Weather in the Leewards

[YOGAO]

Originally Posted by Palarran

I like the windfinder forcast better then wundergrounds. One shows sun every day the the other shows rain.

That's a pretty agressive sail plan you have lov2. Good for you to venture that far. Most of the charter companies won't let you out of their support areas. Are you going to Saba?

I agree that sailing from St. Martin to Antigua and back is a pretty aggressive schedule for a week. It's easy to spend a couple of days in/around St. Martin, then sail to St. Barts, stopping for a day or two at the islands just north of St. Barts. Throw in a side trip to Saba for diving and you're done!

Fair Winds,
Mike

[speciald@ocens.]

I'm sitting in Hampton, VA after making a nasty passage down the Bay last night - cold, winds 30-35 directly on the stern. Plan is to leave Monday for Tortola and then on to Sint Maarten. Its a wait and see on the weather for now.

[Hud3]

The "tropical disturbance" approaching the southern Antilles has surprised the NHC forecasters by intensifying much more quickly than they thought it would. Dr. Jeff Masters talks about it in his weather blog...

The formation of a tropical storm so far south and east this late in the season is unprecedented in the historical record; no named storm has ever been present east of the Lesser Antilles (60°W) and south of 12°N latitude so late in the year.

It's been named Tomas. It's a tropical storm at this point, but forecasted to become a hurricane soon. You can find more here...

Tropical Weather : Weather Underground

[sigmasailor]

Originally Posted by Hud3

You can walk up to the Douanes (Customs) to clear in, but I've never, ever, found them open. There's a Customs office in Basseterre, also, but they may be closed, too. I always waited until I get to Les Saintes to clear in and out. The French aren't too uptight about that sort of thing. Are you diving around Pigeon Island? There are some moorings there, and a small bay. I've stopped for snorkeling, but never spent the night there.

The customs office closed some time ago. Clearing in is now in a souvenir shop on the mainstreet (left side). I forgot the name but coming from the dingy dock it's about 500 meters up the street. I think it was mentioned on the Chris Doyle site as well.
You have to do most of the process yourself on a PC (with AZERTY keyboard) but it's cheap (3 euro's).

Eric

[Hud3]

Thanks for that update, Eric. Glad to see they're making it easier to clear in in Deshaies. It always bothered me to wait until Les Saintes to clear in, but the Douanes officer never seemed to mind.

[YOGAO]

Originally Posted by sigmasailor

The customs office closed some time ago. Clearing in is now in a souvenir shop on the mainstreet (left side). I forgot the name but coming from the dingy dock it's about 500 meters up the street. I think it was mentioned on the Chris Doyle site as well.
You have to do most of the process yourself on a PC (with AZERTY keyboard) but it's cheap (3 euro's).

Eric

Yes, that's the internet cafe. You can see the back of the store from the harbor as it is painted green(?) with

@internet

or similar letters on the wall. Easy.

Fair Winds,
Mike

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by speciald@ocens.

I'm sitting in Hampton, VA after making a nasty passage down the Bay last night - cold, winds 30-35 directly on the stern. Plan is to leave Monday for Tortola and then on to Sint Maarten. Its a wait and see on the weather for now.

Where are you? I'm leaving Annapolis midday Monday headed for Tortola also, weather permitting. MMSI 367107910 with DSC on VHF and SSB. Auspicious checks into the Waterway Net (ham) on 7268 LSB at 0745 ET each day and sometimes on the Cruiseheimer's Net on 8152 at 0830 ET. Perhaps we'll see you!