Mother Nature is Not Cooperating!

Snow in Houston? Coldest weather in Florida since 1977! We are 3 days out from our planned departure to the Bahamas and things are not looking favorable. What I had hoped would be a nice downwind sail Straight to the Bahamas is looking like it will be a number of start and stops to avoid gale force winds and 12 foot seas!

It looks like some of the strongest cold fronts in 30 years will be moving through the Caribbean through our limited travel window. We only have 2 weeks with my crew and it takes 7 days sailing to get there leaving very few extra days to wait for weather. Right now I am not sure if we will even be able to make it as planned. I am hoping we can at least get to the Southern Bahamas before I lose my crew and then complete the rest of the trip on my own. If it all works out and we are willing to endure a day of 10 foot seas for a day or so we may be able to make it there just before they need to fly home.

When planning a trip there is a lot of factors that need to be taken into account. First is the Wind - winds over 20 -25 knots tend to make the trip exciting but also challenging, the direction is also key. If the wins is behind you or on your beam (From the side) higher winds are much easier to manage. If the winds come from the direction you are going it makes for a long rough slog upwind! The second factor is Waves - there are two types you need to consider. The wind waves from the current conditions you are in and the ocean swell from storms far offshore. On day 2 of our trip a large system will pass offshore of us creating 10Ft waves. This will create challenging and uncomfortable conditions on the boat as they will hit us Side on. Finally you also need to understand if you can actually enter your harbor. If the waves are too big, wind too strong, or tide coming the wrong way it is unsafe to enter the Bahamas through the very narrow and shallow openings (Cuts) to protected waters.

We have hired a weather router who helps us make decision on routes and departure times via custom weather forecasts. I am hoping we can find a way to work our way down south avoiding some historic cold fronts and huge waves. We fly to the BVI's Jan 4 and will be ready to leave Jan 5 am if the conditions allow us. I will update you on our plans once we get settled in the BVI's in a few days