I typed up our float plan and added notes. Hope you find this helpful! If you have any questions, fee free to ask.


Grenada November 17-29, 2017

Day 1 Sleep Aboard True Blue Bay Resort and Marina

Provision at the local IGA. Chart briefing and check out for the Captain and First Mate. Unpack and stow provisions aboard Horizon Yacht Charters Leopard 43 catamaran. Dine at True Blue for dinner.

Day 2 True Blue Marina to Dragon Bay, Grenada 8.5 NM

Breakfast at True Blue before pushing off dock at 9:00 am. First port of call - Dragon Bay is a beautiful, quiet anchorage with 2 mooring balls. Bonus snorkel off Moliniere Point to view the underwater sculpture park. Snorkeling in Dragon Bay pretty good too – swam through blizzards of bait fish. There is a small beach bar in the anchorage - Matthews Beach Bar, very simple, but do stop in for a rum punch or beer. Originally we were going to head to Sandy Island, but opted for Dragon Bay for a few reasons. First it would be a short distance to shakedown and get used to the boat, second we were jet lagged and tired from the activities the day before - provisioning, check out, chart briefing, unpacking and stowing. Dragon Bay the right choice for us and enjoyed the snorkel off Moliniere Point.

Day 3 Dragon Bay, Grenada to Sandy Island, Carriacou. 30 NM to weather.

The wind averaged 20 knts and the passage was rather lumpy. Put out a handline in the passage between Grenada and Carriacou, caught a few king fish. Upon arriving at Sandy Island, approx 10 mooring balls or if not available anchor. Boat boys come by in the early afternoon to advertise their beach BBQ in Tobago Cays. They also sell fresh fish. We purchased a large lobster and small tuna for 150 EC or $55 USD. Excellent snorkeling off the eastern end of Sandy Island.

Day 4 Motor to Hillsborough to check out 1.5 NM, then on to Clifton Harbor, Union Island, St. Vincent and Grenadines to check in 8 NM.

If you do not plan on staying in Union DO NOT take a mooring - anchor. While the skipper and first mate went ashore to check in, a boat boy collected a fee for being on the mooring longer than 30 min. It takes longer than 30 min to check in. Our friends wanted to stay at Union for the night and since we paid for the mooring, we decided to stay. We visited Happy Island Bar and enjoyed watching the plethora of kite boarders catching air. Union also has great produce stands and markets to top up provisions.

Day 5 Clifton Harbor, Union Island to Tobago Cays 7 NM.

Moorings and anchorage. We moored close to the turtle sanctuary. Very nice snorkeling on the reef. Explore Baradel Island, saw a few huge iguanas. A must is to dine at one of the beach BBQs for dinner. Recommend Romeo or Alfonso. 70 EC for tuna or 90 EC for lobster dinner – outstanding! Make sure to bring ziplocs to take leftovers back to the boat. Also bring flash lights or nav light for the dinghy to get back to your boat and leave some sort of light on your boat other than a mooring light so that you are able to identify your boat – it was rather difficult to find our boat as there was no moon. The night sky is inky jet black and the stars are INCREDIBLE.
Some of the boat boys offer rides to Petit Tabac – Island featured in Pirates of the Caribbean where Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth were stranded. A few years ago we took our dinghy, navigating through the narrow dingy passage – but wouldn’t do that again unless the sea is very calm, it is far too dangerous.

Day 6 Tobago Cays to Bequia 26 NM.

Sailing to weather again. Wind averaged 20 Knts our boat speed averaged 8.5 Knts. Enjoyed a late lunch at Whaleboner on the waterfront. Walk the town and pop in to the boat model shop where half hulls are carved. Dinner at the Fig Tree – free salsa lessons after dinner. Excellent shop in town for provisioning – Doris’s Market. We wish we had taken a taxi tour but simply did not have time.

Day 7 Bequia to Chatham Bay, Union Island 30 NM.

Lovely, quiet anchorage. Stopped by Vanessa and Seckies for lambi fritters aka conch fritters and then on to Aqua Restaurant for dinner. Really nice wine selection and food very nice too. Chatham Bay is one of our favorites due to being calm and quiet. It is the path less taken.

Day 8 Chatham Bay Union Island to Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau 5 NM.

Boat boys often hover just outside the anchorage. Upon approach flag one down and ask them to find a mooring for you. This anchorage was full when we arrived and our boat boy knew of a yachtsman about to depart. He motored ahead and “reserved” our mooring for us. Explore the picturesque beach. Walk up to see the view from the small church, outstanding view of Tobago cays. Walk in to town and stop by Robert Righteous bar for a local hairoun and listen to him and his son play the drums. Quite entertaining!

Day 9 Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau to Clifton Harbor, Union to Check out and on to Mopion, then PSV for the evening – 10 NM .

We checked out on a weekend so had to go to the airport. A short walk from town. Topped up provisions for the remainder of the trip. Short sail to Mopion, an island similar to Sandy Spit in the BVI. Nice to visit for a few photos but can become crowded with day trippers visiting with picnic baskets. We stayed about 45 min for a few photo ops. On to PSV to anchor off the resort. Great resort similar to Peter Island Resort in the BVIs. There are rules about where cruisers can visit ashore because they wish to keep the island exclusive for their guests. Very high end beach bar with prices that match, but well worth it.

Day 10 PSV to Hillsborough, Carriacou to check in then on to Sandy Island for the evening 7.5 NM.

We left PSV at 8:00 am ensuring we would arrive in Hillsborough early to check in. Unfortunately, a super yacht beat us in along with 3 other boats. We were in line to check in for approx. 2.5 hours. We left the C&I office shortly after 1 pm and headed to Sandy Island for another swim, snorkel and bbq dinner on the boat.

Day 11 Sandy Island, Carriacou to Dragon Bay 30 NM.

One the way we poked our nose into Il de Ronde, but felt we were running out of time, so ate lunch underway and continued on to our destination for the evening. Our choices were Grand Mal, Dragon Bay or Flamingo Bay for the evening. We stopped in Flamingo Bay, but noticed garbage burning perhaps a dump that we could smell, so we opted to end our trip in the first bay we started in, Dragon Bay. Enjoyed another snorkel and magnificent rainbows.

Day 12 Dragon Bay to True Blue 8.5 NM

Up early to finish packing and a short motor sail back to True Blue. Boat check out and off the catamaran by 11:00 am and a quick drink at the bar at True Blue before taking a whirlwind tour of Grenada – visiting the spice market, Grenada Yacht Club, rainforest, waterfalls, rum factory and House of Chocolate. Back to True Blue for our final night in Grenada. It was a fabulous trip!


Please note that the distances are approximate. Yes we repeated some of our destinations, but this is because of distances sailed. Everything runs on island time so don’t expect to stick to a rigid itinerary or schedule. Things take longer from checking out and in, to provisioning, to sailing. We often divided the crew to conquer tasks to save time such as captain and first mate check out and crew top provisions, dispose of garbage etc. The passages can be bumpy but the sailing is exhilarating! The local people are incredibly friendly and the boat boys far less aggressive than our visit 5 years ago. Would we go back… DEFINITELY!

Hi. I made this it's own thread, so the fact that it is a trip report wouldn't be missed. Thanks for posting!

Outstanding report! Thank you for all of the detail it was very helpful.

How much would you pay the boat boys for finding a mooring ball? Was there a lot of negotiating with them? Also, were the mooring balls all well maintained? After reading the cruising guide I thought we would mostly be at anchor, but looking at your report it sounds like mooring balls are available almost everywhere.

Did you use USD or did you convert to Ec?

Thanks again!

I believe we gave the Boat Boy 10 EC in Salt Whistle Bay plus we purchased fresh fish from him for 120 EC. He cleaned and filleted the tuna off the back of our boat, which was a nice service. We found the boat boys to be far less aggressive and extremely friendly this trip compared to our trip in 2012. But we did not venture up to St. Vincent or St. Lucia this trip. We found the most aggressive boat boys in St. Lucia.

There are mooring balls in quite a few destinations, but our preference is to anchor for obvious reasons. If we take a mooring we are very picky and choose the ones that look well maintained. We do back down on a mooring to ensure it is secure.

In terms of currency, they are happy with either. I would bring small US denominations in which to tip with. Way easier than converting to EC. In fact I believe most places take USD.

Enjoy your trip. It is refreshingly different than sailing in the BVIs.