By marty2013 - 18 Oct 2016
Hello , we crossed the Atlantic , Canaries to Martinique with the Atlantic Odyssey early 2016 , and after sailing the islands , the boat is on the hard in Clarkes Court in Grenada .
Our goal is to go through the canal in 2018 but we are undecided what to do this coming season ...we could ....
1. Sail the islands again and park at Grenada or Trinidad one more year
2. Sail west ..to ABC,s visit Columbia ..there s an attractive ISG Marina at Santa Marta ...then do the San Blas Island s and then leave the boat at a Marina in Panama ?
3. Sail up to Jamaica / Cuba and the down to Panama to leave the boat .
Clearly I ve not studied wind/ currents at length , but would really appreciate any ideas from members on this . Many thanks , Martin
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By Delphinus - 2 Nov 2016
Hi Martin
We are also in Grenada and plan to head west over the coming months. Rough plan is Martinique, ABC 's, Columbia, Cuba, Cayman 's and Guatemala for next hurricane season. I have found this website most useful for passage weather planning, http://www.accidentalcruiser.com/features/weatherRouting.html
I hope you find it useful.
Best wishes
Jayne (Delphinus)
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By marty2013 - 6 Nov 2016
thanks Jayne ...are you planning Columbia to Cuba ?
Cheers Martin
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By Delphinus - 7 Nov 2016
That was our initial intention yes but we might take the Central American coastal route, Panama (San Blas) Costa Rica etc.
The link I sent to you suggests Columbia to Cuba is best taken from March and we might want to get moving from Columbia before then. So unless we get a window we might head along the coast.
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By marty2013 - 12 Nov 2016
Thanks Jayne
I had always thought that once over by Panama , there was no easy way East for a sailing yacht , but it seems one can , as you are thinking to do , go via the central american coast and then east , although i would have thought the last bit would be challenging
Thanks , Martin
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By Delphinus - 12 Nov 2016
Our plan is to sail up to the Yutacan peninsular, wait for light winds and then motor the 100 or so miles east to western Cuba. We 'll then hop along the north coast. Will be a bit challenging at times no doubt but we 're looking forward to it.
I hope you have a great season whatever you end up doing and if you see Delphinus out there please give us a shout.
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By archive - 14 Nov 2016
The ABCs are very nice and worth a stop. We left our boat in Spanish wells. Bonaire has wonderful diving, so don 't miss it. Columbia is well worth spending time in. Travel inland, go to the mountains. It is cheap and very interesting. The Rosasrio Islands of Columbia are well worth your time. We left the boat in Cartagenia. San Andreas and Providencia make a great stop between Columbia and Panama. Panama is also worth time, especially the San Blas Islands. A trip up the Rio Chagas will put you in a tropical jungle paradise with very little effort. We left the boat in Bocas del Toro and enjoyed the area.
You can take buses all over Central America very reasonably so take the time to travel inland.
If you are going to Cuba, add Rio Dulce Guatemala. We spent a hurricane season there. It makes a great base for exploring inland, seeing the ancient Mayan ruins , Antigua and the rest of Central America.
The best advice I would have is don 't rush through this region. You can stay out of the hurricane zone and have fantastic cruising all year. As to the down side. there is lots of thunder and lightening and high humidity.
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By jchaundy - 17 Nov 2016
Hi Martin,
We are also in Clarkes Court and hope to launch 20th December after two weeks preparation..
We cruised the Caribbean Sea in 2008 including Guatemala , Belize and Panama and glad to discuss..hopefully face to face .? !
Regards John & Chris. s/v Sara II
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