SEAWISE BY DON STREET DON’T LEAVE THE CARIBBEAN — YET! APRIL <strong>2017</strong> CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 22 Spring is in the air and some sailors are already planning a trip away from the <strong>Caribbean</strong>, heading to North America or Europe. Many experienced offshore sailors say, “Anyone heading north or northeast from the Eastern <strong>Caribbean</strong> before the end of the first week in May is playing Russian roulette with three bullets in the cylinder.” This is also my conclusion, based not only on my own experience but also on 70 years of reading about disasters, being told of disasters first hand and hearing many second-hand reports. While waiting for mid-May to come, purchase the Imray Iolaire passage chart 100. It is a gnomonic projection, where a straight line is a Great Circle course. It covers the whole North Atlantic and also the <strong>Caribbean</strong>. On the front of the chart are shown all the normal Great Circle courses that are likely to be sailed by a yacht, with the distance to be sailed. On the back there are weather and wave-height charts for the entire year — except for the months of January, February and March, months when yachts should not be sailing in the North Atlantic. The weather charts show wind direction, frequency and strength, and the percentage of calms plus gale frequency. Regarding gale frequency, a word of warning: “gales” mean winds of Force 8 (40 knots) or more, sometimes much more. Winter gales are usually stronger than summer gales. <strong>April</strong> gales are most likely more severe than May gales. The weather charts also show areas and frequency of wave heights of 12 feet or over. Again, the chart does not show how much over 12 feet can be expected. It must be remembered that if the waves are running 12 feet, occasionally they will get in sync and waves of 24 feet will arrive. On all routes the boat, skipper and crew, must all be prepared to weather a full gale at sea in COLD weather. The Great Circle course from Bermuda to Falmouth, England leads through the southern edge of the area of icebergs, and boats heading from Bermuda to the Azores that take the northern route looking for wind will skirt the iceberg area. The passage chart 100 is a real eye-opener: it shows positions of icebergs that have been seen well south of the normal area — including four south of the Azores. The passage from Bermuda to the Azores can be a mixed bag. On chart 100 there are three routes shown: direct, middle and northern. The direct route is the shortest. It is also straight through the Azores High. Some boats have reported not only light airs, but also long periods of flat calm, requiring much motor-sailing or motoring. But this is not always so. In 2002, delivering an Oyster 48 ketch, we left Bermuda on a southwester. One day out, the wind switched to the east and started blowing. The passage from Bermuda to the Azores can be a mixed bag Every time the wind shifted we tacked, but each time the wind headed us. We spent two days going nowhere. Finally the wind suddenly switched to the west and started to really blow like hell. We sailed to Flores, straight through the normally windless Azores High, under shortened sail the entire time. Some boats departing Antigua will head northeast on starboard tack, close reaching toward the Azores: Great Circle distance 2,070 miles. When the wind dies they turn north, power across the High, pick up the southwesterlies, and sail off to the Azores. But this does not always work. In 1989, Iolaire took off direct to the Azores on a fast close reach. At the end of seven days we were halfway there; the wind was dying. Many boats had left Antigua the same day and we were talking on the VHF. I announced that, as the wind was dying, I was turning north to cross the High and pick up the southwesterlies. Wet and Wild came on and said they had weather info and there was no wind in the entire North Atlantic: the only thing to do was to continue on and fight the light airs. We all did this. The boats with engines ran out of fuel. One day when all the others were becalmed, Iolaire did 70 miles. How? We dropped the main, squared the boom off, and hoisted two spinnakers. We were not towing a prop. The engineless Iolaire took 21 days to sail from Antigua to Horta; the boats with engines took 19 days. This article was published in a slightly different form in <strong>April</strong> 2014; the advice is timeless. For Street’s tips on sailing from the Eastern <strong>Caribbean</strong> to the East Coast of the US, see page 27 of the March 2014 issue of <strong>Compass</strong> at http://www.caribbeancompass. com/online/march14compass_online.pdf. LC KLUND Outward Bound This month, <strong>Compass</strong> takes a slight detour from our usual <strong>Caribbean</strong>-only geographic focus to give readers a glimpse of what lies just outside our borders on some popular cruising routes. On the following pages we’ll take a look at cruising the Azores, in the Atlantic; the Exumas, in The Bahamas; and the Perlas Islands, on the Pacific side of Panama. Enjoy the detour — and come back soon!
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