Grenada & Carriacou / Special Interests / Sailing & Regattas

Grenada and the Grenadines up to St Vincent are one of the finest places to sail in the Caribbean. Grenada, the southernmost island in the Lesser Antilles, makes a great place to start or to finish a sailing holiday. It has pretty, sheltered bays along its serrated south-western coastline where you can sail for the day before returning to the shelter of the main anchorages at L’Anse aux Epines and True Blue, Mt Hartman or St George’s.

On setting off for the Grenadines you coast up the island before cruising into open water, past smaller cays before eventually reaching the first large island at Carriacou. The crossing between Grenada and Carriacou is notorious for its choppy seas and strong currents. Returning with the wind behind you is good cruising. En route, you will pass a section of rough water called Kick ‘em Jenny where currents overflow a landmass near the surface, but Kick ‘em Jenny is also an active volcano and there is a shipping exclusion zone around it. Looking north from Hillsborough Bay on Carriacou you will see the Grenadines – Union Island, Petit St Vincent and Palm Island, Canouan and Mustique.

Carriacou is an excellent stopover, four or five hours’ sail from the south of Grenada and an hour from Union Island. During the day, yachts anchor off the cays in Hillsborough Bay, but it is a little too lumpy for a night stay. The best anchorage is Tyrell Bay in the west, where restaurants and bars line the shore.