08/26/2026
The Adventure Files š | Laura & Dexter
The āPathā most taken with cautionā¦
Sailing from Florida to the Virgin Islands is a dream for many, whatās not to love about a slow island hop south?
Embarking on a journey to the Caribbean offers two distinctly different choices:
- The first being The Thorny Path is the nearshore route, through the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, along the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
- The second, I-65 is an offshore route, east to longitude 65Ā°W before turning south to the Virgin Islands.
āThe Thorny Pathā coined in the late 1940s by yachtsman Carleton Mitchell describes the often difficult and taxing passage from Florida to the Virgin Islands via the Bahamas and Puerto Rico.
In January 2024, Laura and Dexter set sail south on the Thorny Path aboard their 2004 Island Packet 370 named Stella Maris. This was the trip of a lifetimeā¦Try to imagine the clearest waters in the most amazing shade of turquoise blue, gorgeous palm tree lined anchorages with no one else around, the brightest stars you have ever seen, and just like the song says, seeing the Southern Cross for the first time emerging on the nighttime horizon.
āAfter making our way through the Bahamas, we sailed to the Dominican Republic. One of the most memorable things we witnessed was the annual migration of the Humpback whales that make their way to SamanĆ” Bay every year for calving season. We were fortunate enough to be able to see a whale breach the water while sailing out of the bay.
The next stop was Puerto Rico, we timed our journey through the Mona passage with the weather and that leg of the trip was one of the most amazingly gentle and beautiful overnight sails of the trip. Puerto Rico proved to be one of our absolute favorite places as we ventured along the southern coastline. La Bahia Fosforescente, which is a bioluminescent bay was a particular highlight. We were able to anchor in the actual bay and enjoy a midnight swim in the waters with millions of little flashes of light that literally looked like sparklers attached to us and the fish swimming by had trails of the illuminated fairy dust following them in the water. This was only possible because of our shoal draft Island Packet that allowed us to make the shallow entry and exit into this magical bay.
We could tell you tales for the next several days from the best spots in the BVI & USVI, the amazing pastries in St Martin, more turtles than you have ever seen in Columbier, St Barts, the breath taking waterfalls in Dominica, French culture and amazing shopping in Martinique, and the gorgeous towering Pitons of St Lucia. Like anything worthwhile in life, the adventure had its challenges but the experience, the memories created, and the friends we made along the way made it all worthwhile. We have a lifetime of memories that could be achieved no other way. We couldnāt imagine doing it on any other boat than our Island Packet 370!ā
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Stories like Laura and Dexterās are exactly why we love what we do at Adventure Yacht Sales. The right boat isnāt just a vessel... itās what makes the adventure possible.
Your next adventure is out there. Letās find the boat that gets you there. āµļø
