USVI to Bahamas

[Sea Lyon]

We are currently in the USVI and heading back to the US. We want to go thru Bahamas on the way.

We are considering two routes:

First being do day passages down south coast of Puerto Rico then from west coast of Puerto Rico sail north west thru Mono Passage to Turks and Cacaos then on to Bahamas. Essentially back tracking what we did going east on the Thorny Path.

Second option would be to sail straight from St Thomas north of Puerto Rico to either Mayaguana Bahamas or Inagua.

We are a Island Packet 370. Have not done much down wind sailing as we took Thorny Path here. We like to minimize the over night sails as much as we can but are not adverse to sailing overnight.

Would love to hear from any one with experience in this area.

[pete33458]

Not sure what information you are looking for exactly. Nice run. Don't do it without a whisker pole, generally dead downwind and following seas. I didn't stop in Bahamas just went around Andros to Miami but when we were considering that it was Turks and then up the Exumas. You can also stop in the DR, Cofresi or Luperon to break it up, gonna be tough not to go overnight, we were screaming and it was 4 days from BVI to Miami. Pete

[skipmac]

Have made the trip a few times. Only traveled the south coast route once and much of the time the mountains of PR and Hispaniola blanketed the winds so ended up motoring a lot.

North coast there are stops to make to break up the trip but like pete33458 said, not likely you will be able to do the trip without any overnights. Winds can vary from NE to ESE but will be a nice downwind run. I did manage it once without a whisker pole and lived to tell about it.

[Off Trail]

We just finished this leg and arrived in Inagua yesterday. Since you say you prefer day hops, the southern route is probably preferred.

We puttered through the SVI and PR stopping to enjoy along the way. Lots to see and snorkel. Met many folks motoring the other direction and struggling to make miles, but for us it was all brisk downwinds. Sleep in until the winds come up, then blast down as far as you like in a day. Spent a month. Then reprovisioned in Puerto Real... good prices and selection in PR. Jumped to Inagua in 3 days. Really enjoyed our time in PR.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Off Trail

We just finished this leg and arrived in Inagua yesterday. Since you say you prefer day hops, the southern route is probably preferred.

We puttered through the SVI and PR stopping to enjoy along the way. Lots to see and snorkel. Met many folks motoring the other direction and struggling to make miles, but for us it was all brisk downwinds. Sleep in until the winds come up, then blast down as far as you like in a day. Spent a month. Then reprovisioned in Puerto Real... good prices and selection in PR. Jumped to Inagua in 3 days. Really enjoyed our time in PR.

Thanks for the update. How was the health of the coral reefs on the south side. We never actually stopped but did our blasting east bound to get to St Thomas due to a rare favorable wind

[Meandercp]

I agree that the south coast is better for day sailing. If you have the Gentleman's Guide to Passage South just do the opposite of what it says. The nice part is that instead of stopping every few miles to wait for the wind to die, you can easily sail past any stops that don't appeal to you because there are plenty of others listed and they will be down wind. Take as long as you want. I don't remember having a problem with not enough wind in April and May. The later in April or May, the less chance of running into a Norther as you get into the Turks and Caicos and Bahamas. Sometime in June, the wind often gets pretty light in the Bahamas.

[Off Trail]

NW Culebra has great coral. Also the reefs off La Parguera were in good shape. We anchored at the fluorescent bay there (a fun midnight outing) and did day trips to the reefs. All much better than USVI.

[Cool Hand Luke]

This was my path from St. Croix to Florida via Puerto Rico, DR, Haiti, and then a stop over at Great Inagua, Bahamas, to drop off a crew member. This was March 2017. Worked out great! But, yes... we did do a couple overnights.

[sck5]

I went from St. Maarten to Marsh Harbour direct. Great sailing! Both the wind and the current in your favor. Took a week (the wind went light the last couple of days) but I remember it as a really nice passage. We had scoped out other islands on the way in case we needed to stop but ended up carrying on all the way to the Abacos.

[Sea Lyon]

Originally Posted by Off Trail

We just finished this leg and arrived in Inagua yesterday. Since you say you prefer day hops, the southern route is probably preferred.

We puttered through the SVI and PR stopping to enjoy along the way. Lots to see and snorkel. Met many folks motoring the other direction and struggling to make miles, but for us it was all brisk downwinds. Sleep in until the winds come up, then blast down as far as you like in a day. Spent a month. Then reprovisioned in Puerto Real... good prices and selection in PR. Jumped to Inagua in 3 days. Really enjoyed our time in PR.

Thanks for input! We sail overnight pretty often and don't mind it but seems like neither one of us is good a sleeping when off watch. Would probably get better after a night or two. Where did you depart PR for Bahamas? We did Thorny Path coming a couple of years ago MonoPassage was not great going east but west ought to be ok!

[Off Trail]

Originally Posted by Sea Lyon

Where did you depart PR for Bahamas? We did Thorny Path coming a couple of years ago MonoPassage was not great going east but west ought to be ok!

We stayed in Marina Pescaderia, Puerto Real for 2 nights.... first marina this year. Staff was great and helpful. Free dinghy dock for the anchorage folks. Rented a car at the marina to reprovision and get covid tests.

Mona was a bit sloppy but a fast&fun deep reach, no problems.

As far as sleep, yes the first night is always the hardest. Not to drift too far, but we switched to 5-hour overnight shifts (for two people) last year and IMO it's been a success. 8-1 followed by 1-6. Provides enough time to settle down and get real sleep.

Have fun!