Caribbean to South Africa

[Bluewaters2812]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Well... its a plan and allows for a bit of R&R... I figured on 65days W Palm Beach to Cape Town non-stop last year...
Shame it never happened... mind... I did have fun but really fancied the 'Clipper Run' to Perth..

Tks mate. I hope that run happens for you still.

Who knows, I have a sister in Brisbane. If we survive these current plans (plans; haha), we will head back to the Caribbean and spend a year there contemplating our folly. Then we'll look at maybe doing an easier run through Panama, Marquesas, Aus. Maybe we will wash up next to each other sometime soon (hopefully not sans yacht or on a liferaft)!

The admiral and I will leave the sunny shores of the UK tomorrow morning and land on the Hurricane swept Island of Martinique tomorrow. I hate the idea that we are leaving the fantastic UK weather behind us for a week.

[atoll]

if the boat is in martanique,head to the azores from there,why lose ground and distance going down wind,down current to the turks,only to have to fight your way back in september,in a far more hurricane prone area?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by atoll

if the boat is in martanique,head to the azores from there,why lose ground and distance going down wind,down current to the turks,only to have to fight your way back in september,in a far more hurricane prone area?

Been wanting to ask that for yonks...

[Bluewaters2812]

Originally Posted by atoll

if the boat is in martanique,head to the azores from there,why lose ground and distance going down wind,down current to the turks,only to have to fight your way back in september,in a far more hurricane prone area?

A very good question. I fully agree, ideally I would leave direct from Martinique for another reason too ... I don't willingly want to unnecessarily spend $200-$300 dollars for the cruising & exit permit but what I didn't say to you folks is that I have a commitment and promise to keep in Turks and I won't go back on my word.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Bluewaters2812

A very good question. I fully agree, ideally I would leave direct from Martinique for another reason too ... I don't willingly want to unnecessarily spend $200-$300 dollars for the cruising & exit permit but what I didn't say to you folks is that I have a commitment and promise to keep in Turks and I won't go back on my word.

sounds like you may need to throw some money at the problem and get the boat delivered to the canary islands in june,ready for your departure in september,which would be more or less the right time for a south atlantic passage,(october-march is the good season for southern ocean)

[Bluewaters2812]

Originally Posted by atoll

sounds like you may need to throw some money at the problem and get the boat delivered to the canary islands in june,ready for your departure in september,which would be more or less the right time for a south atlantic passage,(october-march is the good season for southern ocean)

I think I will be ok time-wise. I should be in Cape Verde by late September. Barring anything untoward, we should be in Cape Town early December, which is a nice time off the SA coast.

[donradcliffe]

I remember a C&C 41 with 4 young bucks who left Trinidad in February to go south. We talked to them daily until they got out of SSB range. There was a lot of whinging off the north coast of Guayana to Brazil--they had 2-3 knots of current against them plus constant squalls, rain, and sail changes. However they made it through, rounded the Horn, and lost the boat at Easter Island. If you are leaving in September, it seems like the faster you get below 10N the safer you are.

[Bluewaters2812]

Originally Posted by Bluewaters2812

All taken on board thanks. Just when is the "favourable" time of year to do this route then?

Thanks Don. How did they lose their boat? I agree, until we get out of the belt I won' be relaxed lol. I think those young bucks left at the wrong time. I'm sure the winds weren't' too favourable for them for that voyage along that N Brazil coast at that time of year either? It just goes to show though, that it can be done. Like they say, where there is a will, there is a way.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Bluewaters2812

Thanks Don. How did they lose their boat? I agree, until we get out of the belt I won' be relaxed lol. I think those young bucks left at the wrong time. I'm sure the winds weren't' too favourable for them for that voyage along that N Brazil coast at that time of year either? It just goes to show though, that it can be done. Like they say, where there is a will, there is a way.

on that route their really is no favourable time!

but you could consider june-nov the most favourable,as during the hurricane season you have a greater chance of calms or west winds with hurricanes passing to the north!

the current pretty much remains constant year round,

once you are around the corner and through the itcz,you will have full speed se trade winds on the nose for the next 2000 miles that blow at their strongest may till novenber

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by Bluewaters2812

Thanks Don. How did they lose their boat? I agree, until we get out of the belt I won' be relaxed lol. I think those young bucks left at the wrong time. I'm sure the winds weren't' too favourable for them for that voyage along that N Brazil coast at that time of year either? It just goes to show though, that it can be done. Like they say, where there is a will, there is a way.

I forgot to mention that the wind was on the nose as well as the current, and they were down to 50 miles made good some days.

I don't know the details on how they lost the boat, but Easter Island is not the most secure place to anchor a boat--its down near 30 south, and you have to keep moving the boat around the island as the fronts come through and the winds switch--BIG swells from the south are common in the cruising season.

[salticrak]

Would this be of any help?
Tiki 38 PERFECT BLEND cruise from Canada to Uruguay - Wharram Builders and Friends

[haw1961]

I usually don't get mixed up in other people's plans, but, I would never leave Turks& caicos in Aug-Sept to basically cross the Atlantic. The middle of Aug -Sept is the absolute height of the Atlantic hurricane season. You just can't get any worse. Good luck, you're gonna need it. Seriously, please think long and hard about this.

[bvimatelot]

Have to agree with Haw there - a most unseamanlike time of the year for a yacht to be departing transatlantic. Though not a huge believer in weather forecasters, Professor Grey is predicting an above average North Atlantic Hurricane season as well. Sure, they are well monitored and tracked but this is not a huge help to you if you have miss-stepped and can't get out of the way!

I've done Trini to Uruguay in a Bene 47, down that 'orrible coast to Fortaleza then round the Bulge - bugger of a trip: wind and strong current on the snoot the whole way! Tony

[haw1961]

Some of those storms that form off the coast of Africa are just huge. 500 maybe 1,000 miles across you won't outrun them or get out of their way.

[Bluewaters2812]

Thanks folks. It seems that there is conflicting opinion (as to be expected). Beat and batter your way South along the Brazilian North Coast (its out of the hurricane belt), or cross the Atlantic in a Northerly arc. I will keep researching and then make what I consider to be the safest choice.