Grenadines
The Grenadines are an idyllic place for vacationing… Ideally located, the climate is very pleasant, sailing easy and the seafloor remarkable! Multihulls can help you take full advantage of this increasingly popular destination, where you will have a multitude of possibilities for finding the catamaran of your dreams.
Formalities : Entry and exit formalities mandatory as soon as you change islands or group of islands. For “clearance”, the boat’s skipper must show the passports of each passenger valid at least 6 months and the boats’ papers and hoist the yellow “Q” flag (request for unrestricted sailing) and the courtesy flag of the country visited. In the Grenadines, you can go through formalities at Kingston and Wallilabou (St Vincent), Admiralty Bay (Bequia) and Clifton Harbor (Union) for the Grenadines from Saint Vincent; and for the Grenadines from Grenada to Hillsborough (Carriacou) and St George's (Grenada). The Grenadines, from Bequia to Little St Vincent via Canouan and Union depend on the Republic of St Vincent, while the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique depend on Grenada.
Weather : Tourist season : December to April, but sailing is very pleasant until late July. August and September are much wetter (plentiful rainfall) and especially this is the time when there is a serious threat of hurricanes.
Temperatures : 26-30°C/79-86°F Humidity of the air: 70%
Sailing conditions : In the channels between the islands, the sea can quickly become choppy, making it quite uncomfortable to sailing between islands, especially for an inexperienced crew, just off the plane.
Winds : the tradewinds from the East set in from November to July (rarely exceeding 30/35 knots). Do beware, however, of squalls, easily spotted from afar, under which gusts of wind and precipitation can be very violent. The general current bears westward, and in some passages, you must keep an eye on the tide that, in spite of 1 m differences in depth can create fairly strong tidal currents.
Marking : You are sailing in zone “B” (on entering the harbor, green buoys to port). Marking remains haphazard and the lights don’t work all the time. At any rate, rental companies strongly discourage, or even forbid, sailing at night.
Currency : The currency in the Grenadines is the EC dollar, but the US dollar and euro are accepted in many places and exchange is quite easy. In the French islands (Martinique, Guadeloupe and their dependencies), the currency is the euro.
