The Thorny Path

Sailing from Florida to the Virgin Islands is a dream for many, what’s not to love about a slow island hop down to the Caribbean? However, depending on the time of year, the wind will be your enemy. The trade winds in the Atlantic are a crucial factor in how you sail to the Caribbean. They start around 22°N to 25°N and blow 15 to 25 knots most days from an easterly direction. With the wind on your nose, it’s a long, uphill slog which can carry on for days. There are two routes from Florida to the Virgin Islands: The Thorny Path is a nearshore route, picked through the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, then along the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands. Alternatively, “I-65” is an offshore route that takes you east to longitude 65°W to avoid the trade winds before turning south to sail across them instead of dead upwind.

Queen’s Dream left the docks in Ft. Lauderdale on April 25th. Her destination for Stage #2 would be Grenada by July. The route down through the Carribean would take her through the well-known Virgin Islands. But the route would not be the simple “I-65” offshore route to the VIs. Instead, her crew was destined to experience the challenges and sights of the Thorny Path. Daily weather planning dictated the timing and execution of 20 passages over the next 32 days. For much of the voyage, her sails were stowed, and her iron horses (diesel engines) were called to action. QD pushed forward into the easterly trade winds mile by mile, day by day, and anchorage to anchorage. She would reach the docks of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands on May 26th with 1,257 nautical miles logged for the successful Thorny Path voyage.

Those 32 days were rewarding and immersive. The start of the voyage would have QD crossing the legendary Gulf Stream to Bimini. Then, two full weeks thru the incredible waters and sights of the Bahamas. Her anchor dug into the sands of the Berry Islands, Rose Island near Nassau, the full Exuma island chain and the isolation of the outer islands. She exited the Bahamas on a 3-day sail to Turks & Caicos where she spent five relaxing days. Her next lengthy leg would be a 4-day sail across the northwest side of Dominican Republic to reach the southwest corner of Puerto Rico. For another week, QD would diligently work her way across the southern coast of PR encountering the variety of different anchorages the mountainous island had to offer. She spent her final day in PR on the island of Vieques. As her crew pulled into St. Thomas, the dull memories of the daily windward pushes were easily overpowered by the vivid memories of the places they had seen along the Thorny Path. With the thorns now behind them, the crew looks forward to leveraging the trade winds on the remaining journey South to Grenada.