I lived in Bermuda for some time and often had business in the Caribbean (Bermuda is actually nearer to Canada than the Caribbean in spite of beaches palm trees etc)
However there were no direct flights to the Islands or even Miami so for the 1300 mile trip to one f the Caribbean hubs Antigua or St Maarten meant a 0700 departure from Bermuda to JFK 2 hours north.
A frantic rush to another AA gate to make the southbound flight which always departed early mornings too and then I find myself at 1200 Bermuda time literally back over head my house which I had left at 5 am . So 7 hours travelling and I am just about to take my first step south. If I was really unlucky I would arrive in Antigua just in time to miss my inter island connecting flight and have the fun experience of waiting four or five hours for the next one, which was usually of about 20 minutes duration, thus getting to my destination around 20/2100 local time just 1300 miles from where I started 15 hours earlier.
PB