Science Fair Project: How to Sail the Caribbean

Science Fair Project: How to Sail the Caribbean

Word count: 702

by Mort Barish

Many visions come to mind when you contemplate sailing in the Caribbean. What a subject for a science fair project! Once the stronghold for pirates like Blackbeard and Morgan, now the Caribbean is a gigantic vacation land for millions of tourists, and the home of millions of people.

Most people who sail to the Caribbean come from the east coast of the United States. Fort Lauderdale is a good starting point. You can get anything you need to provision your boat in Fort Lauderdale. Virtually every company that makes yachting equipment of all types has a facility in Lauderdale. You can usually depend on good weather too, for it is only about an hour or so north of Miami. Get all of these facts and figures in order to do your fourth grade science fair project, or for that matter for any other grade.

You should do your homework when it comes to getting the right boat for the trip. The Caribbean is about 2000 miles from east to west, going from the West Indies to Mexico. The north south mileage will vary but it will average about 500 to 600 miles from the northern coast of South America to the Greater Antilles which include Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hispaniola and several other smaller islands.

Your boat can be sail or power, but there are advantages and limitations to both. A sailboat is good because is doesn’t require much fuel. Especially in the Caribbean where the trade winds blow from east to west. The islands of the Lesser Antilles, also known as the West Indies generally run north to south. So if you are in a sailing vessel, you can easily navigate either north or south with favorable winds, which will be on a broad reach or a close reach.

Get all of this data down for your ideas and experiments for science fair projects. Sail is good when the wind and the seas are high. Sailboats have much deeper keels than power boats and can negotiate heavier seas and winds when they are on a 15 degree angle of heel. Power boats have to sail flat. If the worse case ever arises, a sailboat can tip over and then come back up again. Once a power boat tips, just say goodbye.
Power boats need a lot of fuel, preferably diesel. I do not like gasoline powered boats, because gasoline can explode whereas diesel will not. Also power boats are noisy, dirty, polluting, have fumes and other noxious smells. The Caribbean is for sailing vessels. If you are on a long voyage, the power boat just may not be able to carry enough fuel to get you where you want to go, whereas a sailboat can go forever.

Yes it is true you may run out of wind, but just have patience and the wind will find you again.

If you begin your voyage in Fort Lauderdale and your objective is to sail the West Indies down to Grenada and then perhaps over to Venezuela, you are in for a treat. There are dozens of beautiful islands all the way down and if you stay on the lee side of the island chain, you will be safe from the big seas on the windward side.

Avoid the hurricane season which is usually July thru late September. A good time to go is May to June and early October. The weather is warm in the lower latitudes and you will be out of harms way due to hurricanes. Leaving from Lauderdale you can hop the Bahama chain for about 500 to 600 miles and end up in the Turks and Caicos, then take a 100 mile sail to the Dominican Republic. Work the north shore of the Dominican Republic to Samana Bay, then wait for good weather to cross the dreaded Mona Passage. This 90 mile passage can be hell. The day I crossed the Mona, 47 people died trying to get to Puerto Rico.

There is a lot more to tell you which will be the subject of another article.

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