The Windy Windward Islands

North Atlantic Trade Wind Circulation

The Windward Islands

No account of a cruise to the eastern Caribbean would be complete without a discussion of the trade winds, and the terminology that has sprung up over the years as a result. Early sailors to the western hemisphere from Europe soon learned that the most favorable winds for sailing west were in the latitudes between approximately 12 and 20 degrees north, not coincidentally, about the latitude of the Caribbean Islands. By heading south from europe until reaching those latitudes they could be assured of favorable easterly winds all the way across. To return to Europe they would sail further north along the coast of what is now the United States until reaching the zone of prevailing south westerly winds which would conveniently give them a speedy sail back across the Atlantic. These became the so called trading routes whereby cargo was transported back and forth between Europe and North America. But we digress. In sailing terminology "windward" always refers to what the wind strikes first, whether it be the upwind side of a ship, or the windy side of an island. In the case of the Caribbean, the Windward Islands became those which extended farthest to the east, and the Leeward Islands, of course, were the islands more to the west which were further downwind in the prevailing easterly breezes. Breeze may not fully do justice to the trade winds however since they frequently blow for days on end with a force of over 20 knots (about 23 miles per hour or greater).

To make a long story short we have spent the last three weeks or so in the Windward Islands, starting with Martinique. The Trade Winds have lived up to their reputation and we have seen some very breezy conditions as a result. That factors into the cruise plan of course and has a great deal of influence on the choice of harbors for spending the night, the route taken and the timing. It has also had the effect of turning us into "morning people" since the calmest part of the day tends to be from just before dawn until about 9:00 AM.

When crossing the open water between islands it pays to be there in the calmest conditions since wave heights during the mid-day peak frequently reach 6 to 8 feet, sometimes more. The result of all this has been a general strategy of finding a sheltered spot near the south western end of an island to spend the night, get a very early start before dawn, cross the open water south to the next island, and then find a protected harbor on the west side to anchor out. That is how we progressed southward along St Lucia, St Vincent, the Grenadines, and on to Grenada.

Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique and St Lucia

We have made a lot of south bound progress since our last post from Antigua and are now less than 150 miles from reaching our goal of Grenada. We've made some stops along the way of course, first an overnight anchorage in Deshaies Harbor in northern Guadeloupe, and then several nights in the small, scenic Iles de Saints in southern Guadeloupe. From there we skirted the coast of Dominica on the way to Martinique where we made landfall in the large, busy harbor of Fort-de-France. In the interest of getting south while we had a good weather window, it was decided that we would save Dominica for the trip back north, and go directly to Martinique where we have fond memories of a past vacation. Southern Martinique has changed a lot since we were there in the '80s and the port of Le Marin is now bustling with literally thousands of cruising yachts - all shapes, sizes and descriptions. We spent several nights at the incredibly busy Port Marin Marina feeling a bit like we were docked in Times Square or Grand Central Terminal. It is a very convenient location however with good access to all kinds of marine supplies and services, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. We also met up with internet acquaintances, Chuck and Barb, who have been cruising the Caribbean for many years on their nicely appointed Krogen 48 trawler. It is always good to get first hand information from people who have already been there. Today we made the next jump south to St Lucia where we will spend a few days cruising the coast and taking in the many scenic attractions before proceeding on to the Grenadines.