Short answer: on the trade-wind route, two to three weeks. Long answer: it depends on the route you pick, the season you leave in, and the boat under you — and the crossing starts months before you cast off. A note on experience: our ocean is the Pacific (Cloud Nine crossed it, and the Chronicles documents every day of it), and the craft of an ocean crossing transfers; where the Atlantic differs, this guide leans on the standard route wisdom every crossing crew studies.
How long does it take to sail across the Atlantic?
The classic westbound crossing — Canary Islands to the Caribbean, roughly 2,700 to 3,000 nautical miles depending on landfall — takes most cruising boats 14 to 21 days. A performance boat sailed hard can do it in 10 to 12; a conservative crew in a smaller boat, or a year with soft trades, can take 25 or more. The arithmetic is simple: at 5 knots you make 120 miles a day and cross in about 24 days; at 7 knots, closer to 17.
Eastbound is a different animal: the route via Bermuda and the Azores is longer in miles and moodier in weather, and most crews plan on three to four weeks with a real possibility of waiting out systems along the way.
Distance is the part people underestimate. Las Palmas to Rodney Bay in St Lucia is about 2,700 nautical miles as the crow flies, and almost nobody sails it as the crow flies. Dropping south to find the trades, then gybing down the rhumb line, puts most crews nearer 2,850 to 3,000 miles on the log. Plan on 2,900, and treat anything shorter as a gift.
From there it is division. Your crossing time is the distance divided by your average speed over the whole passage, not your boat speed on a good afternoon. Averages include the calm spot on day nine, the two days you sailed conservatively under reduced canvas at night, and the hours you spent hand-steering because the autopilot was sulking. Most crews average a knot to a knot and a half below what they expected.
| Boat and crew | Average | Day’s run | Crossing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance cat or racer, pushed | 8 kt | 190 nm | 10–12 days |
| Well-sailed 45 ft cruiser, full crew | 7 kt | 170 nm | 14–17 days |
| Typical 35–45 ft cruising boat | 6 kt | 145 nm | 18–21 days |
| Small, heavily loaded, or soft trades | 5 kt | 120 nm | 22–26 days |
| Shorthanded and sailing conservatively | 4.5 kt | 108 nm | 26–28 days |
One honest caveat on all of it. A crossing time is an outcome, not a target, and the crews who arrive tired and broken are almost always the ones who treated it as a target. The Pacific taught us that the boat will give you a number and your job is to sail well inside it. The spread between a good day and a slow one on the same passage is wider than most people expect, and the weather does not consult you about either.
The two routes that matter
| Route | The shape of it |
|---|---|
| Westbound trades (Canaries → Caribbean) | "Sail south until the butter melts, then turn right." Leave late Nov–Jan after hurricane season, drop to ~20°N for the established northeast trades, and run downwind for two to three weeks. This is the ARC rally route and the friendliest ocean crossing on earth. |
| Eastbound westerlies (Caribbean/US → Bermuda → Azores → Europe) | Leave May–June, ride the westerlies in the wake of the lows, restock in the Azores. More upwind, more weather decisions, colder — and the Azores landfall is one of sailing’s great rewards. |
The boat question, answered honestly
“Smallest boat to cross the Atlantic” is a fun record-book rabbit hole (the answer is absurd — under six feet), but the practical question is different: what makes a boat ocean-crossing capable? Not length. A well-prepared 30-footer is safer than a neglected 50-footer. What matters: standing rigging you would bet your life on (because you are), a rudder and steering system with a backup plan, self-steering that works downwind, tankage and stowage for three weeks plus reserve, and berths the off-watch can actually sleep in. Every year the ARC is crossed by ordinary production cruisers; every year the boats that struggle are the ones whose preparation stopped at the marina.
What the crossing asks of you
The miles before departure count more than the miles after. The preparation stack, in the order we would do it again: passage plan the route and season; refit and test every system offshore of the dock at least once; provision for the slow crossing, not the fast one; audit the safety equipment beyond the legal minimums (life raft, EPIRB, jacklines — and their expiry dates); set the watch schedule and sea-trial the crew; and leave a float plan ashore with a check-in rhythm your family can live with.
The part we learned mid-Pacific: the crossing is hardest on the people who stay home. Twenty days of silence is twenty days of imagining the worst. Cloud Nine’s answer became WatchKeeper — the logbook generates a calm, twice-daily shore brief, so the family follows the passage instead of fearing it. That, plus the float plan, is the communications half of crossing preparation.
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Atlantic crossing FAQ
How long does it take to sail across the Atlantic?
On the classic trade-wind route (Canaries to the Caribbean, about 2,700–3,000 nautical miles), most cruising sailboats take 14 to 21 days. Faster boats do it in 10–12; conservative crews or light winds can stretch it past 25. Eastbound via the Azores usually takes longer and demands more weather patience.
How far is it to sail across the Atlantic?
The classic westbound route from the Canary Islands to the eastern Caribbean is about 2,700 nautical miles direct, but almost nobody sails it direct. Dropping south to pick up the trades and then gybing down puts most crews nearer 2,850 to 3,000 miles on the log. Plan on 2,900 and treat anything shorter as a gift.
How many miles a day do you sail on an Atlantic crossing?
Day’s runs are simply your average speed multiplied by 24. A typical 35 to 45 foot cruising boat averaging 6 knots covers about 145 miles a day and crosses in 18 to 21 days. Seven knots is roughly 170 miles a day and a 14 to 17 day passage. Most crews average a knot to a knot and a half below what they expected, because the average has to absorb the calm patches and the nights sailed under reduced canvas.
How long does it take to cross the Atlantic by ship rather than sailboat?
A very different answer. A modern container ship or ocean liner crosses in about 6 to 8 days at 20 to 25 knots, and a transatlantic cruise is typically marketed as 7 days between New York and Southampton. Sailboats are weather-dependent and slower by a factor of two or three, which is why the sailing answer is measured in weeks rather than days.
What is the best time to sail across the Atlantic?
Westbound: late November through January, after hurricane season, when the northeast trades are established — which is why the ARC rally leaves the Canaries in late November. Eastbound: May and June, riding the westerlies toward the Azores before the North Atlantic summer highs settle in.
What is the smallest boat that can sail across the Atlantic?
The record books include boats under 6 feet, so "possible" is not the question. For a sane crossing, most experienced sailors put the practical floor around 30 feet of well-found, well-prepared boat — enough to carry water, food, and spares, and to give the crew a sea-keeping motion they can rest in. Preparation matters far more than length.
What kind of sailboat do you need to cross an ocean?
A boat whose hull, rig, and rudder you trust, with reliable self-steering, good tankage, and a layout the off-watch can sleep in. Full-keel classics, modern fin-keel cruisers, and catamarans all cross safely every year. The honest checklist: sound standing rigging, a storm plan, redundant navigation and comms, and a crew that knows the boat.
Is it dangerous to sail across the Atlantic?
It is a serious undertaking with real risks, but on the trade-wind route in season, with a prepared boat and honest weather discipline, thousands of ordinary cruising crews cross safely every year. The dangers that matter most are the boring ones: chafe, fatigue, dehydration, and small problems left unfixed until they compound.
How do you stay in touch with family while crossing an ocean?
Satellite: Starlink increasingly, Iridium reliably. The harder question is what to send. A daily position and a short plain-language update transforms the crossing for the people at home — which is exactly what WatchKeeper automates with twice-daily shore briefs generated from your logbook.