On my 50th I want to sail across the Atlantic. Would like to make an end of season passage (August-September) Is that a good time to cross? Am thinking of a destination of either Ireland or England. The plan is to sail there in late summer early fall, leave the boat there for the winter and then make a return trip to the Carribean for the spring and the head back to NY by mid summer (July). I have three years to plan this and would like some comments about weather history (storm history data as it relates to time of year. We own a Beneteau 361 and would like to know if anyone has experience with a vessel of that size for this type of trip. Thanks
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A couple did it last year..with H 340..
Departed in May from Florida,after sailing 5800 miles,arrived Turkey in september safely.
Departed in May from Florida,after sailing 5800 miles,arrived Turkey in september safely.
Smack in the middle of...
Atlantic hurricane season. Good luck. Thats why all the Bermuda races are before July, to give everyone time to get home again.
Atlantic hurricane season. Good luck. Thats why all the Bermuda races are before July, to give everyone time to get home again.
Just from memory
I can't find the article now, but I read an article last spring about the weather windows you need to pay attention to for that trip. Summary: If your going to cross the Atlantic, you need to start before June, or the chances you will be hit by more then one gale is very high. You will want to be on the otherside before August. Going from England to the Caribean is good to leave in Dec I believe. This all comes from a guy to does the trip every year for the past 30 years. Another problem as the other posters have said is hurricanes, which the season is June - Nov. As the season wears on, the more the stoms tend to head north and curving east...sometimes going all the way to England. I would hate to be in your shoes if your halfway and have one ride up your stern. If your going to be in the Caribean in June and July, make sure you find a GREAT hurricane hole and have plenty of anchors. During your trip up north there is sure to be a hurricane somewhere out there, the question is, will it come your way and how good of a slip will you find to tie up with if it does? Most cruisers spend the winter in the caribean and in late spring they go either north or south to get out of the main hurricane paths. There's lots of information by experienced cruisers on www.sailnet.com for you to read. You should be able to read it all in 3 years...maybe...dependong on your other distractions. I am pretty sure it will help you.
I can't find the article now, but I read an article last spring about the weather windows you need to pay attention to for that trip. Summary: If your going to cross the Atlantic, you need to start before June, or the chances you will be hit by more then one gale is very high. You will want to be on the otherside before August. Going from England to the Caribean is good to leave in Dec I believe. This all comes from a guy to does the trip every year for the past 30 years. Another problem as the other posters have said is hurricanes, which the season is June - Nov. As the season wears on, the more the stoms tend to head north and curving east...sometimes going all the way to England. I would hate to be in your shoes if your halfway and have one ride up your stern. If your going to be in the Caribean in June and July, make sure you find a GREAT hurricane hole and have plenty of anchors. During your trip up north there is sure to be a hurricane somewhere out there, the question is, will it come your way and how good of a slip will you find to tie up with if it does? Most cruisers spend the winter in the caribean and in late spring they go either north or south to get out of the main hurricane paths. There's lots of information by experienced cruisers on www.sailnet.com for you to read. You should be able to read it all in 3 years...maybe...dependong on your other distractions. I am pretty sure it will help you.
World Cruising Routes by Jimmy Cornell
It's all in there, especially since you're doing long-range planning. If you want a frank assessment of your boat as a blue-water cruiser, go to www.ssca.org and pop your head up long enough to ask the question....Once the anti-Huntabenalina rants lose their steam, you should get some good information, especially from Jack Tyler and a few others. Pay particular attention to the stability numbers and how they relate to safety. And remember, just because somebody did (a voyage in a particular boat) doesn't mean anybody should
Cheers, Bob s/v X SAIL R 8
It's all in there, especially since you're doing long-range planning. If you want a frank assessment of your boat as a blue-water cruiser, go to www.ssca.org and pop your head up long enough to ask the question....Once the anti-Huntabenalina rants lose their steam, you should get some good information, especially from Jack Tyler and a few others. Pay particular attention to the stability numbers and how they relate to safety. And remember, just because somebody did (a voyage in a particular boat) doesn't mean anybody should
Cheers, Bob s/v X SAIL R 8I'd encourage you to change your sked, Peter
Peter, I do think the SSCA BB - http://ssca.org/sscabb/index.php - is a good resource for folks with plans like yours (thanks for the kind comments, Bob...). But in this case, there's not much to finesse. Once you go offshore and into seasonal cruising waters (most especially places like the N Atlantic and also during Summer's storm season), you have to shift from the tendency to work from a personal or professional calendar and move to one that reflects seasonal weather patterns. There is little in your schedule that is prudent or even inviting, I'm afraid. Beginning your passage during the late summer/early Fall gives you the worst of both worlds: increasing (in number and strength) LP cells migrating across N America and out into the N Atlantic by Sep, along with their frontal wx systems, but also a good chance of intercepting a tropical storm (or worse) - look e.g. at the recent years' storm tracks and note how the names reflect storms thru-out the season: http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/summary.html Your desire to leave Ireland/UK in the early Spring is also a tough choice as it will have you transiting perhaps a bit of the Irish Sea and certainly Biscay before summer, a time when violent weather is still occurring and when temps are uninviting. As you progress further S down the Iberian Atlantic Coast, the favorable Portuguese Trades won't yet be in place and you'll instead have to deal with SW'ly gales. Getting to Madeira & the Canaries could be a real trial. The Trade Wind route across to the Caribbean might be okay if rough in Mar-Apr; your passage will be influenced by gales in the N Atlantic, so you'll see a lot of N'ly swell(roll/roll/roll...). Cornell's reference and also Anne Hammick's Atlantic Crossing Guide can both be helpful for general planning but I've come to view their routing advice as potentially misleading and very 'old school'. Neither volume reflects the practice aboard most boats these days of gathering real-time wx system data and f'casts, and then adjusting the route to fit the actual weather systems in place when making the crossing. Instead, they base their routing advice on Pilot Charts which are of course accurate in a general sense but far less accurate for a specific point in time and space. However, note the frequency of gales in the Atlantic pilot charts, which you'll want to reflect on: http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/pubs/pubs_j_apc_sections.html?rid=10499 Your preferred sked for the entire Circle you plan will be something like this: Atlantic Crossing either direct or via Azores beginning in late May or June; arrival in the UK most likely in July/Aug with some regional cruising possible until Sep; reclaim the boat in May for local shakedown, S-bound transit to perhaps Lisbon and on to Madeira & the Canaries over the balance of the summer; departure for the Caribbean in Nov/Dec and return to N America by May/June. Even this extended calendar sure doesn't offer much time to smell the roses... Jack
Peter, I do think the SSCA BB - http://ssca.org/sscabb/index.php - is a good resource for folks with plans like yours (thanks for the kind comments, Bob...). But in this case, there's not much to finesse. Once you go offshore and into seasonal cruising waters (most especially places like the N Atlantic and also during Summer's storm season), you have to shift from the tendency to work from a personal or professional calendar and move to one that reflects seasonal weather patterns. There is little in your schedule that is prudent or even inviting, I'm afraid. Beginning your passage during the late summer/early Fall gives you the worst of both worlds: increasing (in number and strength) LP cells migrating across N America and out into the N Atlantic by Sep, along with their frontal wx systems, but also a good chance of intercepting a tropical storm (or worse) - look e.g. at the recent years' storm tracks and note how the names reflect storms thru-out the season: http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/summary.html Your desire to leave Ireland/UK in the early Spring is also a tough choice as it will have you transiting perhaps a bit of the Irish Sea and certainly Biscay before summer, a time when violent weather is still occurring and when temps are uninviting. As you progress further S down the Iberian Atlantic Coast, the favorable Portuguese Trades won't yet be in place and you'll instead have to deal with SW'ly gales. Getting to Madeira & the Canaries could be a real trial. The Trade Wind route across to the Caribbean might be okay if rough in Mar-Apr; your passage will be influenced by gales in the N Atlantic, so you'll see a lot of N'ly swell(roll/roll/roll...). Cornell's reference and also Anne Hammick's Atlantic Crossing Guide can both be helpful for general planning but I've come to view their routing advice as potentially misleading and very 'old school'. Neither volume reflects the practice aboard most boats these days of gathering real-time wx system data and f'casts, and then adjusting the route to fit the actual weather systems in place when making the crossing. Instead, they base their routing advice on Pilot Charts which are of course accurate in a general sense but far less accurate for a specific point in time and space. However, note the frequency of gales in the Atlantic pilot charts, which you'll want to reflect on: http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/pubs/pubs_j_apc_sections.html?rid=10499 Your preferred sked for the entire Circle you plan will be something like this: Atlantic Crossing either direct or via Azores beginning in late May or June; arrival in the UK most likely in July/Aug with some regional cruising possible until Sep; reclaim the boat in May for local shakedown, S-bound transit to perhaps Lisbon and on to Madeira & the Canaries over the balance of the summer; departure for the Caribbean in Nov/Dec and return to N America by May/June. Even this extended calendar sure doesn't offer much time to smell the roses... Jack
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