A Debrief on Our Grenada Adventure

Find out about our great adventure:

• A Grenada Sailing Adventure – Part 1: Finding Our Sea Legs
• A Grenada Sailing Adventure – Part 2: Island Rhythms & Safety Drills
• A Grenada Sailing Adventure Part 3: The Long Haul and a Rainy Goodbye

In this article, we get into the nitty-gritty, the highlights, the challenges, and insights into how we prepared, and how it impacted our experience, our lessons learned. If you are contemplating or preparing for your own trip, this one’s for you!

Here is a comprehensive guide to prep, provisioning, and lessons learned from the Spindrift expedition.

1. Trip Summary
2. The Vessel: Moorings 5000 (Leopard 50)
3. The Route: A 100-Mile Circuit
4. Highlights (in no particular order)
5. Challenges
6. Notables
7. Our Essential Packing List 
   1. Clothing:
   2. Gear:
   3. Toiletries and Medications:
   4. Miscellaneous
8. Food We Brought With Us
9. Provisioning
10. Top 3 Lessons Learned
11. Closing Advice for Future Charterers

Trip Summary

For 8 days in January, my husband and I chartered a Moorings 5000 Catamaran from the Moorings in Grenada. The original plan was to charter a 41-foot monohull but 3 weeks before departure, they called to let us know it wouldn’t be available, would we like a a massive Moorings 5000 catamaran instead! We went with it. We had 5 crew members, including ourselves, on the Spindrift.

The Vessel: Moorings 5000 (Leopard 50)

Transitioning from a 41-foot monohull to a 50-foot catamaran came as a big surprise but we’re glad it happened. The upgrade gave us a lot more footage, room for guests. It also gave us more stability and social space.

The Moorings 5000: Technical Breakdown

Model: Leopard 50 (Custom Charter Edition) | Builder: Robertson & Caine (South Africa)

The Power Plant & Performance
Unlike a monohull, the 5000 relies on two separate engines for redundant safety and incredible maneuverability.
- Engines: 2 x 57 HP Yanmar Diesel engines.
- Fuel Capacity: 243 Gallons (approx. 920 Liters).
- Cruising Speed: ~7–8 knots under power; 8–10 knots under sail in 15+ knots of wind.
- Stepped Hull Design: The shelf in the hull above the waterline allows for massive interior cabins.

The Sail Plan
Designed for short-handed sailing, meaning one or two people can manage the entire boat from the helm.
- Total Sail Area: 1,660 ft2 (154.2 m2).
- Mainsail: Fully battened (square top for extra power) with a stack pack for easy storage.
- Headsail: Furling Genoa (for quick deployment and reefing).
- Hybrid Helm: The steering station is raised between the cockpit and the flybridge. This gives you 360° visibility while keeping you close to the social action.

Interior 
This boat carries everything needed to stay off the grid in the Grenadines for a week.
- Water Maker: Converts seawater into fresh water.
- Power: Onboard Generator + Solar Panels + 3000W Inverter.
- Layout: 4 en-suite cabins. Each cabin has Zoned AC.
- The Flybridge: This is the 5000's killer feature—an elevated lounge with a sunbed and table that can be safely used even while the boat is under sail.

The Route: A 100-Mile Circuit

• Day 1 – Arrival: Port Louis Marina, St. George’s, Grenada

  • 3:30 PM: Arrived in Grenada and check-in at The Moorings
  • 5:00 PM: Boarded Spindrift!
• Day 2 – Destination: L’Esterre Bay, Carriacou

  • 10:00 AM: Provisioning and chart briefing with Nick
  • 1:30 PM: Depart St. George’s for Carriacou
  • 6:30 PM: Arrive at destination
  • 7:20 PM: Dinner at Paradise Beach Club
• Day 3 – Destination: Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau

  • 10:00 AM: Snorkeling at Sandy Island, Carriacou
  • 11:30 AM: Depart Carriacou for Mayreau
  • 1:30 PM: Stop at Union Island to check in to St. Vincent and the Grenadines
  • 3:00 PM: Arrive at destination and snorkeling
• Day 4 – Destination: Tobago Cays Marine Park

  • 8:30 AM: Depart Mayreau for Tobago Cays Marine Park
  • 10:00 AM: Arrive at destination
  • All morning and afternoon: Snorkeling
  • 5:00 PM: Dinner at Alphonso’s Lobster BBQ beachside restaurant
• Day 5 – Destination: Canouan

  • Morning: Snorkeling in Tobago Cays Marine Park
  • 10:00 AM: Hike over the hill toward the site of Alphonso’s Lobster BBQ
  • 12:00 PM: Depart Tobago Cays for Canouan
  • 2:00 PM: Arrive at destination
  • 5:00 PM: Exploration of Canouan and dinner at Soho Beach House Canouan
• Day 6 – Destination: Petit Saint Vincent

  • 9:30 AM: Depart Canouan for Petit Saint Vincent
  • 12:00 PM: Stop at Union Island to check back in to Grenada
  • 1:45 PM: Snorkeling at Mopion Island
  • 5:00 PM: Arrive at destination
• Day 7 – Destination: Dragon Bay

  • 7:00 AM: Depart Petit Saint Vincent for Dragon Bay
  • 3:00 PM: Arrive at destination
  • 3:30 PM: Snorkeling in Moliniere Underwater Sculpture Park
  • 6:00 PM: Visit shady hut on the beach
• Day 8 – Destination: Port Louis Marina, St. George’s, Grenada

  • 9:30 AM: Depart Dragon Bay for Port Louis Marina
  • 10:30 AM: Arrive at destination
  • 11:00 AM: Check out

Highlights (in no particular order)

Challenges

• Rounding up crew at the last minute. This feels weird to say because we got such a serious upgrade. But, as has been mentioned, our trip was originally for Kent and myself, on a 41 foot monohull. When that no longer became an option three weeks before take-off, we had to round up crew. Harder than you think!
• Travel distance. I hardly feel like this was a challenge because we left Iowa and arrived in Grenada in a single day. But this was all I could think of. It was a long day to go from Iowa, to Atlanta, to Grenada. And even longer to get back because we left in the afternoon,
• No catamaran challenges.
• No dinghy challenges.

Notables

• Chartering from The Moorings Grenada was really nice.
• When our monohull became unavailable, they offered up their Moorings 5000 (a 50 foot catamaran).
• The Moorings provided a taxi for our party from the airport to the marina.
• The Moorings provided a harbor pilot to get us in and out of the marina.
• There was plenty of gas in the tank!
• No docking!
• Check out was easy!
• Excellent weather!

Our Essential Packing List 

Clothing:

• Athleisure wear, or whatever you like to wear for daily life on the boat
• Casual attire for dinners ashore 
• Comfortable, cool pajamas
• Non-scuffing boat shoes (I wore Chacos with white soles)
• Walking shoes for exploring islands (my Chacos did double duty)
• Two-piece bathing suits (easier to get on and off than one-piece)
• Rash guards or sun shirts for sun protection
• Hats for sun protection
• Bandanas
• A fleece for breezy, cool evenings

Gear:

Toiletries and Medications:

• Reef safe shampoo and liquid soap
• Sea sickness patches (even if conditions are calm, they can provide peace of mind)
• Noxzema for sunburn relief (applied promptly, it can be very soothing)
• Cortisone cream and/or Benadryl cream for bug bites
• Little first aid kit 

Miscellaneous

• Waterbottle
• Trash bags and baggies
• Clothes pins

Food We Brought With Us

• Nuts and dried fruit for healthy snacks
• Ginger tea
• Salt and pepper, sugar packets

Provisioning

Maria and Katie did the provisioning the morning before we left. You can’t sail well if you aren’t fed well. Here is how we managed a crew of five: 

• Water, water, water
• Fresh seafood
• Fresh meats
• Dairy products including cream, butter, cheese, and yogurt
• Kefir made great breakfast smoothies
• Soda
• Fizzy waters
• Orange juice
• Oatmeal
• Eggs
• Bread
• Peanut butter
• Potato Chips
• Corn Chips
• Salsa
• Condiments
• Fruit for snacking – grapes, apples
• Fruit for drinks – lemons, limes
• Pasta
• Pasta sauce
• Ground coffee
• Rum
• Beer
• Ice for the freezer

Top 3 Lessons Learned

1. Trust Local Knowledge: Our chart briefer, Nick, changed our whole trip by suggesting we skip the short hop and go straight to Carriacou. It gave us an extra day in the Cays. Be flexible with your itinerary.
2. Safety as a Ritual: We performed a Crew Overboard drill for a lost hat. Look for opportunities to prepare yourselves for real emergencies.
3. The Stew Crew: Designate roles. Having Katie managing the menu and Maria managing the “shared space sanity” kept the boat from feeling small. Our crew performed like an engine.

Closing Advice for Future Charterers

Don’t be intimidated by the swells or the Venturi Effect between the islands. A boat like the Moorings 5000 is built for exactly these conditions. Be a prepared crew, trust your vessel, and always keep three points of contact as you move about the catamaran (use four points of contact after a round of island rum punches).