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Old 31-10-2009, 07:51   #1
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Trinidad to Horta, Azores

Hi Guys,

My first post on here so go easy.I,m planning on leaving trinidad,end of april 2010,bound for Horta and then on to west coast of scotland.the yacht we,ll be taking is an Island Packet 445 heavy displacement cruiser.
Have any of you guys done this trip or similar.Would like some advice on routing,weather,etc.
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Old 31-10-2009, 09:14   #2
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Welcome to the forum!

My suggestion would be to island hop up to St Martin, great place to provision and do any repairs or buying boat stuff. Also it gives you a little better angle for the passage.

Wait until spring has arrived on the East Coast of the US., the jet stream and the Azores High has shifted more to the north, and go for it.

Usually late April or early May.

fairwinds and keep in touch.

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Old 31-10-2009, 09:29   #3
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John,

Thanks for that.We won,t have time to stop at st.martin,having provisioned in Trinidad however we had thought it a good idea to stay close to the windward and leeward islands on our way north.
The main info i was seeking was(in a typical season)when to start turning towards Horta.Would most crews do the rhumb line?How much spare fuel to carry,etc?
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Old 31-10-2009, 17:48   #4
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This is not a problematic trip but you will need some time. We started from Guadeloupe and sailed to the Azores (direct - 30 days, 26 footer). Many boats take off thereabout, but one can take off at Trinidad if there is a good reason to do so.

Our sail was easy, but not fast. weather closer to the Azores was (excuse me the word) but yes, it was shitty. The situation differs from year to year.

The time to start is end of May / early June. It is probably easiest in a true sailor, a true motor-sailor than in a boat in-between, which often ends up as a true motor-sailor. But if you are good at sailing light winds and have good light wind sails then you will make it allright without burning tons of fuel. Unless you are in the hurry.

If you want me to give you a detailed description of the trip and weather info sources PLS contact by a private msg or e-mail.

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Old 01-11-2009, 15:23   #5
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St Martin used to be the big "jump-off" place but with the astronomical prices folks are shifting to the BVI's or Antigua. As stated May/June is the most popular time. I had some British friends do the route 2 years ago from the BVI's. Depending upon the year, you can go virtually straight in a good year, or fall off west to hold the winds and pick up some westerlies as you get further north and then turn east. One year 5 years ago the Atlantic was flat calm a couple of months and boats were tanking up with dozens of jerry cans of diesel on deck (one Beneteau has 39 jerry cans) and motoring all the way to the Azores in flat seas - 19 days.
- - It basic routing seems to suggest drifting west as much as possible to get into the generally normal westerly wind patterns in the western Atlantic and then joining the routing from Bermuda to Azores.
- - My Brit friends from the Azores went straight to the Isles of Scilly then to their home near Bristol. The had rough seas and winds for that whole leg after a rather boring low wind ride to the Azores from the BVI's.
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Old 22-11-2009, 09:30   #6
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Old 22-11-2009, 10:33   #7
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Cornell's book is not a good starting point to any routing decision. I would rather recommend the NP136 (the Ocean Passages...) and the Pilot Charts, then other sources. Since Cornell's book is there, it is good to read it, but not to rely on it as the only or the ultimate source.

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