Need help

[Dswizzler]

After spending 5 years in Mexico, we are now in Bocas Del Toro, Panamá looking to head to the Caribbean in the fall, wondering who has done this route before. We are planning on going due north to Jamaica. Looking at the charts, I understand the wind is always due east so I would have that on my beam.

Is it a better route to go to north to Mexico, then just go due east into the wind for 5e entire run to Puerto Rico ? Thanks for any help

 

[Lostsailor13]

gotta watch weather reports closely,try to pick the optimal window for passage,and choose shortest route,if not would be a much more comfortable steam takin it on the bow then rockin and rollin the whole way on a beam sea

 

[Dswizzler]

That is about the most generic answer I have ever seen, take the short route , watch the weather, really ? Do you get paid to comment ?

 

[mvweebles]

I've done the western caribbean run from Panama Canal to Florida, following the Gulf Stream past the west end of Cuba. It was on a Nordhavn 57 and a difficult 5-days or so with constant 8-foot seas that kept pushing me west. That was in 2004, and the geo-political situation has changed which I'm sure you know better than I do. If I recall, the Pilot Charts show May as the best month, but who knows these days.

Personally, I'd look at getting as far east in Colombia as possible without encroaching on Venezuela's strife - Santa Marta (Baranquilla) is supposed to be a decent town. I too had issues with NE seas, so I think headed to Port Antonio Jamaica might be a bit too far north, but workable, then work down past Hispaniola into Puerto Rico.

You may want to bone-up on Latitude 38, a sailing magazine out of San Francisco. They used to sail from SF to Antigua every couple years and have excellent knowledge on running from Panama to the easter Caribbean.

Please keep us updated. I'm very interested in your decisions here.

Peter

PS - I assembled the attached chartlet, though it doesn't cover the eastern Caribbean. But might give some help.

 

[Dswizzler]

Thanks a lot, this make a lot of sense why I don’t see a lot of boats going that way. I have been told it is a hard run and I am not stabilized and planning to make the trip this fall. I’ll keep you posted and thanks for the insight