Miami to Azores passage.

[davedindubai]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for any and all passage and weather advice from those who have been there and done it please.

I'm interested in professional weather subscriptions for the passage and any navigational advice please.

I depart around May 30th 2018 on a Lagoon 450 under standard white sails and 1,100ltrs of fuel onboard.

Thanks,
Dave

[atoll]

Originally Posted by davedindubai

Hi guys,

I'm looking for any and all passage and weather advice from those who have been there and done it please.

I'm interested in professional weather subscriptions for the passage and any navigational advice please.

I depart around May 30th 2018 on a Lagoon 450 under standard white sails and 1,100ltrs of fuel onboard.

Thanks,
Dave

take some long lines and a couple of car tires to hang out the back,this will act as a drogue if you get a strong westerly front come through.

it will also make the boat less likely to surf out of control and improve steering downwind in large waves

also a long pole/boat hook for removing sargasso weed from the props and rudders ,there seems to be a lot of weed dispersed widely in the atlantic after last years hurricanes.

[atoll]

it is also worth checking your steering cables for wear and tension,especially around the pulleys under the helm and at the aft cross beam if you have this system fitted.provision for spare cables also advised,they do wear and stretch.

edit
also check the pintals at either end of the tie bar for wear and tightness ,the rudder arms also

[boatman61]

Miami to Azores 2014 I went to the top of the Bahamas then swung East and rode the Southern limits of the N'lies till in a position some 500nm SSW of Faial where I headed North.. would have made great time but for some problems with electrics and very light winds.. this was a Feb departure from Ft Lauderdale.
2016 the Easterlies stretched a long way West and reached as far as 42degrees North so the motor came into use the last 400nm to head back down to Faial from WNW.. head wind all the way.. this was a June crossing.
Weather patterns have altered a bit since the last decade when W - E crossings were more predictable.
These were direct passages.. you can also opt for the Bermuda route which will give you a break after the first few hundred miles and place you due West of the Azores allowing you to ride the bottom of the fronts as they head East.. be prepared for at least one strong N'ly..
Have a good trip..

[maritimemariner]

For weather you may want to consider contacting Chris Parker (chris@mwxc.com) who for about $300 a year provides a daily weather update titled 'Wx Update, Bahamas & Florida' which is extremely helpful.

[AZUS]

One year ago today, my wife and I were on that passage (starting in Man O'War Cay, actually) in our Antares 44i cat.

We used Chris Parker for weather. Yes, the Bahamas weather guy will do custom weather forecasting for the Crossing and deliver by email (or several other ways). He and his team were the best - I contacted them every other day, and he gave us recommended waypoints for the next 5.

At one point, Chris told us that a gale was forming 400 miles to our north, and recommended that we bear SSE for a day or so. It made the overall trip a total of 2000nm, but added huge comfort and safety. We had 17 ft following seas and 40kt winds for a couple of days, but were always safe and comfortable.

A 60ft monohull heading back to Norway (who we knew from Bermuda - my wife thought they were Norse gods - I didn't see it!!) discussed the advice we got from Chris with us by VHS, and decided not to head south. We met up with them in Horta at Pete's and bought them beers (one day after our arrival, but who's counting!). Continuing on the "normal" course, the had been knocked down and one crewmember had a received nasty cut.

You are very smart to seek weather advice, and we swear by Chris - and continued to use him on multi-day passages in the Med.

You are in for a great adventure. Enjoy!

[davedindubai]

This is all great and exactly the sort of advice I was hoping for!!!

Thank you

[AZUS]

You are welcome. Try to leave a little time for Bermuda - both St. George and Hamilton are really terrific places. I don't know where you are going from there, but we landed in Horta, spent time and then made an overnight sail to Sao Miguel, and spent a couple of nights there before continuing on to Lagos and then the Med. Sao Miguel is interesting in its own right and is a great way to shorten the onward voyage, if you're going that way.

[Gaia]

GAIA also made this passage albeit 20 yrs ago! We echo a previous post re weather routing and used the never to be forgotten Herb Hilgenberg who is no longer available.

We sailed via Bermuda in late May. And had to wait there in the first week of June for a cat 1 hurricane that passed 60 miles east of Bermuda.

Herb advised us to stay far enough south to avoid the storm track further north. He stressed that the old adage of sailing further north to avoid the Azores High no longer applied in this day of weather routing. We followed his advice, you did so if you wanted to have Herb continue to talk to you, 😊, and it was born out by meeting someone in Flores who left before us from Bermuda, did not listen to any weather router, went further north, got hammered, and arrived after us. He called it a passage from Hell. We remember that passage and the one to Bermuda as among the best, fastest and most comfortable we have done during our 23 yr circumnavigation! A never to be forgotten contrast.

On the passage to Bermuda we had a 180nm day and did 960 nautical miles in six days in a 42 ft junk rigged Gazelle. On that passage and the subsequent one we hardly got the decks wet and Gazelle afficionadoes know that Gazelles have low freeboard.

We are about to make the same passage but this time as crew on a Bahia Catamaran. We are still debating the need for a paid wx router as of course we now have services like Predict Wind available on board and the overall picture is more easily available now compared to 20 yrs ago. Modeling is also much better now than it was in Herb's day. However someone like Chris has more info at his finger tips than one can possibly have on board. Chris like Herb also gets weather updates from others on the same passage although the few times we have listened to him in the Bahamas he did not seem to make much use of that.

Jim and Helen at GAIA

[Gaia]

I should have added that we left from the Bahamas (Abacos) in 1999 and will do so again at the end of this month although of course the exact departure time will be dictated by the wx.

Jim

[flyingfin]

Check this before you leave

https://www.windguru.cz/40433

go to top tab MAPS, then FORECAST, then pan to your location and use slider at upper right to go out for future forecast by day

[CBound]

Check out Commanders Weather - They provide world wide weather routing services to single boat cruisers to racing fleets. They will also maintain contact with you along the way, if you provide them a way to reach you.

[YARGESOL]

Floris is a very nice island to visit,if you'll be driven North.

[ALAIN97133]

Originally Posted by davedindubai

Hi guys,I'm looking for any and all passage and weather advice from those who have been there and done it please. I'm interested in professional weather subscriptions for the passage and any navigational advice please. I depart around May 30th 2018 on a Lagoon 450 under standard white sails and 1,100ltrs of fuel onboard. Thanks, Dave

Hi ! Just make sure there's no underwater earthquake releasing cubic kilometers of methane** as you cross over the Bermuda Triangle... Otherwise, we'll never hear from you again I crossed it at least 6 times, & I'm still arond to joke about it... Cheers !
**So far it's the most reasonable explanation I've heard...

[michaelratinter]

Originally Posted by maritimemariner

For weather you may want to consider contacting Chris Parker (chris@mwxc.com) who for about $300 a year provides a daily weather update titled 'Wx Update, Bahamas & Florida' which is extremely helpful.

+1 on Chris Parker. Saved my butt once with a text message via Iridium sat net and my inReach Explorer.