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Transatlantic return from the Antilles to France by sailboat — Stopover in the BVI before the big departure
14 de mayo de 2026 · 25 min · 2K vistas · Saint-Martin
Crew aboard sailboat near Caribbean islands under storm clouds
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A Beneteau Oceanis 440 departs Saint-Martin with a four-person crew — including two first-time sailors and one Spanish-speaking crew member — for a transatlantic return passage to France, with a stopover at the British Virgin Islands before the ocean crossing. Departure is delayed roughly 90 minutes while waiting for crew arriving overnight via Colombia and the Dominican Republic.Watch The skipper confirms the weather window in OpenCPN, comparing two consecutive routing outputs on the same departure date before committing.1:10 The overnight leg to the BVI covers the distance faster than expected, with the crew arriving at dawn instead of noon despite a 2.5-meter swell that caused an unintended gybe and seasickness among the tired newcomers.9:14 The autopilot holds course reliably; the skipper adds a small amount of genoa at 120 degrees apparent wind to gain a knot.8:11 Entering the BVI anchorage, the skipper warns that charts are outdated — Navionics shows only a dot where submerged rocks produce visible breaking water — and moves to the bow to watch for hazards while one crew member steers.13:47 At anchor off Virgin Gorda, the crew is legally prohibited from going ashore without completing clearance, which the skipper recalls as expensive and weekly-rated.17:18 Snorkeling around large boulders reveals dense fish life including large parrotfish.19:14 An unintended gybe caused by a helmsman losing course in the swell is flagged as the key lesson for new crew on downwind night sailing.12:51
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