Introduction

Expedition Yacht The Bahamas

A 700-strong series of specks off the coast of Florida – a profusion of islands and cays enveloped in chrysocolla blue – by land mass Bahamas is tiny, but its 30,000sq km of seas have made sailing an inescapable way of life. Bahamian boat building traditions are strong and long-standing, with communities crafting their own unique vessels and myriad local regattas.

The Exumas, a chain of largely uninhabited cays with exceptional ocean biodiversity, are the best sail-and-shore combination. They’re home to the Bahamas’ famous swimming pigs, but also untouched beaches, hiking trails, piratical shipwrecks and underwater caves. Expedition yachts complete with RIB and kayaks bring you close to the endemic iguanas, turtles, parrots and flamingos and you can have a go at swimming with dolphins or even try free- diving to catch local lobster.

At Eleuthera, a slim island group off Nassau in the shape of a shark’s jaw, visitors can laze on pink sand beaches, see historic old forts and fish with locals off the cape. Great Abaco, to the north, offers a paradisiacal village life of empty beaches, colourful towns and a host of restaurants serving freshly caught seafood. Buzzing north-western Bimini, a set of islands beloved by Hemingway, is an extraordinary dive spot where the ruins of Atlantis are said to reside.

Navigating the Bahamas is a joy for old hands and new. The sea-whorls of sand banks and shallow waters provide a challenge, but the ocean’s expanse and easterly trade winds also make it a wonderful place to start sailing. Learn the ropes aboard an expedition clipper with instructors guiding you through the neon blue.

Catamaran The British Virgin Islands

Splashed off the east coast of Puerto Rico is a veritable symphony of sailing. The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is a world-renowned yachting destination with over 50 islets sprinkled around four main islands: Tortola, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda. This British Overseas Territory was once a hotbed of piracy and plunder, said to be the inspiration for Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Today, steady trade winds, myriad easy routes and short hops between islands offer a perfect mix of sailing, exploring, sunbathing and sea life – and spacious catamarans are ideal for socialising and sightseeing. Virgin Gorda’s southernmost point is taken up by The Baths National Park: a playground of ice-blue shallows, caves and tunnels formed by great granite boulders, with hidden paths leading to Devil’s Bay. Snorkel, paddleboard and swim along Virgin Gorda’s north coast; next stop, Anegada, a low-lying coral atoll taken over with wildlife such as the hibiscus-coloured flamingos at the Salt Ponds and its critically endangered rock iguanas. Beef Island, east of Tortola, is known for Trellis Bay, a quiet mooring and tranquil market town until the full moon, when parties puncture starlit nights with food, music and fiery displays. Explore the bays, cays and islands before heading on to the bars, beaches and rainforests of Jost Van Dyke.

Crewed Catamaran St Lucia

There’s no chance of missing the conical peaks that puncture St Lucia’s horizon. The Pitons soar sharp and spectacular on the island’s south-west coast, a jaw-dropping panorama best seen from the ocean. St Lucia, a pendant hung between Martinique and St Vincent and the Grenadines, is a densely packed sailing destination: circumnavigating its teardrop coastline aboard a spacious catamaran brings a conveyor belt of untouched wilderness, ombré bays, scattered houses and sandy stretches that change from ivory to egg-yolk.

The rainforest is the largest draw, coating the island in emerald and an air of mystery. It’s a beautiful backdrop to onboard life, making a vessel with expansive viewing windows a must. The west coast’s broad Rodney Bay makes for an excellent home harbour for exploring between laidback sails and snorkelling the marine park’s reefs. Wander banana plantations and pretty hamlets that hark back to the ‘Old Caribbean’, take a dip in volcano-warmed springs or sink into the botanical garden’s kaleidoscopic blooms. Best yet, explore the rainforest’s waterfalls, wild orchids, tropical birds and volcanic craters.

The west is home not only to the capital, Castries, but the picturesque palm-studded Marigot Bay. Carved out of verdant hillsides, this secluded space for sailors has a marina village of boutiques and restaurants offering fresh seafood with French, Creole and Caribbean influences. Alternatively, a hired chef can provide dinners on board: after washing off the day’s salt, dine accompanied by phenomenal sunsets that bounce off St Lucia’s shadowy landscape. With a crewed catamaran, you can indulge in local rum as skies become a carpet of stars.

Sailors are drawn to St Lucia for its favourable winds and proximity to other islands, with charters and trips often combining it with northern Martinique or southerly St Vincent, as down-island sailings make for enjoyable short hops.

Luxur Luxury Yacht The Grenadines

Chronos’ long bowsprit cuts across the indigo sea, a white needle pointing the way for bottlenose dolphins. Here, where the outline of St Vincent is a faded haze on the horizon, pods flipper and hurl themselves above the waters, showing off to lucky sailors. Wildlife is rife in these waters. As the fully crewed Bermudan Ketch approaches land, the sea becomes clearer and the shallows reveal the slow float of green and loggerhead turtles. While St Vincent is a picturesque stop for lazing on the black sand beaches of Keartons’ bays and lunching at local cafés, it’s the smaller Grenadines that steal the show. The most beautiful is Bequia, the ‘Island of the Clouds’, which has held on tight to charming local life and its rich boatbuilding and fishing heritage. Alongside maritime and whaling museums, Port Elizabeth has shops and spas for those looking to indulge, and there’s plentiful hiking along Bequia’s beaches and Mount Pleasant.

Tobago Cays, a cluster of five sandy islets, wears The Grenadines’ underwater crown. Part of an eponymous marine park, you can step straight off the yacht’s admiralty ladder into the best snorkelling in the Windward Isles. Or watch shoals from deck, visible under the shade of its bright sails. On Baradel, head to the sea turtle watching area or book time with a dive company to explore the great Horseshoe Reef.

At picturesque Union, corals give way to white beaches and towering volcanoes dense with hiking trails and waterfalls. A far cry from chic Mustique, a playground for the wealthy, in wild Union you can swap sea legs for horseback, traversing the spine of hills and private estates before dining in exclusive restaurants. A fully crewed yacht like the 26-berth Chronos, equipped with spacious sundeck, means you can take a slice of Mustique luxury along with you. Hops between The Grenadines take a couple of hours’ sail, leaving the rest of the day to enjoy myriad watersports and explore each unique island.

Tall Ship Turks And Caicos

The great fluttering curves of Diamant’s white sails stand bright against the cloudless sky of Salt Cay, the final inhabited island of Turks and Caicos, once a site of salt production and now a rustic time capsule. Anchoring near Deane’s Dock, you might catch the grate and squawk of Salt Cay’s beloved donkeys, whose ancestors pulled carts on the island. It’s an excellent whale-watching spot – best experienced aboard the intimate hush of a small-capacity windjammer.

For beaches, steer south to the white sand beaches of uninhabited Big Sand Cay, which circle a scrub-and-cactus spit – look out for nesting terns and noddys and, in summer, nurse sharks gliding through transparent waters; the finest stretch, West Bay, is a sheltered spot for mooring yachts.

Technically, these aren’t Caribbean islands – alongside the Bahamas, they’re part of the Tropical Atlantic’s Lucayan Archipelago. They’re home to one of the world’s largest barrier reefs, with 547km of reef. Snorkelling and diving opportunities abound in this remarkable ecosystem, which has the widest blue hole in the world, a huge dry cave system, and plentiful reef sharks, barracuda and rays. With an easily acquired fishing licence, dinner of Nassau grouper can be caught straight off the boat.

The shallow seas – also ideal for spiny lobster and conch – make it a challenging sail, however, so the best option is a fully-crewed schooner. Caicos’ Providenciales is the main tourist island and home port, where most journeys begin. Yachts navigate eastwards to the rock iguanas of Little Water Cay, the flamingo-flecked wetlands and caves of North and Middle Caicos, South Caicos’ Bell Sound lagoon, and on to historic Grand Turk. Along the way, swim in marine nature reserves and dine on fresh seafood amid the tranquil, lapping waves.

Masted Brig Grenada And Tobago

The salt breeze around Grenada’s ports was once scented with nutmeg. Some 137km from South America, Grenada became a hotbed of spice production in the 1700s, later becoming a huge exporter. Its harbours overflowed with cinnamon, mace, cloves, bay, pepper, ginger and vanilla,

and spices remain the largest Grenadian export. Pretty capital St George’s, is a long- time hub for sailors. Beyond the marina shops and restaurants, visitors can find colonial Fort George, vibrant nightlife and glorious Grand Anse Beach. The renowned

spice market still wafts its wares in downtown Market Square, where early-rising chefs roam the stalls. The perfect way to sail such a history-rich island is by joining your own historic vessel. Built in 1911, the two-masted, voluminous-sailed Eye of the Wind explores Grenada,

then travels nearly 185km south to Tobago, an absorbing journey
across the Caribbean Sea. Alongside working as part of the crew, days are spent dolphin and turtle spotting, watching pelicans glide above

the water and luxuriating in the space and quiet afforded by a majestic tall ship. You’ll disembark in Tobago’s Castara Bay, a village that sees local fishing festivals and sinks into calypso, rum and rotis at night. Beyond the small Fort Benett, you can hike the oldest protected rainforest in the Western Hemisphere, or go scuba diving off long beaches.

Private Yacht Antigua And Barbuda

A plethora of white masts springs up from Falmouth Harbour like sound waves on the shoreline. An idyllic collection of villages with glittering yachts, ageing forts and a surfeit of cerulean, the south-east anchorage in Antigua – alongside neighbour English Harbour – is justifiably deemed the sailing centre of the West Indies. History lovers can seek out Nelson’s Dockyard, the world’s oldest working Georgian dockyard, and learn more about the slave trade’s legacy. Beyond the waterfront cafés, hikers can head inland to Shirley Heights for unbelievable views over marbled bays and scalloped green hills.

At easterly Green Island, you can dive into reefs abundant with fish and turtles. Then pass wave- sculpted cliffsides and clear waters of stingrays and sand banks as you head north to North Sound. This is high-end Antigua, where chartering a private luxury yacht pays off. Anchor among super yachts before visiting colourful capital St John’s or exploring tropical forests. During the many annual regattas and races, ports brim with energy and sails paint the sea.

A far cry from Antigua’s glamour, delightfully undeveloped Barbuda is its northerly sister island, a limestone land hollowed out by the ocean, leaving extraordinary sink holes and caves embedded in the lianas and palms. Prolific species include frigate birds, the males’ ballooning scarlet throats vivid against the foliage. Swooping back south on the breeze to Antigua’s north-west, Five Islands Village has a tiny population and sleepy charm. Lie back with a cocktail to the sound of sloshing coves or take your pick of on-board water sports equipment.