Quote:
Originally Posted by urisvan
thank you guys,
i cant go PR because i havent sort out my US visa and i can not do it here, so if i leave leeward islands i will go DR.
So at the end, i guess we can say that there is no strait course from DR to Bermuda, Or there is?
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There are plenty of jumping-off points other than DR that don't require a US Visa. I would chose St. Martin, but
BVI is also a reasonable choice. I see no reason to
head 400+nm downwind to DR only to have to make it back upwind later. You only save about 100nm on the trip to
Bermuda (compared to
Antigua, less to
BVI or St Martin) -- and the savings is even less if headwinds force you off your course.
As far as a straight course, you might skip Bermuda altogether. Depending on how far north you continue to face easterlies (you'd be all the way up to 30deg, if you were out there now), it could be a big time/distance saving or be very little at all.
As far as the
weather goes, I believe you should be prepared for it. According to the pilot
charts for your Bermuda->Azores, you should be prepared to see 12ft+ seas about 5-10% of the time in early May. The first leg, although earlier, is even lower probability. I try to avoid encountering heavy
weather, but it occasionally finds me anyway. BTW, I don't consider 12' to be very large, but 20' is also over 12'.
If you are planning a transatlantic sail, you should be prepared for gale and even storm force conditions. Try to avoid it, but be prepared for it. Don't be scared of the weather, but do respect it.