Happy New Year! 🥂🎉🍾🥳
2025 is upon us, and we have ton of great features coming your way this season starting with our January 2025, available now! Be sure to check out our newly updated 2025 annual events calendar, especially if you get our print edition!
Download and read the January issue PDF now! See our full Issue Archive and new newsletter archive.
First thing, if you are not already a subscriber, join the weekly Compass newsletter, it’s the best way to never miss an update on all things Caribbean sailing, traveling, and lifestyle: https://caribbeancompass.com/register
Island Spotlight: Saba – Saba rises from the sea like a fairy tale picture of a forbidden land. A mere five square miles, it reaches a lofty 3,084 feet.
Dominican Republic: The “Thornless Path” route to High-Season Fun – Heading south or north in winter/spring? Why not choose the “thornless” route to the Dominican Republic.
Joan Conover’s Clean Wake – Long before taking the helm of the SSCA, Conover was practicing one of their founding principles — leave a clean wake. On board, on land, and on the air… more
ULTRA Beryl Buckets of Love – The initiative was born as part of the ULTRA Community Projects and the SSCA Clean Wake program, to help the victims devastated by Beryl in the Eastern Caribbean.
Night Sky for January Now Online!
What to see to look for now through the end of the year! by Jim Ulik
Click here to open ISSUU reader in full page mode here
Weather websites and nets, newly updated for winter 2024 – 2025
Latest weather nets and websites by Bill Woodroffe
Caribbean Yacht Security — Everyone’s Concern, Everyone’s Responsibility
News Round-Up
MarAlliance’s Human-Centered Approach to Marine Conservation – Caribbean Compass
New Marine Protected Area for Puerto Rico – Caribbean Compass
Caribbean Multihull Challenge Party Time – Caribbean Compass
This Is the Best ‘Cultural Destination’ in the Caribbean — and It Has Architectural Gems, Vintage Cars, and a Robust Music Scene – Travel + Leisure
The World’s Best Rum—According To Top Rum Experts – Forbes
Useful Links for Caribbean Bound Cruisers – Noonsite
Luperon’s Diesel-Leaking Fishing Fleet Was Protected by Drug Cartel – Loose Cannon
27 of the Coolest Boutique Hotels in the Caribbean – The Times
First- never miss an update; join the Caribbean Compass’s weekly newsletter and get every update in your inbox!: https://caribbeancompass.com/register
Events Calendar for January
1 Annual Festival Parade in Montserrat. visitmontserrat.com/festivals
1 Guloya Festival, San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
1 Public holiday or ‘recovery day’ in many places (New Year’s Day)
2 Ancestry Day, Haiti
3 St. Croix Crucian Carnival Adult Parade.
4 St. Croix Crucian Carnival Children’s Parade.
3-4 St. Croix Crucian Carnival Food, Arts and Crafts Fair. stcroixtourism.com › christmas_festival
6 Public holiday in some places (Three Kings Day/Epiphany)
6 Viking Explorers rally departs from Canary Islands. vikingexplorersrally.com.
8 International Women’s Day
10-19 St. Barths Music Festival. stbartsmusicfestival.org/festival
10-22 Barbados Sailing Week. roundbarbados.com
11 Start of World ARC, St. Lucia. worldcruising.com
11-12 Barbados Youth Dinghy Races. roundbarbados.com
11-2 Mar Aruba Carnival. visitaruba.com/things-to-do/aruba-events/aruba-carnival-season/
12 RORC Transatlantic Race departs Canary Islands bound for Grenada. rorctransatlantic.rorc.org
13 FULL MOON (Full Wolf Moon)
13-18 Panama Jazz Festival. panamajazzfestival.com
15 Antigua Yacht Club mini-regatta.
15-20 Cayman Cookout. caymancookout.com
15-21 Barbados Independent Film Festival. barbadosfilmfest.org
16-19 Fiestas de da Calle San Sebastián, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
17-18 Rebel Salute, Plantation Cove, Jamaica. rebelsalutejamaica.com
18-19 Barbados Coastal Races, wingfoiling and kitesurfing. roundbarbados.com
18-19 Multiclass Dinghy Regatta, St. Maarten. smyc.com
18-20 Caribbean Midwinter Laser Regatta, Cabarete, Dominican Republic. caribwind.com
19-22 Gov’t Mule’s Island Exodus 15, Runaway Bay, Jamaica. islandexodus.com
20 Public holiday in Puerto Rico & USVI (Martin Luther King Day)
20 Painkiller Cup, Tortola, BVI. painkillercupbvi.com
21 Mount Gay Round Barbados Race. roundbarbados.com/round-barbados
21 Public holiday in the Dominican Republic (Our Lady of Altagracia)
22 Public holiday in Barbados (Errol Barrow Day)
22–5 Feb Mustique Blues Festival. basilsbar.com/whats-on/
23-27 ADN Bachata World Festival, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
24-27 Spice Island Billfish Tournament, Grenada. sibtgd.com
24-28 Bequia Music Fest. bequiamusicfestival.com
25 Holiday in Aruba (GF Croes Day), in Cuba (Birthday of José Martí) and in Cayman Islands (National Heroes Day)
25 Antigua Yacht Club Round the Island Race
25 Sandy Island Race, Antigua. antiguayachtclub.com/calendar
26 Public holiday in Dominican Republic (Duarte Day)
26 Latitude 18 Halyard Challenge Race, Tortola.
26-31 Grenada Sailing Week. grenadasailingweek.com
26-1 Feb Martinique Cata Raid. martiniquecataraid.com
27-3 Feb Havana Jazz Festival, Havana, Cuba. jazzcuba.com
30-6 Feb Viking Explorers rally arrives Grenada
31-2 Feb Caribbean Multihull Challenge.
TBA ARC January rally departs from Canary Islands bound for St. Lucia.
TBA Martin Luther King Regatta, St. Thomas. stthomasyachtclub.org/sailing/regattas/mlk-regatta
TBA Zemi Music Festival. St. Lucia. zemifestival.com/home
Reminder- never miss an update; join the Caribbean Compass’s twice-monthly newsletter and get each new issue by email: https://caribbeancompass.com/register
The U.S. Virgin Islands – Island Spotlight
The islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, along with numerous islets, offer some of the most stunning beauty and pristine sailing conditions imaginable.
Island Spotlight: The British Virgin Islands
With their steady northeast trade winds and numerous sheltered coves and harbors, the BVI attracts sailors from around the globe.
Featured: Cruisers’ Expectations: Sailing to the “Don’t Go” Spots. By Ed Lowrie
Island Spotlight: St. Kitts and Nevis – St. Kitts and Nevis are two distinct islands under a single country. By Lexi Fisher & Chris Doyle
Caribbean Ocean Currents – A confluence of several currents from the Atlantic, flows in a general east-southeast to west-northwest. By Amanda Delaney
