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Old 24-03-2017, 15:23   #1
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Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

Hi.
We, 3 persons will cross the Atlantic mid April from St.Martin to Seixal, Portugal on a leopard 38 catamaran. This will be my second transatlantic trip, but my first one sailing east.
I heard many opinions, sail to Bahamas, bermudas, then azores, but really appreciate advice via the cruisersforum.

Would be nice to get your ideas of routing compared to weather during April. Thank you in advance.
Maybe somebody has or knows a blog with the exact second opinion I'm looking for.
Alex
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Old 24-03-2017, 15:59   #2
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

Mid April is too early to go imho.

In St Martin on April 15th we are conducting a Atlantic Crossing Forum presented by a guy who has done the round trip crossing 17 times, and me.

Its at 3pm at Lagoonies.

If you look at the record of the disasters that have happened on this passage they invariable occur to boats leaving too early before the safer weather window.

Please reconsider your departure date... and come to the forum in St Martin!
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Old 24-03-2017, 17:25   #3
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pirate Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

Hey Mark.. is that Quinn your talking about..??
Re the OP.. I've crossed in Feb, April, May, June and July.. personally I'd go direct to the Azores.. the Bermuda route will still be copping for fronts on the Azores leg.. jump off on a window of winds from S of E and grab all the Easting you can as you go.. 4 days should see you across the W bound stream after that keep grabbing for the East and don't head N to soon.. last year I had E'lies all the way across (they stretched up to 42.5N) and it would not surprise me if its the same this year.. carry plenty of fuel and don't be afraid to use it in the light winds.. one engine at a time should double your range.
Have a good trip..
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Old 24-03-2017, 17:55   #4
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

Quote:
Originally Posted by ak5609 View Post
Hi.
We, 3 persons will cross the Atlantic mid April from St.Martin to Seixal, Portugal on a leopard 38 catamaran. This will be my second transatlantic trip, but my first one sailing east.
I heard many opinions, sail to Bahamas, bermudas, then azores, but really appreciate advice via the cruisersforum.

Would be nice to get your ideas of routing compared to weather during April. Thank you in advance.
Maybe somebody has or knows a blog with the exact second opinion I'm looking for.
Alex
I have not yet done that Transatlantic passage, but want to and I am available this year to do so as crew (in case anyone is in need of crew), so I am interested in this topic.

I was impressed by BOATMAN61 and MARKJ's advice before in other threads, and respect their experience. It seems that timing is a very big part of success.

Here is a lengthy thread posted in the first week of May 2015, where it was mentioned that 14 people were rescued from 5 yachts that had problems during a severe storm off the Azores.

Winds were reported to be 100kph and seas 10 meters.

One young girl, one of a family of four on a catamaran that was abandoned, died, despite being rescued after being in the water with her father for hours awaiting rescue in high seas. It was a tragic story.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...es-145794.html
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Old 24-03-2017, 18:04   #5
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

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Originally Posted by boatman61 View Post
[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Hey Mark.. is that Quinn your talking about..??
Re the OP.. I've crossed in Feb, April, May, June and July..
But remember Boatman61 is a highly experienced delivery skipper. You may well be nuts to try to emulate his passage dates.

@Boatman61 Yep
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Old 25-03-2017, 00:56   #6
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

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Originally Posted by MarkJ View Post
Mid April is too early to go imho.

In St Martin on April 15th we are conducting a Atlantic Crossing Forum presented by a guy who has done the round trip crossing 17 times, and me.

Its at 3pm at Lagoonies.

If you look at the record of the disasters that have happened on this passage they invariable occur to boats leaving too early before the safer weather window.

Please reconsider your departure date... and come to the forum in St Martin!
YEP -- we crossed from Antigua in 2013 - We left on May 1 - we were using Chris Parker and our own forecasts and had a potential window late April - the question we had to deal with was a front coming across the USA that in later spring turn north but in winter and early spring sometimes dip south - After a bit of talking with Chris and our look at long range forecasts we decided it was to risky to leave - we waited for about a week to 10 days and the yep the front went south - we know of 2 boats that left and on our way across we got boat alerts to be on the look out for them - they did not make it to the Azores and when we got there they also had a boat watch out for another boat
Don't get in a rush
OH and when we went past Bermuda we were 500nm to the east of it
We sail a Jeanneau DS40 with a 2 person crew and we used about 15-18 gallons on fuel on the trip from Antigua to Horta

And when you get to Horta find our painting and send a pic please
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Old 25-03-2017, 06:49   #7
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

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Originally Posted by MarkJ View Post
Mid April is too early to go imho.

In St Martin on April 15th we are conducting a Atlantic Crossing Forum presented by a guy who has done the round trip crossing 17 times, and me.

Its at 3pm at Lagoonies.

If you look at the record of the disasters that have happened on this passage they invariable occur to boats leaving too early before the safer weather window.

Please reconsider your departure date... and come to the forum in St Martin!
That is a very nice thing to do for the cruisers there Mark.

Yeloya left at the end of March, 2012 and had a 1 in 100 year passage where the wind was perfect the entire trip. I left exactly one month later and had the standard 50/50, which unfortunately ended up on the bad side of the 50%. A big boat and lots (LOTS) of diesel were probably the two main reasons we made it.

If I hadn't been so fixated on Horta, we would (should) have made Madeira the destination as that's where the wind wanted us to go.
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Old 25-03-2017, 07:22   #8
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

Hi,

At OP:

You may want to browse earlier threads and see if the boat and crew are up to sailing across 'early'. There are older threads (e.g. the ones by Atom) that describe the situation and the risks as well as the list of accidents that happened and discussing the limitations and challenges.

Big maxi yachts under pro crews are one thing. Smaller cruising craft is another thing. Beware.

There is one thread I started last year where I attempted to 'hunt' the first season window to go. Not conductive but allows one to look at wx faxes and other data as it rolled out last year. I may start a similar thread this year if this makes sense to others.

My individual opinion is that mid April can be 'early' in some seasons and more so for some boats, crews and on some routes. The Bermuda route is obviously the more risky one but the other routes are not risk-free either. It is North Atlantic. You can get a bad storm any time of the year, also in the 'good' window. (There was a January hurricane in the Atlantic not too long ago).

So: read up, educate yourself on what the weather is all about on this passage and get your crew and boat 100% as storm ready as you can.

Disclaimer: At CF I am just a sailor. Outside of CF I am a weather router. My view is probably the ultra right wing of 'play it safe' spectrum of all views. My standing recommendation for my clients is late May. Only strong crews and boats are reasonably safe to sail earlier, especially on the more Northerly routes. My opinion, not facts of life. Regard or disregard as you find adequate.

Cheers,
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Old 25-03-2017, 07:41   #9
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

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I am a weather router..... My standing recommendation for my clients is late May.
That's the gem advice.


And, yes Barnakeil, that weather thread was good last year. Another this year would be good


Mark
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Old 25-03-2017, 08:56   #10
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

Very good chance that your going to have a less then fun passage leaving this early. Of course the weather these days have been somewhat erratic so who knows? A patient sailor encounters few storms, I wish you a safe voyage.
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Old 25-03-2017, 09:41   #11
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

Agree with Phil: I used to go up to and via, Bermuda but nowadays I pretty much aim for the Azores, grabbing all the Eastings I can get. Doing it in a Catamaran in May from BVI, but I always provision in SXM on the way over. Have fun, Tony
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Old 25-03-2017, 09:50   #12
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

We crossed in 2014 from Charleston, SC to Seixal, Portugal, from May 28th to July 28th with one month overall stops in Bermuda and the Azores, so 2 months sailing really.
Our boat is a monohull Westerly 36 and we had no problem with the weather.
If you are interested I wrote an account of our crossing which was published in the SSCA bulletins in 2015. I can also send it to you via email if you are interested. My email address is jeanmarcpapon@gmail.com.
Are you planning to leave your boat for a while at the Tagus Boatyard in Seixal?
We left our boat there for the 2014 winter and I can share info's on that place if you are interested. I recommend it highly.
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Old 25-03-2017, 10:17   #13
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

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Originally Posted by MarkJ View Post
That's the gem advice.


And, yes Barnakeil, that weather thread was good last year. Another this year would be good


Mark
OK then I will start a new thread and try to keep it alive for about 3 months till when the weather is settled and the boats gone.

I will post a link in this thread later, for the readers here.

Cheers,
b.
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Old 25-03-2017, 14:13   #14
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

I did this route starting from 31st of March and in 14 days from BVI to Horta with 43 ft Orana. I had to start to motor only 50 nm to Horta with the usual high pressure.

My suggestions;

-listen to everyone but use yr own judgement. One of the best weather router had told me to never leave when I left and everything went perfect. I may be lucky but study yr lesson yourself, it's not a rocket science.
-Late April - early May is what the books say but there is no guarantee. I know many boats which are leaving have in this time frame reaching to Horta in terrible conditions, some of them dismasted.
-Definately avoid Bermuda. Go south when the wind is too much and north when there isn't enough.
-Point always higher than then yr destination in Portugal. The winds and currents are usually northerly after Horta.
-If you have the possibility to rig a twin genoa on the forestay on Leopard, that's great. That's the safest way to run when the wind intensify. I used the mainsail only 1/4 of the road; for the rest was under the spi or the twin gib.
-If you are using the mainsail, reef to the max. It's almost impossible to turn to the wind and take a reef when the wind increases, turning upwind to 30-35 kts and and against 6 meters of waves in the middle of the night is not fun. (I've tried it..)
-the passage of Atlantic west to East has nothing comparable with the one West to East. It's much more demanding and challenging for the boat and for the crew. Get the best possible crew.
-Keep the boat as light as possible, particularly the bows. You will be surfing at 20-25 kts of speed to the buttom of the waves and won't be fun if you dive the nose of the boat into the water. (It's very scary at the beginning but becomes a fun once you get used to it)

Good luck..

Yeloya
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Old 25-03-2017, 15:27   #15
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Re: Advice on sailing transatlantic West-East

Follow Lee Chesneau (OPC/NOAA Meteorologist) advice from his book heavy weather avoidance: make sure your route stays below the 5640 isohight on the 500mb atlantic map. This will almost at all time guaranty winds max speed to F6 summer time, F7 winter time. How cool is that ?
Lee Chesneau's Marine Weather
Want to be make it safer: add 2 degrees south of the 5640 isohight.
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