Caribbean Sailing Adventure 2025

Join us for an exciting 1000 mile offshore adventure from St. Vincent to Puerto Rico and back. This adventure is planned for March 2025. Two legs are available, each offering its own unique blend of beauty and excitement:

Leg 1 departs SVG after a day of familiarization and travels north along with Windward and Leeward islands, and BVI and USVI before arriving in Puerto Rico, covering a distance of ~500 miles
Leg 2 departs Puerto Rico and travels directly to St. Vincent in a continuous 500 mile offshore passage.

BOSS is offering ASA 106 and 108, and Sail Canada Advanced and Offshore certifications on all legs. Space is limited, so act now to secure your spot in their extraordinary expedition!

Visit waters contested for centuries by European powers, home to generations of buccaneers, and now enjoyed by the citizens of these islands and by visitors seeking the unique pleasures of Caribbean sun, warm waters, trade winds, and gorgeous scenery.

Skipper / Instructor

This sailing adventure will be led by Rob McLean, who is the Lead Instructor for BOSS. Rob is uniquely qualified as he holds the distinction of being the only person certified as an Offshore Instructor by both ASA and Sail Canada. Since the early 1980s, Rob has accumulated more than 40,000 of cruising miles, including 20,000+ miles offshore, on the Great Lakes, Pacific, Atlantic, the Med, and in the Caribbean, and two Atlantic crossings in 2022 and 2023. Another crossing is planned for Jan-Feb 2025.

Rob is familiar with this route, having sailed it on his own 62′ schooner, Interlude, in 2019-2021 on a 7,000 mile journey from Canada to St. Vincent (interruped by Covid), and in 2023 on a 2,000 mile passage from SVG to Halifax via Bermuda.

As an Instructor Evaluator and ASA Master Instructor, Rob leads instructor development clinics for both Sail Canada and ASA. His full sailing resume is here: http://robmclean.ca/sailingresume.html . His professional background outside of sailing is summarized here: http://robmclean.ca/Resume.shtml

Expressions of Interest

If interested please contact Rob McLean at rob.m@barefootyachts.com, including a brief summary of your sailing certifications and experience, and indicating which leg or legs you are interested in. We will then schedule an interview to confirm that this adventure is right for you.

About the Adventure

The vessel for these adventures is Aonyx, a 4 cabin 46′ Class 4 O-Yacht catamaran. Legs available include:

St. Vincent to Puerto Rico, travelling 500 miles along the arc of the Windard and Leeward Islandse: March 5-11, 2025
Puerto Rico to St. Vincent, providing a continuous 500 mile offshore cruising experience: March 12-18, 2025.

Certifications available legs include:

ASA 106 / Sail Canada Advanced Cruising (on Leg 1)
ASA 108 / Sail Canada Offshore Cruising (on both Legs 1 and 2)
ASA 114 / Sail Canada Catamaran Endorsement (on both Legs 1 and 2)
ASA 105, 107, 117 exams, or Sail Canada navigation exams if required as prerequisites

For details on relevant standards, see:

ASA standards: https://asa.com/certifications/
Sail Canada standards: https://www.sailing.ca/keelboat-cruising/

Maximum capacity on each leg is 6 participants, plus the skipper/instructor.

Pricing

The Base Participation Fee (USD) for each leg or combination of legs is as follows:

Leg 1: $4,495
Leg 2: $4,495
Legs 1 and 2: $6,750

The Base Participation Fee includes:

Fully-equipped 4 cabin catamaran with Skipper / Instructor
Shared accommodation. While underway on a continuous passage, all participants will be standing watches, so there may be hot-bunking*
Full provisioning while underway
Fuel, ice, water
Marina fees
If participating in more than one leg, accommodation on the vessel while in port between legs

The Base Participation Fee does not include:

Air fare and ground transfers
Immigration or departure fees assessed by government authorities
Certification fees for participants seeking certification: see details here: https://barefootoffshore.com/bosssailing_courses/certification-fees/
ASA membership
Personal snacks
Alcoholic beverages (not to be consumed while underway)
Meals while in port between legs
Instructor gratuity at your discretion

* Hot-bunking means that you may not have exclusive use of a cabin. Everyone will have their own pillows and bed linens, and people are not expected to share a bed with someone else at the same time, but someone coming off watch may be expected to sleep in a cabin just vacated by someone coming on watch.

Planned Itinerary

Please note that details below are subject to change based on the impact of weather or other events on the schedule

Leg 1: St. Vincent to Puerto Rico travelling travelling along the arc of the Leeward and Windward Islands, and BVI and USVI, before arriving in Puerto Rico
Distance: 500 miles

Target dates: March 5-11, 2025

View the iconic Windward and Leeward islands, and BVI and USVI, familiar to previous generations of explorers and buccaneers, and now generations of cruising sailors. We chose Puerto Rico as the transition from Leg 1 to Leg 2 because it is one of the easiest islands to fly to. Details about the marina we will use will come shortly )probably Fajardo, which is within an easy trip from the international airport).
Leg 2: Puerto Rico to St. Vincent, travelling in a contnuous offshore passage
Distance: 500 miles

Target dates: March 12-18, 2025

Continue your voyage from Puerto Rico to St. Vincent in a continuous offshore passage, navigating by celestial means (although of course we will have multiple GNSS devices on board), if possible passing by the mysterious Isla Alves, an isolated Venezualan miltary outpost.

Caribbean Sailing Adventure 2025

About the Adventure

Leg 1: St. Vincent to Puerto Rico travelling travelling along the arc of the Leeward and Windward Islands, and BVI and USVI, before arriving in Puerto Rico

Leg 2: Puerto Rico to St. Vincent, travelling in a contnuous offshore passage

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