Grenada
& the Grenadines.

Catamaran charter Grenada is the southernmost charter base in the Eastern Caribbean and the most favoured launching pad for cruising the Grenadines. Port Louis Marina, on the St. George's lagoon, is the main hub — Dream Yacht Charter and Horizon Yacht Charters run the largest fleets there, with smaller operators (Sunsail through partner agreements, Caribbean Catamarans) adding hulls across December through July. Grenada also runs a secondary base at Clarkes Court Bay on the south coast, with another two operators servicing it.

Grenada's defining advantage is geography: the island sits at 12 °N latitude, below the standard hurricane belt that runs roughly 10-30 °N. Major hurricanes have struck (Ivan in 2004 was a Cat-3 direct hit, unprecedented in modern records), but the statistical risk is markedly lower than BVI, Antigua or Saint Martin. Most operators run year-round and insurance issues underwriting policies through the summer months — so June and July charters at 35-40% below February peak rates are routine here, and the September/October low-season window stays open for the patient charter shopper.

Routes from Grenada reach Carriacou (35 NM north, within Grenada's sovereign waters), Union Island, Mayreau, the Tobago Cays Marine Park (the most photogenic anchorage in the Eastern Caribbean) and on north into Bequia and Mustique in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Tobago Cays Marine Park alone is the destination most Eastern-Caribbean charterers cross continents for — five uninhabited cays inside a horseshoe reef, 30-m visibility on the snorkel sites, sea turtles at Baradal moored to sand-only mooring buoys.

Beyond the wind and weather, Grenada is the cultural shift from BVI / Bahamas. The island runs on the EC dollar at a fixed peg (US$1 = EC$2.70), works English as the primary language with strong Creole and a Trinidadian-flavoured local culture, and stocks the supermarkets (IGA inside Port Louis Marina, the larger Foodland 5-minute taxi away) with a mix of Caribbean and US imports. Nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate are the local exports — Grenada is the Spice Island, and the Saturday morning Market Square in St. George's is the iconic spice-buying photo.

Port Louis Marina — the Grenada charter hub

Port Louis Marina sits on the southern shore of the St. George's lagoon — a protected basin formed by the volcanic-crater geography of the island's southwest. The marina is purpose-built for charter (opened 2008, expanded 2016), with 280 berths, a fuel dock, a chandlery (Spice Island Marine), three restaurants on the marina front (Victory Bar & Grill is the standard charter Saturday dinner), and the IGA supermarket on-site for provisioning runs.

Maurice Bishop International Airport (GND) is a 20-minute taxi south of Port Louis (~US$25), with direct flights from London (British Airways, Virgin Atlantic), Miami, New York and Toronto, plus connections via Barbados, Saint Lucia and Trinidad. Most charterers fly in Saturday morning and start the briefing at Port Louis the same afternoon — the marina runs staggered briefing slots from 12:00 to 16:00, with departures typically 14:00-17:00.

Clarkes Court Bay (the secondary base, 10 NM east of Port Louis on the south coast) hosts a smaller charter operation. It is the quieter option for first-time Grenada bareboaters who prefer a quieter overnight base before the briefing, with the trade-off that the first day's sailing is 10 NM less of west-coast progress than starting from Port Louis.

Carriacou, Tyrell Bay and Sandy Island

Day three (or two on a 14-day charter) runs north to Carriacou — Grenada's largest dependency, 30 NM north of Port Louis. The passage is open-water sailing on the east side of the Grenadines chain — close reach in the typical easterly trades, occasionally beam reach. Customs clearance at Tyrell Bay when routing further north (the office sits on the main road, walking distance from the anchorage); for the south-bound return the clearance is the reverse.

Tyrell Bay (Carriacou) has moorings, services and calm nights with reliable holding. The Slipway Restaurant on the south shore is the standard charter dinner. Provisioning at the small grocery on the dock; the larger Patty's Deli in Hillsborough (Carriacou's main town, 3 NM north on the windward side) is the better stock-up.

Sandy Island is a marine protected area on the south side of Carriacou — bright sand and reef, anchor on sand only and follow the buoyed zones. Day-trip from Tyrell Bay; the anchorage is too small for overnighting. Hillsborough on the windward side has shops, bakeries and the small Carriacou Museum. Anse La Roche on the north end is the quiet swim stop in settled weather.

Bequia and the northern Grenadines

Bequia (15 NM north of the Tobago Cays) is the northernmost Grenadines stop on a typical Grenada charter and the iconic Caribbean small-island anchorage. Admiralty Bay is the main anchorage — sand-bottomed, holding excellent, 80-120 boats on a peak weekend, with the village of Port Elizabeth running along the waterfront. The Frangipani Hotel is the classic charter Saturday-evening dinner stop; the Whaleboner Bar takes its name from the literal whalebones in the bar frame.

Bequia has retained its whaling tradition (Saint Vincent is one of the few jurisdictions globally still allowed by the IWC to take a small number of humpback whales each year, all on Bequia by traditional sail-powered methods); the small Whaling Museum (Mt. Pleasant) is a respectful afternoon. Beyond the village, the long beach at Lower Bay is the swim afternoon. The Friendship Bay anchorage on the south side is the quieter alternative.

Mustique (8 NM north of Bequia) is the private-island anchorage — the Mustique Company manages the entire island and runs mooring-buoy fees at EC$200/night (no anchoring allowed). The Cotton House and Basil's Bar (the iconic stilt-built beach bar) are the two charter stops. Mustique is well-staged on a 14-day Grenada-Grenadines round-trip; 7-day charters stop at the Tobago Cays as the northern turn-around.