Sailing from Bermuda to St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) offers a captivating journey through the turquoise waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Here's what you can expect during this sailing passage:

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Tropical Bliss: The Bermuda to St. Thomas route takes you into the heart of the Caribbean, promising warm tropical weather and crystal-clear waters. Expect a significant change in climate compared to Bermuda.

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Trade Winds: Traditionally, this passage benefits from the steady easterly trade winds. These consistent winds, usually blowing from the east-northeast, can make for pleasant and predictable sailing conditions. They'll be your faithful companions throughout much of the journey.

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Navigation: Careful navigation is still crucial in these waters. The Caribbean is known for its intricate reef systems and coral formations, so you'll need to pay close attention to charts and navigational aids. The route typically involves a mix of open water sailing and navigating through island channels.

 

Watchkeeping: Maintain a watch system, particularly during overnight passages or when transiting busy channels. Nighttime navigation requires extra vigilance due to potentially reduced visibility and increased traffic.

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Clearing Customs: When arriving in St. Thomas, you'll need to clear customs and immigration, as it's a U.S. territory. Ensure all necessary documentation, such as passports and vessel papers, is in order before arrival.

 

Marine Life: The Caribbean Sea is teeming with marine life. You may encounter dolphins, turtles, and vibrant coral reefs during your passage. Keep an eye out for opportunities to snorkel or dive in these pristine waters.

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Trade Wind Swells: While the trade winds are generally favorable, they can also create consistent trade wind swells. Be prepared for a bit of rolling and pitching on your journey.

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Provisions and Resupply: Plan your provisioning carefully, as resupply options may be limited on smaller islands. Stock up on essentials like food, water, and fuel before setting sail from Bermuda.

 

Cultural Experiences: As you make stops at various islands along the way, take the opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture, cuisine, and traditions. Each island has its unique charm and offerings.

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Cruising Community: The Caribbean is a popular destination for cruisers, and you'll likely encounter a vibrant cruising community. This can provide opportunities for socializing, sharing information, and making new friends along the way.

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Sailing from Bermuda to St. Thomas offers a delightful blend of adventure, exploration, and relaxation. With proper preparation, navigation, and a sense of adventure, you can enjoy a memorable sailing passage through the Caribbean paradise.

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General Info and Timeline

 

Pre-Departure: The passage from Bermuda to St. Thomas is dependent on the weather. In order to depart Bermuda we need a 7 day weather window without adverse weather. 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 St. Thomas.

 

Underway: Once we depart it will take approximately 7 days to reach St. Thomas.

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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 St. Thomas: Upon arrival in St. Thomas we will check in via mobile CBP ROAM app. Each crew will be required to present their passport and provide customs and immigration information.

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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 St. Thomas. 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.​​