Craving the thrill of the high seas?

Chart a course to this spectacular archipelago.

In no time, our 45-foot catamaran was cruising through eight- to 10-foot swells.

Boats in a harbor in Grenada, in the Caribbean

When the Atlantic and the Caribbean converge, he said, its like a whirlpool.

As St. Lucias mighty Pitons began to disappear into a misty haze, the seas fell calm.

We sailed past sprawlingSt.

Photo illustration depicting family travel in Haiti

So where are the Cays?

asked my wife, Joy.

With a keen hold of the helm, his response was simple: Further.

Drone view of a yacht in the Grenadines

That search for adventure was exactly why we had come.

It was our third Caribbean charter with theMoorings,which pairs families like mine with crewed yachts.

After lunch and once again under way, the captain set two fishing lines to trawl off the stern.

A dish of rice and pigeon peas being plated in a restaurant in Jamaica

Then, suddenly, the whirl of a fishing reel: Fish on!

yelled my older son, Jackson.

Its all part of the adventure, Gangardine said.

Aerial view of villas and the beach at a resort in Grenada

Take, for example, Salt Whistle Bay, a glorious cove on the island of Mayreau.

Gangardine told us wed be going to a beach, but this place felt like a textbook Caribbean paradise.

Dotted with rum shacks and windblown coconut palms, it instantly became our new favorite spot.

A woman in a white slip dress with a tan hat and a glass of champagne

That is until we finally reached the Tobago Cays.

Naturally we tested the waters, which are now protected as a national marine park.

exclaimed my younger son, Tyler.

Drone view of a yacht in the Grenadines

A yacht and small boats on water in the Grenadines.Credit:David LaHuta

Its like another world, Joy said.

I had to agree.

Pair of photos from the Grenadines, one showing boats in a cay, and one showing a boat captain

From left: Sailing the Tobago Cays, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines; the author’s charter captain, Johan Gangardine.David LaHuta