Expectations sailing from miami to bermuda to azores in april

[widmn]

57' monohull. 3 crew. What can i expect in terms of weather, length of time to cross, potential problems? Top 3 things need to bring? Spares?

[widmn]

I guess i posted too broad a topic. If you have answers to any part of this post, please respond.

[boatman61]

Used to be a fairly predictable trip till maybe 3-4yrs ago but nowadays its hard to say..
The Easterlies are extending further W and N than in the past and the Westerlies are often further N past 45N.
Your best option is to start studying the weather patterns now on Passage Weather and other sites to see how its trending and plan each leg to suit the predicted forecast on the day/hoof..
Even then theres no guarantee..
Enjoy the trip..
Hopefully..

[GordMay]

“How long does it take to sail from Florida to Bermuda?” It depends.
It depends upon the size of the boat, bigger is faster, usually. It depends upon the crew - how experienced are they? It depends upon the purpose for the voyage - racing or cruising? It depends upon the weather.
Miami to Bermuda is about 1000 stat. mi. (1600 km). Many sailors plan on 100 miles per day, so PERHAPS 10 days, or so.
The months of October - March generally provide the calmest seas for the trip.
When approaching Bermuda from the South, St. David's Head should be safely passed at a distance of one mile or more, keeping at 225 degrees until St. Catherine's Point changes course to 290 degrees. No matter where you are leaving from in the US, your point of entry in Bermuda will always be entering St. George's Harbour, through Town Cut Channel, where customs is located at the northeast corner of Ordnance Island. Once you complete the customs process at Ordnance Island, you can then head on to whatever location you'd like.

[tonewrone]

Hi widmn, your blunt linear request for info will not get you much info. I do not post frequently but I do sign in and read frequently. I enjoy the story, knowledge and wisdom generously shared here. People want to know who you are. Tell your story, your boat’s story.... I don’t possess the advice you seek but I bet if you get more social the people who do would connect. Good luck

[belizesailor]

Related thread re NE USA Coast to Med (Gibraltar) below.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=212179

There are other threads here about cruising the East Coast of the USA which should hold relevant info for getting N from Miami.

Also take a look at Pilot Charts and/or OpenCPN Climatology. These present long term averages of wind and currents for passage planning.

[belizesailor]

Screen shot of area from April Pilot Chart. Looks like you will need to get N of 30N at least to start getting out of the NE Trades before you can reasonbly head to Bermuda.

[chuckr]

We sailed across from the Azores in 2013. When we passed Bermuda we were 500-600nm east. But saying that and as Boatman said it really depends on the frontal passage.
We used Chris Parker and did our own forecasts before we left. We would watch the fronts come down and across the USA and watched as they came south - the issue was how far south.
We watched and sat and talked to Chris daily and we had one wx window that looked great IF the front coming across the USA did not come to far south. My forecast as well as Chris was about 50-50 and we kept watching but in the end I decided that if it did come south it was not going to be a good time out there but if it did not it would have been a great trip across and Chris agreed. We sat. Two boats left. We left after it went though on May 1 and had a good crossing. As for the two boats we use the ssb for weather and got 2 boat alerts for the 2 that left. One was a 60+ft with a big crew and the other something like a 38' with a very experienced open racing crew on board. Neither boat made Horta.


You really have to watch the fronts coming across that time of year as they can be violent and can get pretty far south.