Yacht Charter in the Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. It is located southeast of Northern America, east of Central America and to the north and west of South America. The Caribbean comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs and cays. The name “Caribbean” is named after the Caribs, one of the one of the dominant Amerindian groups in the region at the time of European contact during the late 15th century.

There are plentiful flights to various island throughout the Caribbean. But some of the islands have several connections in order to get there. Consider a private plane charters to cut out some of the many connections and they are not very expensive. Many private air charters will pick up in San Juan Puerto Rico or St. Thomas and fly to places like Martinique or St. Vincent.

Many parts of the Caribbean have mooring systems in place and anchoring a yacht is prohibited. This measure prevents anchors damaging the coral reefs. Cynics will argue that the measures are more about revenue generation that protecting the environment and at $30 per night for a yacht mooring it is hard not to have some sympathy with this point of view. Yacht charter boats should aim to arrive at an anchorage in order to get a mooring or spot before the crowds arrive.

The climate of the Caribbean mainly ranges between sub-tropical to tropical and depends a great deal upon location in proximity to the tradewinds that blow towards the Eastern Caribbean islands heading northwest up the chain of Windward islands. When these tradewinds arrive close to the island of Cuba they tend to be overcome by other minor jet streams across the Caribbean region. Normally hurricanes which at times effect the region usually strike northwards of Grenada and to the west of Barbados. The principal hurricane belt arcs to northwest of the island of Barbados in the Eastern Caribbean. September and October are considered the height of hurricane season, although the nominal season is June through November. Check yacht charter company policies in regards to hurricanes. During the November through January winter months; the prevailing wind is 15 – 20 knots from the northeast. On and off all winter, the famous “Christmas Winds” blow at 25 – 30 knots for several day periods. Beginning in February and finishing in June, the winds move from a northeast direction to southeast when 10 – 15 knots can be expected. Late summer through autumn is the Caribbean’s rainy season. However, rain squalls can occur at any time but are usually short lived. Average high temperatures range from 85