The Northern Passage

Boston, MA to St. George's, Bermuda

Estimated Departure: November 2nd, 2024 

700 nm / 5 Days

Sailing from Boston, Massachusetts to Bermuda is an exciting and challenging passage that offers a mix of unique experiences and varying conditions. Here's what you can expect during this offshore sailing journey:

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Diverse Weather Conditions: The weather on this passage can vary significantly depending on the time of year. Spring and fall are the preferred seasons for milder conditions, but you should still be prepared for a range of weather patterns. Expect everything from calm days with little wind to stronger winds and the possibility of squalls or storms. The Gulf Stream can also influence weather patterns and create its own set of challenges.

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Navigational Challenges: The Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current, runs in close proximity to this route. It can impact your course and speed, so careful navigation is essential. You'll need to monitor your position relative to the Gulf Stream to optimize your passage.

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Watches and Crew Responsibilities: On an extended passage like this, a watch system is crucial to ensure the safety and smooth operation of the vessel. Expect to divide the crew into watch teams to maintain a continuous presence on deck, monitoring the sails, navigation, and lookout for other vessels. Be prepared for a rotating schedule, typically with watches lasting four hours each.

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Night Sailing: Sailing at night is an integral part of offshore passages. While it can be challenging due to reduced visibility, it can also be incredibly rewarding as you sail under a star-studded sky. Adequate lighting and careful navigation are vital during nighttime hours.

 

Wildlife Encounters: Keep an eye out for marine life. You may spot dolphins, whales, and various seabirds during your passage. These encounters can be awe-inspiring and provide a deeper connection to the open ocean.

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Self-Sufficiency: You'll need to be self-sufficient during the passage. This means having enough provisions, water, and fuel for the entire journey. Be prepared for some cooking challenges due to the boat's motion, and ensure you have suitable safety equipment and knowledge in case of emergencies.

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Physical and Mental Challenges: Sailing offshore can be physically demanding due to constant motion and the need to adjust sails and maintain the vessel. Mentally, you'll need to stay alert and focused on navigation, weather, and the well-being of the crew.

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Isolation and Connectivity: Once you're out at sea, you may be isolated from the outside world. While First Reef Sailing maintains several different methods of satellite communication to check in with shore staff and provide weather updates, expect limited connectivity.

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Bermuda Arrival: As you approach Bermuda, you'll need to communicate with local authorities and follow their procedures for entry, which may include customs and immigration clearance.

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Sense of Accomplishment: Completing the passage from Boston to Bermuda is a significant accomplishment! The sense of achievement and the bonds forged with your crew can be incredibly rewarding.

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Remember that every sailing passage is unique, and conditions can change rapidly. Flexibility, preparation, and seamanship are key to a successful and enjoyable voyage from Boston to Bermuda.

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General Info and Timeline

 

Pre-Departure: The passage from Boston, MA to Bermuda is extremely dependent on the weather. In order to depart Boston, we not only need a 5 day weather window without adverse weather, but we also need the wind to be from the right direction when we cross the Gulf Stream about 200 nautical miles into our trip. This means while we have a “desired” departure date, it does not always work out and we ask our crew to be flexible. If you can provide us with a sense of your availability window that will help us to manage the crew and waitlist. 

 

5 Days Prior to Departure Date: Our skippers will begin watching the weather and communicating with our weather routing service (WRI) about 5 days prior to our anticipated departure date, looking for a good window to sail to Bermuda. We will be sending updates every other day and as we get within a few days, updates everyday. Typically, we will send a final decision on whether we will go 48 hours prior to leaving the dock. 

 

Weather Apps: Below are the weather apps and sources we use when making the decision to depart.

 

Windy

Passage Weather

NOAA Offshore Forecast

NOAA Ocean Prediction Center

 

Departure We will all meet at the boat approximately 8 hours before our anticipated departure time. This gives us enough time to provision (provisions will be split equally between all onboard) for the passage, hold our safety briefings and passage briefing, move aboard the boat, do final checks, etc. We will also complete our float plan and send it out to our shore-side contact. Once all of these tasks are complete we will depart for Bermuda.

 

Underway: Once we depart it will take approximately 5 days to reach Bermuda.

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Tracking and Communication: First Reef Sailing uses Garmin Inreach devices for all communications and tracking underway. These are text-only devices and while we can send as many messages as we need to, we try to keep non-essential messages to a minimum. You will be able to text loved ones with updates once a day but we ask that you keep conversations brief. The skipper of the boat will be using the Inreach to receive weather updates and routing information from our designated shoreside contact throughout the trip.

 

Arrival in Bermuda: Upon arrival in Bermuda we will dock at the customs dock in St. Georges. Each crew will be required to present their passport and fill out customs and immigration forms. If you are returning to Boston via airplane you will be required to present proof of airplane reservation.

 

Flights Home: We recommend that you wait to book your return trip home until we are within a day of departing or, better yet, designate someone on shore who can book your flight for you once we are within a few days of Bermuda. You will be able to communicate with your designated flight booker via text. This minimizes the risk of having to reschedule a flight if we are delayed. We also highly recommend purchasing a flight that is easily changeable and/or purchasing trip insurance.