"BeeRich" wrote in message
...
Hiya folks.

Anybody done this trip? Any recommendations, cautions, stories? I'm
wanting to take a sailboat with a crewmate from Florida to BVI via
Abacos, along the islands.

Any input appreciated.

Cheers

You won't get any valid input here. This group consists of pretenders and
wannabes mostly of the small motor boat type. Few, if any, have been out of
sight of land.

No real sailor even attempts to do the route you've described. Why? Because
it's all against the prevailing winds and currents. It can be done in a
motorboat if you don't mind pounding day after day, week after week into
wind and wave but a sailboat can't do it comfortably or at all. Somebody
suggested reading "The Thorny Path." Don't bother! That book is a joke.
It's all about waiting for periods of no wind and then using an engine to
coastwise hop from port to port. Cuba plays a significant part in the route.
Big engines an even greater part.

No, forget about sailing from Miami to the BVIs via the Bahamas. It's
unworkable. It's too long a slog to weather even for a well-found yacht such
as my Swan 68. You might find yourself making good only fifty or so miles a
day.

What you need to do is take the "I-65 route." That is depart out of Miami
and head northeast to east as the prevailing SE winds allow. Proceed on your
course north of the Abacos chain (the Gulf Stream will assist your northerly
progress) and keep going until you arrive at longitude 65w. (You will be
close to Bermuda so if you wish to rest you might consider stopping there.)
Then come about and turn south on a port tack and close haul or reach down
to the BVIs. This should take you two to three weeks. Don't do it during
hurricane season. Middle of May to middle of June is the time to go. Be sure
you have a place to hide in the BVIs during hurricane season.

Wilbur Hubbard
Swan 68