Antigua v Grenada Hols

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Picks

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Morning,

We are looking to charter a yacht in January/February 2013 to find some sunshine. We are looking at antigua or grenada as they have direct flights from UK (thus ruling out the BVI's ). They both look very similar yachting experiences so would be very grateful of any input from the forum regarding their hols and which is better than the other.

N.B. I still regard myself as a novice sailor but we can both handle a boat in most conditions.

Thanks.
 
As a rule of thumb the further south you go yhe windier it gets. So if it's 15 knots in Antigua it will be 20 knots + in Grenada. The BVI'S have the lghtest winds. Of course gales can happen anywhere but are well forecast. In the BVIS the waves are about 2 to 3 feet in a gale because the islands are an oval shape and close together.

In Grenada there aren't many places to go, there are bays on the south coast all with reef entries and big seas outside because it it open to the Atlantic. There is one small bay on the west coast and then islands north of Grenada which are upwind.

I'd suggest Antigua, lots of bays on the west coast. Places not to miss are English Harbour on the south coast, Green Island east of English Harbour in Nonsuch Bay, west coast of Barbuda not far north of Antigua with a beautiful 10 mile beach on the west coast, take provisions, there is only a small hotel there. If you can drag your dinghy over thre sand near the hotel go over to the main town of Codrington it's like going back to the fifties. If you ask around the locals you should be able to buy fresh lobster caught in the lagoon. If you can't drag the dinghy over ask the hotel to order a water taxi.

There is also a shelterd bay on the coast on Barbuda towards the end of the SE coast with a hotel. If go there you will pass another hotel in the middle of the south coast it is extremely expensive.
 
Take a look at this month's Yachting World, just published, which has a good section on Caribbean sailing generally and a Grenada charter in particular.
 
The islands you favour for flights are both fairly sparse on things to do and places to hangout, but there are always things to do if you don't mind short sails and time on your hands to just soak up the atnosphere.
Antigua would be my choice if those are your only options but for a true sailing holiday there are no alternitives but the Virgin Islands , BVI, USVI and the often forgotten Spanish Virgins all 3-5 hours away with a huge inferstructure set up for holidaying sailors.
If you only sail the caribbean once then make the extra hour flight and come play in the beautiful sheltered waters of the VI's.
Right now 1330 the winds are from the SE @ 15-18knt with 1-2 feet 10 sec interval waves, as the trades fill in over the next few months things will only get better.
Look in the cruising guides before you make up your mind.

Mark
 
Not much to do in Grenada ?? You must be on a different Grenada to me.

Snorkel the statue park. Take the island tour see the rum factory still using the original cane crushing plant with water wheel, chocolate plantation/factory, crater lake, mona monkeys, etc etc.

Then sail up to Tyrell Bay OK this one can be a tough beat if it is round to the NE but once there you have Carriacou, Petit Maritinique, Petit St Vincent, Union Isalnd, Mayreau, The Tobeago Cays, Moustique and even Bequia all within easy reach.

The sail back down to Grenada will usually be a cracking reach.

IMHO More sailing around Grenada and the Grenadines.

OR putter around Antigua [make sure you stay one night in Indian Creek]
 
Flights

Thanks for replies so far. V helpful. We discounted virgin islands cos we thought after flying to Antigua/Grenada then we didn't want to wait around for connecting flights for couple of hours then another hours flight. Is this realistic or is it not as bad as I think?
Cheers.
 
How long are you planning on going sailing for?

The Virgin Islands are not really that much further away in terms of total time taken to get there.

Have a look at LIAT's website - www.liatairline.com

I randomly chose Saturday 12th January - if you arrived at Antigua typically around 1500 hrs on BA or Virgin (I havent looked them up), then there is a LIAT flight leaving Antigua at 1630 hrs, getting into Tortola at 1810 hrs.

The flights are relatively expensive though, as LIAT does not appear to have any competition on this route - Caribbean Airlines are their main competitor generally, but not in this instance, which is a shame.

The Virgins are really pretty easy sailing generally, although it will be busy in January and February.
Sailing around Antigua would be a bit more challenging, as open ocean is involved, especially if you (say) go down to Deshaies in Guadeloupe. But then you have the hassles of clearing in and out with Customs in both countries.

Sailing out of Grenada would be another notch up the challenging scale - and if the trade winds are blowing it can be a right old slog to sail up to Carriacou - fairly hard on the wind, often with a significant west setting current.
If you want to go further north from Carriacou & Petit Martinique then you will need to clear out and then clear in at Union or Bequia, as these islands belong to St Vincent.
And then do the procedure in reverse when you head back south.

There is a lot of useful info re the Windwards and the Leewards (but not the BVIs) on Chris Doyle's website - http://www.doyleguides.com/islands.html

If you do fancy the southern Windwards, but you are not keen on a possible hard slog up to Carriacou from Grenada, you could consider flying to Barbados (flights every day on BA and Virgin), and then going on a puddlejumper across to St Vincent.

Using the 12th January again for reference, there is a LIAT flight from here (Barbados) at 1740 hrs, arriving in St Vincent at 1820 hrs.

It is then just a short taxi ride (10 mins max) to Blue Lagoon where :
Sunsail (http://www.sunsail.com/destinations/caribbean/st-vincent-and-grenadines ),
TMM (http://sailtmm.com/Grenadines/index.cfm?&Reset=1 ) and
Barefoot Yacht Charters (http://barefootyachts.com/ ) are located.
 
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We are thinking of a weeks sailing. Have looked at flights in more detail and total travelling time is about 16 hours so not as bad as I first thought. Looks like BVIs may be more viable option taking into account sailing conditions described by yourselfs.
Cheers.
 
Interesting responses, horses for courses I guess. I' d go for Grenada against other option any day, it is a few years since I sailed there and I had more than a week though.

I don't recall the sail from Grenada to Ronde, Carriacou, Union Canouan being more than an easy reach?

Grenada is a great place to explore on land (when the cruise ships aren't in) has a local culture and history which I loved and grand anse bay and tyrell bay carriacou were good places to learn to dive. As a long term cruiser we had time to relax and enjoy each island for days or weeks though. Talk to the charter company about how far yachts typically get North in the Grenadines as the islands were quite special.

The VI's never did it for me, far too crowded, Antigua is a nice island to sail around with many places to stop from narrow reef entrances to easy big bays, but quite busy. Some memorable places like Nelsons harbour and shirleys kness up but a bit of a baron party island in many ways and the number of tourists is huge for a few attractions.
 
>Snorkel the statue park. Take the island tour see the rum factory still using the original cane crushing plant with water wheel, chocolate plantation/factory, crater lake, mona monkeys, etc etc.

I agree there is lot's to do and we did it when we were liveabords, as you are. However they asked for advice on a sailing holiday not island tours.

>Then sail up to Tyrell Bay OK this one can be a tough beat if ...

Also the OP said he was a novice sailor, having thrashed up north from Grenada many times I wouldn't recommend it for a holiday albeit, as you said, it's usually excellent sailing going back.
 
What about St Vincent. Set sail from the base at the Blue lagoon down via Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Union Island and Tobago Cays(if you have a couple of weeks). It is not recommended to stop around St Vincent due to a reputation for theft etc but it is OK for the start and finish of your trip.
We flew direct to Grenada then Liat up to Blue Lagoon for two weeks. Sailed all the way to Grenada and back in the two weeks. In my opinion far better than Antigua

You cant beat Saltwhistle Bay on Mayreau
 
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My 4-pence worth...

We kept out boat in the BVI for a few years, and then moved to Antigua.

We found the travelling time very much a factor. If you're going for a couple of weeks, then the BVI is fine. For a week Antigua is a better bet.

We found that by the time we got to the boat in the BVI, we'd been travelling for the thick-end of 20 hours, and were knackered. We'd get there late in the evening and just want to sleep. Then in the morning, you wake up at 4am because of the time difference, feel like ****, the after breakfast, shopping, briefing, handover, etc. you don't get away until the afternoon, effectively losing a day's sailing.

With Antigua, we'd get to the boat at about 2pm having travelled for 14 hours feeling ok. We'd sort the boat, go food shopping, go for a swim in the pool at Jolly Harbour, then have a nice dinner and a good night's kip, and were ready to go sailing straight after breakfast the following morning. You also effectivly add a day to the end of your holiday because you don't need to get the boat back until late afternoon on your home day, as you won't have to be at the airport until about 7pm, whereas in the BVI you'll be on a lunchtime flight, which means you have to be back at the charter base the night before so you have time to refuel, do the handover, etc.

So my advice would be that i you're going for a week, go the Antigua. If it's a fortnight, go for the BVI.

Antigua is also cheaper than the BVI for most things, and isn't full of annoying "shouty" yanks.
 
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One thing to be wary of if you island hop on Liat air. Their baggage allowance isn't what you'll get on BA or Virgin. Worth bearing in mind.

That said, loved our fortnight in St Vincent and the Grenadines!
 
Carib charter

Picks said:
Morning,

We are looking to charter a yacht in January/February 2013 to find some sunshine. We are looking at antigua or grenada as they have direct flights from UK (thus ruling out the BVI's ). They both look very similar yachting experiences so would be very grateful of any input from the forum regarding their hols and which is better than the other.

N.B. I still regard myself as a novice sailor but we can both handle a boat in most conditions.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

My 2p's worth. Have chartered in all three extensively.

Antigua: Easy to get to, good sailing and plenty of destinations for 1 week. My favourite - anchoring just behind Green Isl. on the E side. 1wk not really long enough to go up to the NE corner tho.

Grenada: Fun, friendly islanders and lots to see on land. A few great anchorages on S coast, but care is needed through reefs. Saying that, nothing too scary if you study the pilot carefully and v safe inside and not rolly. Going N to the Grenadines is a bit of a slog for 1wk. Usually a motor all up the W coast until you reach the top, then great reach across with winds blowing hard-ish thru the islands and some swell. Best to hug the N coast of Grenada until the last minute, although it does entail sailing right over the underwater volcano! Will take all day to get to Tyrell Bay and you'll need to go to Union Isl to check in for the Tobago Keys, P St Vincent etc. Latter really great anchorage, but TK - though a must - are usually v busy and it's difficult to enter in rough weather.
Great sail back to S Grenada tho, until back in the lee of the island.

BVIs: Easy sailing (bit like the Ionian) - every place is 'line of sight', but a bit boring for those who like a decent long passage. V Americanised - food boring unless you like burgers. Carp beer unless you're a fan of Red Stripe. Several stunning anchorages. My favourite - White Bay on Jost van Dyke.
If you have two weeks go to Spanish VI - my favourite - Culebrita.

Hope this helps a bit!
D
 
>Spanish VI - my favourite - Culebrita.

They might be called the Spanish VI but they are part of Puerto Rico i.e. American. We saw a boat arrive in PR without US visas and they were fined $600 per person. Seems you have been lucky.
 
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