've read a thing or two about break-in in st. kitts around 2009, robberies, etc...thanks..

[Hud3]

Regarding St Kitts and Nevis, I lived on Nevis for six years after visiting the island while cruising for the previous two season--lovely place and friendly people. My recommendation is to head for Nevis, clear in and pick up a mooring. If you want to visit St Kitts (and there are some nice things to do and see there), just take the 45 minute ferry over. You can also sail over to Majors Bay and enjoy the beach and beach bar. I can give you more specific recommendations for onshore activities if you like.

Antigua is dead upwind from Nevis. It takes about 9-10 hours to motor-sail to Jolly Harbour.

[maytrix]

How long are you going for? When will you be going?

Only issue I could see is the return to Tortola as you'll want a good weather window for that.

[CaptTL]

The sail to Tortola from St. Martin is over 100 miles. Depending on your speed that can take 15 hours or more. You sure you want to do that as a novice with a woman who may or may not appreciate the finer points of open water sailing? I'm surprised the charter company is signing off on that.

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[Stu Jackson]

A few years ago a friend invited me to join him in Antigua for a two week sail. I ended up not going (darn!) because of work commitments, but I do recall buying the cruising guide for the area. That book covered EVERYTHING you've asked, other than the "how safe is it and what restaurants and bars do other people like?" questions. For the life of me I don't understand these questions.

With all due apologies to the OP if he has already read the books and still has specific questions.

[Subway Sailor]

I am really looking for that local spot. I don't want a mass tourist trap unless it's something local that blew up and became very popular...i have been contemplating cutting barbuda out due to the sail time to the destination. I'm not sure weather to just leave st martin and go straight to Antigua in one shot.

Now we are new to chartering not sailing. She'll do just fine as a woman. We are just very intense when we travel and i want to make the trip as simple as possible. I figured with easterly winds we have a better chance to go for the bottom first, then work our way up and over to Tortola...