TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Travel Time?

On the average, how long to get from Roadtown to North Sound in a Beneteau 343? TY

Sigh! Wish I could help you...but, my watch comes off when I board the boat and then I'm on island time. However, it is a very pleasant and relaxing and fun sail, with a profound sense of accomplishment when finally there, and the next new adventure begins. Best advice I can give is look to your left, look to your right, see what is in front of you, and take pictures with your camera to show jealous family next Christmas. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />Oh, and feel free to post said pictures here. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

I'm sure others will ask why you want to do that but to try to answer your question...

That's about 20 KM so anywhere from 3-1/2 (motoring hard at 6 knots) to all day long sailing. Just depends on wind direction and conditions. If the winds were from mostly North you could probably go East in one tack up the Sir Francis Drake but then you'd have to tack upwind along VG. If the winds were from the East then you'd have to tack to VG until you might make one tack to the entrance to North Sound. If the winds were NE and you sailed the whole way I'd guess 7-8 hours?

You are not averaging 6 kts in a 34 Bene into winds and seas. This could be a long uncomfortable day in a 34'.

Yup ^^^ been there, done that. Better bet (unless you absolutely MUST get to NS that same day) would be to stop at either Cooper or Marina Cay and split it up.

I answered the question and give some idea of the best and worst case to expect. Yes, I do think I could keep a 34' moving at 6 knots in perfect conditions - that's why I said depending on conditions (that's my silly way of saying not with 2-3' chop and 20 knot winds in your face). I don't know why OP wants to go to NS from RT direct but maybe there is a good reason. Might at least be nice to ask hey, why do you want to do that?

ok, ty everybody.

20+ years ago, on our first charter (but not our last, by a long shot) The Bight to North Sound in a 32 foot Beneteau, around 5 hours. Conditions were perfect. And of course, because it was our first charter, we did not realize how lucky we were. So it can be done.

From entrance to Road Harbor to entrance to NS is a little over 15 NM. So if you motor probably a little over 3 hrs.
Sailing is a different story. Check out and provisioning always gets us off the dock a little late.
And it seems every time we leave RH on our first day out we get 15+ knots out of NE. Couple of hours beating up into the wind on day one and you start testing everyone's sea legs.
That's when we jump off at Marina Cay and start lime'n.

On more than one trip we've gone from Road Town to the Bitter End on the first day.

We motor out of Road Harbour and turn toward the southern end of Virgin Gorda. Somewhere between the Bluff on Beef Island and the Baths we raise sail. Exactly where depends on the wind, waves, our comfort level, and whether we feel like doing a few tacks or just want to line ourselves up for a quick sail up the Virgin Gorda coast.

Once past Mountain Point, if we're impatient we drop sail and motor eastward to round Mosquito Island. Otherwise we continue to sail northeast until we hit a layline that will take us to the North Sound entrance.

So we keep our options open and sail as much as we feel like, and feel no shame in using the motor. We also keep open the possibility of changing plans and heading to Trellis, Scrub, or VGYH if it's getting late.

Having said all that, I don't remember the answer to the original question -- how long does it actually take. And we've always chartered boats that are at least 39 feet; it's going to be a little rougher and a little slower on a 34 footer.

Dan