Reddit mentions of The Gentleman's Guide to Passages South: The Thornless Path to Windward

If you want to make it to the caribbean by powerboat, buy "the gentleman's guide to passages south" but Bruce Van Sant
http://amzn.com/1470146967


My biggest concern is the math on fuel consumption.

Do you know your Actual burn rate?

My best understanding of that vessel and engine setup is 15 gallons/hr at 11kts.

So being a bit conservative, its. 1.5gallons/mile. more if you go faster.

It's around 1400NM by water from lake erie to Miami.

another 1000 to the virgin islands via the Bahamas.

That's 2100 gallons of gasoline for the miami leg, and another 1500 gallons to the caribbean.

this is ONE WAY.

Fuel dock prices on the east coast are currently averaging around $3/gallon, so that's $6200 in gas to just get to miami.

In the bahamas/caribbean, it's currently around $4/gallon,
so another $6000 to get from Miami to the Virgin Islands.

That's a total of $24,000 in gas for the round trip.

I'd look for a single engine diesel for the trip, which can get up up to 3 miles/gallon if I was doing that trip by powerboat, but you did come to a sailing forum for advice.

This south-easterly voyage is often referred to as "the Thorny Path", as it's into the tradewinds.

I've read that the wind dies down in the middle of the night and the early hours are the best time to make a few hours headway.

My mid-morning the headwinds have picked up, and it becomes a matter of how long you can endure it - typically anchoring before midday.

Google "the Thorny Path sailing" for lots of results. I've read that this is a good guide.