West to East Transat's and volcanic activity..

[boatman61]

Just a heads up for those planning a crossing from the US or Caribe to Europe this year..
Starting this Saturday just past, the island of San Jorge, just N and NE of Pico and Faial (Horta) has experienced over 1000 tremors so far of between 1.5 and 3.5 causing concern in the islands.
This was the form of early warning that happened when the Cumbre Vieja volcano on Las Palmas in the Canaries blew its top in October last year.
The last major eruption in this active volcanic area occurred in 1957-58 on Faial leading to the evacuation of over 50% of the population fleeing to Canada and the US to escape the destruction.
Suggest you have a plan and sufficient stores for a non stop passage to Europe in case things go South after you set off and don't rely on the Azores as a rest and re-provision stop.. or.. aim for San Miguel instead of Horta.

[boatman61]

Since Saturday, about 2,000 quakes have been recorded on Sao Jorge in the Azores archipelago, Luis Silveira, mayor of the municipality of Velas, told reporters.

There are fears the earthquakes, with a magnitude of between 1.6 and 3.3, could trigger a stronger tremor or a volcanic eruption, according to the region's CIVISA seismo-volcanic surveillance centre.

CIVISA has raised the volcanic alert to level 4 out 5, meaning there is "real possibility of eruption", said Clelio Meneses, the regional secretary responsible for the Civil Protection authority. "What we are doing is preparing for the worst case scenario," Meneses said.

The small quakes, which have caused no damage so far, were reported along the island's volcanic fissure of Manadas, which last erupted in 1808. A big earthquake hit the island in 1980, causing severe damage.

[boatman61]

Just in.. activity has spread and Pico is now showing serious signs of activity according to Portuguese news.
Conditions on the islands are currently very bad with strong winds and high sea's grounding flights and restricting ships to staying in port.

[skipmac]

With the marina and port on Flores reported to still be closed after storm damage in 2019 it seems this will leave Sao Miguel or Santa Maria as the best options for clearing in to the Azores.

[boatman61]

Yes I agree, with the predominant winds in that group of four (Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Terceira) being WSW any fallout is going to be blown NE so Sao Miguel should be fine.