All activities / Sailing / St. George's
Sailing in St. George's
The capital of Grenada, wrapped around the horseshoe harbour known as the Carenage, with pastel Georgian warehouses climbing the hillsides beneath the 18th-century Fort George. It is the island's port, market and cruise gateway, and the base for its yacht marinas on the edge of the lagoon.
Why here
Grenada is the southern anchor of the Grenadines, the chain of small islands that runs north toward St. Vincent, and St. George's is where most sailing here begins. From the marinas on the lagoon a day's sail reaches Carriacou, Petite Martinique, Union Island, Mayreau, the Tobago Cays marine park, Bequia and Mustique, a run of protected anchorages, reef snorkelling and beach-bar stops with steady trade winds and short hops between them. The island sits at the bottom edge of the hurricane belt, which is why it fills each winter with cruising yachts and why insurers favour it as a base. Port Louis Marina, run by Camper and Nicholsons, and the docks at True Blue Bay put full charter fleets and crewed boats within reach, and Grenada's own boatbuilding tradition still turns out wooden sloops on the beaches of Carriacou. You can charter bareboat if you hold the tickets, take a skippered or fully crewed yacht, learn to sail from scratch, or join a local day sail on a hand-built island sloop.
Best months
The main sailing season runs from December to June, the dry months when the northeast trade winds blow steady at 15 to 20 knots and the anchorages stay calm. July to November is the Atlantic hurricane season, when many charter fleets pause or move; Grenada's position at the southern edge of the belt makes it a common storm-season base, but crossings north still need a careful eye on the forecast. Waters between Grenada and the Grenadines are sheltered and forgiving, well suited to less experienced crews, with a few open passages that reward some miles under the keel.
Getting there & around
The charter bases sit on Grenada's south-west coast at Port Louis Marina in the St. George's lagoon and at True Blue Bay, both around fifteen minutes from Maurice Bishop International Airport. Operators offer bareboat and crewed monohulls and catamarans, learn-to-sail courses and half or full-day local sails, with one-way options up to the Grenadines. Provisioning, chandlery and briefings are handled at the marina. Book charter boats well ahead for the December to June season, and clear customs and immigration when island-hopping between Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Horizon Yacht Charters
OutfitterHorizon Yacht Charters was founded in 1998 and runs its Grenada base from the True Blue Bay Resort, alongside sister bases in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the British Virgin Islands. The fleet of more than seventy monohulls and catamarans covers bareboat, crewed and learn-to-sail charters, with the Grenadines chain a short sail north. It bills itself as the largest independent charter company in the Caribbean and handles skippered and captain-and-chef options.
Savvy Grenada Sailing Charters
OutfitterSavvy Grenada Sailing Charters runs an all-wood 43-foot Petite Martinique sloop, hand-built in the traditional Grenadian way. Its captains and crew are local boatbuilders and fishermen from Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique who tell the story of a 200-year boatbuilding tradition as they sail. Trips range from sunset and half-day cruises to full-day sails and multi-day voyages up the Grenadines, on an authentic island-built boat rather than a production charter yacht.