Sail St. Vincent.

The Grenadines are a chain of small islands strung over roughly 40 nm of water south of St Vincent. Nearly every passage is under three hours, in sight of the next anchorage, in water warm enough to swim in whatever month you come. Short legs, reliable trades, reef anchorages you can step off the transom into — that is the whole argument for the place.

We will be straight about St Vincent itself. Kingstown is a working port with a market and a ferry dock, not a resort strip. The leeward coast has good bays at Cumberland and Wallilabou where you drop the hook and run a stern line to a palm tree, and boat boys will meet you well offshore to help with it; agree a price before anyone takes a line. Most crews point south within a few hours of leaving the dock, and that is the right instinct.

Boats leave from Blue Lagoon Marina on the south coast, near Calliaqua. The entrance is a buoyed cut through the reef, narrow enough that the briefing covers draught and swell before you go; base staff will pilot you out when conditions ask for it.

From there it is about 9 nm across the Bequia Channel to Admiralty Bay. The channel funnels — more wind and more swell in the middle than at either end, so reef early rather than halfway. Bequia is the natural first night: Port Elizabeth, a dinghy dock, chandlery, bakery, and sheds still turning out double-enders.

South of Bequia the chain tightens. Mustique is moorings only, charged nightly by length. Canouan splits between the marina end and Charlestown Bay. Mayreau gives you Salt Whistle Bay on one side and Saline Bay on the other, ten minutes' walk apart. The Tobago Cays sit behind Horseshoe Reef with nothing between you and the Atlantic but coral — turtles on the grass flats, a park fee per person per night, and a swell that works its way in on a hard easterly. Union Island is the southern turn for most weeks: Clifton for a town, Chatham Bay for an empty one.

North-east trades run all year. December to February is the strong end, commonly 15–25kt with squalls on top, and the reinforced spell that arrives around late December is worth planning around if the crew is light on experience. March and April hold the same direction at 12–20kt, which is when most people would choose to be here.

May stays good. June to November is the Atlantic hurricane season, with risk concentrated August to October. Wind through those months is lighter, 8–15kt, the anchorages are close to empty, and yachts sail from Blue Lagoon right through the period — but you take a live weather picture and a charter contract that reflects it, not a hopeful one.

Sea temperature is swimmable year-round. Rain arrives as short heavy bursts, not grey days.

Bareboat is the bulk of what sails from here: monohulls in the 38–50ft range and catamarans from about 40ft up. Catamarans go first for school-holiday weeks — deck space, shallow draught, and cabins far enough apart to keep the peace. If your dates are fixed, message us on WhatsApp early rather than late.

Crewed is available from Blue Lagoon, though the choice is narrower than bareboat and worth asking about by date rather than assuming. Skipper-only is the middle road: you sail the boat, someone else owns the pilotage through the reefs and the clearance paperwork. One-way runs south to Grenada or north to St Lucia can be arranged and depend on repositioning in that season.

Ranges, not quotes. The number moves with the boat, the week and how far ahead you commit.

A bareboat monohull of 40–45ft typically runs €3,000–6,000 per week. Catamarans of similar length sit around €5,000–11,000, with Christmas and Easter weeks at the top of both bands. A skipper adds roughly €1,200–1,800 a week plus their food. Fully crewed is Price on request.

Then the costs people underestimate. Fuel and water, cruising permit and clearance, Tobago Cays park fees per person per night, Mustique moorings charged nightly, mooring fees in Admiralty Bay and Chatham Bay, ice, and provisioning that is mostly imported and priced accordingly. Budget €800–1,500 on top for a week aboard with a crew of six, more if you eat ashore most nights. A security deposit or damage waiver sits on the card either way.

Day 1 — Board at Blue Lagoon in the afternoon, provision, sleep alongside. The channel is better crossed in the morning.

Day 2 — Blue Lagoon to Admiralty Bay, Bequia. About 9 nm, two hours, one reef in most winter conditions. Mooring or anchor, then walk over to Princess Margaret Beach.

Day 3 — Bequia to Mustique, 8 nm on a close reach. Mooring in Britannia Bay. Swim, walk the island, and move on the next morning — one night is usually enough at the price.

Day 4 — Mustique to Salt Whistle Bay on Mayreau, about 12 nm. Charlestown Bay on Canouan is the shorter option if you need a shop.

Day 5 — Mayreau to the Tobago Cays, under 3 nm. Anchor behind Horseshoe Reef, snorkel the turtle grass, pay the park fee, expect company in high season.

Day 6 — Cays to Chatham Bay, Union Island, 6 nm. Open leeward bay, gusts falling off the hills, a beach cook-up if you want one. Clifton instead if you would rather have a town and a bar.

Day 7 — Union north to Bequia, about 25 nm and the longest leg of the week — a beat or a fetch depending on the day.

Day 8 — Bequia to Blue Lagoon, 9 nm, back by mid-morning for handover.

Run it in reverse if a front is coming through. Every leg is short enough to reorder.

Argyle International (SVD) sits on the windward side of St Vincent, 30–40 minutes by road to Blue Lagoon. Services run from Barbados, St Lucia, Trinidad and a small number of North American cities; most European crews connect through Barbados or St Lucia. Build in a night either side. The connections are thin and bags miss the short hops often enough to plan for it.

Union Island has an airstrip served by inter-island operators, which makes a south-end start or finish workable if you would rather not cross the Bequia Channel twice.

Clear into St Vincent and the Grenadines once — Blue Lagoon, Kingstown, Port Elizabeth, Clifton and Canouan are all ports of entry — and movement inside the country is then free on the cruising permit. Carrying on to Carriacou or Grenada means clearing out and in again; give it a morning, not an hour.

Provision heavily near the base, top up in Port Elizabeth, and treat everything south of Canouan as ice, bread and fish rather than a full shop. Send us your dates on WhatsApp and we will tell you what is free before you book flights.