Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 30-03-2008, 16:31   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 2
Sailing in Maine in early May

Hello all,

I am planning a trip from Matinicus, ME to Boston starting on May 11. I am wondering what kind of weather to expect and hoping someone has advice on the trip itself.

I will be sailing a Morgan 33t with a crew of 4 including me. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Charlie
charliewestin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-03-2008, 17:08   #2
Eternal Member

Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,046
Images: 4
Charlie,

According to the North Atlantic pilot chart for May (see below) you could encounter winds from most any direction, but the predominantly southerly winds seen later in summer have begun to set in, so you can expect wind ahead of the beam much/most of the trip. Winds from all directions are about Beufort force 4.

Given this wind pattern, I think I'd wait in Mantinicus for a favorable weather report, i.e., winds from other than the southerly quadrant or, if predicted from the south, of very low velocity.

It can be pretty chilly in mid-May, especially at night. I've done the trip in the other direction about 3 weeks later than you're planning, and it was still chilly but pleasant at night, with daytime temps comfortable.

Bill

Click image for larger version

Name:	PilotNAtl_May.jpg
Views:	206
Size:	387.1 KB
ID:	3135
btrayfors is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-03-2008, 17:24   #3
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 2
Thanks Bill, exactly what I wanted to know.
charliewestin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2008, 16:43   #4
cruiser

Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,525
You'll need *insulated* foul weather gear and some way to keep warm in the cabin. I use my snowboarding gear (waterproof and insulated to the degree needed) for this type of trip.

You can expect to to feel a raw, damp cold unlike anything else you have ever experienced before...

As Bill points out, you will be beating into it as well. Ahhh.... New England.
ssullivan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2008, 08:07   #5
Eternal Member
 
imagine2frolic's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Las Brisas Panama AGAIN!
Boat: Simpson, Catamaran, 46ft. IMAGINE
Posts: 4,507
Images: 123
UNSULATED FOUL WEATHER GEAR! Sounds like San Francisco Bay on a mid August afternoon......
imagine2frolic is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2008, 09:41   #6
Registered User
 
caribnsol's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Norfolk Va
Boat: Westerly Falcon 34
Posts: 148
I rode down the river from Bath to the Atlantic on a Destroyer and froze my butt off. Don't take shorts to Me in June (lesson learned)
caribnsol is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-04-2008, 11:33   #7
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Cape Cod MA
Boat: Endevour,sloop,40 Destiny
Posts: 66
Send a message via AIM to Jim St.Pierre Send a message via Yahoo to Jim St.Pierre
Hello Charlie, I will be heading to Cape Cod from Baltimore Inner Habor in a 40 foot sloop around May 5th weather permitting. I plan on bringing some of my thermol hunting gear. The cockpit has a full cover and the salon has a heater , so I feel I should be okay. Wear wool outside and poly inside.. Layer , Layer , Layer, ........best advice I can give you, and try to stay dry.yeah right......hahaha... Jim
__________________
Jim St.Pierre
Jim St.Pierre is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2008, 18:15   #8
Registered User
 
Tim Mertinooke's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Massachusetts
Boat: Fuji 32 Ketch "Excalibur"
Posts: 9
Are you doing a straight shot or do you have stops planned?
Tim Mertinooke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2008, 19:51   #9
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Cape Cod MA
Boat: Endevour,sloop,40 Destiny
Posts: 66
Send a message via AIM to Jim St.Pierre Send a message via Yahoo to Jim St.Pierre
Hello Tim, A streight shot is on the chart...
__________________
Jim St.Pierre
Jim St.Pierre is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2008, 19:55   #10
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Cape Cod MA
Boat: Endevour,sloop,40 Destiny
Posts: 66
Send a message via AIM to Jim St.Pierre Send a message via Yahoo to Jim St.Pierre
Also Tim, Maine is very foggy in May, therefore very damp...let alone cold........
__________________
Jim St.Pierre
Jim St.Pierre is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2008, 19:58   #11
Marine Service Provider
 
Maine Sail's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Maine
Boat: CS-36T - Cupecoy
Posts: 3,197
In 2002..

IN 2002 I sailed from Hingham, ME to ME on April 11 & 12th. It was windy but fun and there were no issues. May is fine just watch the weather and you're good plus there are plenty of places to duck into. The winds are great in May..
__________________
Marine How To Articles
Maine Sail is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2008, 03:43   #12
Registered User
 
Tim Mertinooke's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Massachusetts
Boat: Fuji 32 Ketch "Excalibur"
Posts: 9
We keep our boat in Newburyport, MA and are planning a one month trip to Maine this year in July when the water warms up to 55 degrees and the fog only occurs four times a week instead of seven.
Tim Mertinooke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2008, 04:27   #13
cruiser

Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,525
Fog

I wanted to be sure the information on fog in Maine was accurate:

Historically, the percentage of days per month with fog in Maine is at its peak from June to late August. The absolute peak being July and August.

Why?

Fog is formed when a warm, moist (often South Westerly) wind blows in over colder waters. If the warm, moist air over the cold waters is cooled sufficiently (below its dewpoint/condensation point), you'll see fog.

The more "Down East" you are, the more likey you are to run into fog in any given month due to the cooler sea temps.

If you are cruising Maine and are new to it, pick up Hank and Jan Taft / Curtis Rindlaub's book, "A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast." It's filled with information about fog, conditions, where to stop, local history, etc...

It's probably one of the greatest cruising guides ever written IMO, and there should be one for every popular cruising destination.
ssullivan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2008, 04:41   #14
Registered User
 
Tim Mertinooke's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Massachusetts
Boat: Fuji 32 Ketch "Excalibur"
Posts: 9
True, my numbers are definitely off as July and August are more foggy on average up there. It is more of a perception thing I think for me as fog with shorts seems to slip the mind whereas fog wearing a parka seems to be remembered. I helped deliver a boat from RI to the North Shore of Mass in April a few years back and we were in fog half the time. I just remember not being able to stay dry and being cold. I could only imagine what Maine, a little more to the north was like at that time. It sounds like a great passage you are going to take though.
Tim Mertinooke is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-04-2008, 04:49   #15
Senior Cruiser
 
GordMay's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W
Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt)
Posts: 49,082
Images: 241
Quote:
Originally Posted by ssullivan View Post
... Fog is formed when a warm, moist (often South Westerly) wind blows in over colder waters. If the warm, moist air over the cold waters is cooled sufficiently (below its dewpoint/condensation point), you'll see fog.
The more "Down East" you are, the more likey you are to run into fog in any given month due to the cooler sea temps...
Sean is describing “advection”* (or “sea”) fogs, which are fogs formed when air moves either over a cooler surface or over a warmer, moist surface, and as a result the air mass reaches saturation. Most often this occurs when a moist air mass moves over a cold surface, such as a large, cold body of water or snow/ice cover, whose temperature is below the dew point of the advecting air mass, and its lowest reaches are cooled to condensation.
Evaporation advection fogs occur when a cool or cold air mass crosses a relatively warm water body and has water vapour evaporate into it. Often, such fogs are caused by cold air outbreaks off land crossing large water bodies such as the sea or large lakes. Such advection fogs are often referred to as sea fog, and are common offshore in winter. Sea fog is sometimes called sea smoke because it rises from the water surface in plumes of moist air that resemble smoke.

* Advection is transport (of heat) in a fluid (air).

Radiation fog and frontal fog are perhaps the most common fog types, in those areas away from large water bodies. In hilly or mountainous terrain, one might experience upslope or valley fogs.
__________________
Gord May
"If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"



GordMay is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
maine

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Sailing Northeast and Maine in '07 acesatsea Sailor Logs & Cruising Plans 0 24-03-2007 11:35
Bermuda to BVI Early April '07 Ben Crew Archives 5 19-03-2007 19:42
Summer Sailing in Maine?????????? Chief Engineer Atlantic & the Caribbean 0 11-03-2007 22:40
Early south seas bcguy General Sailing Forum 7 27-12-2006 15:15
Sailing (and art) in Maine Michael Cunliffe Thompson Meets & Greets 5 06-02-2006 11:32

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 20:43.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.