Sometimes forecasts are accurate. Sometimes they are not. Sometimes
you need a fair period of favorable weather to allow a series of small
voyages, or a longish voyage, to be completed comfortably and safely
Recently while lying Hope Town, Bahamas, we started closely watching
the weather, looking for an extended forecast that would allow us to
get the two hundred plus miles back to America comfortably and safely.
We had hoped to stop a few places along the way, maybe Lucaya, maybe
the Berry Islands. But the scientists put out a forecast that had us
wondering whether we might be day sailing in the Sea of Abaco for more
days than we wished unless we weighed anchor and moved directly on to
Mijami. Scientists were predicting two upcoming cold fronts spaced
several days apart.
After concluding we had "done the Bahamas" to a large extent, we
decided to depart Hope Town, and we decided to sail from Hope Town to
Miami in one fell swoop. Departing at 0900 Monday would mean we
should arrive Tuesday afternoon. We got the anchor down off the
Venetian Causeway at 1600 and cleared in by telephone by 1700! The
voyage and weather was as expected.
There was some risk we would encounter the first front while on the
Great Bahama Bank or on the Atlantic Ocean. We note that weather
often comes faster than forecast. Several alternatives existed if we
needed to seek cover. The worst situation would be if we got to the
Gun Cay Cat Cay Cut with winds having already turned North. Then the
Gulf Stream may have been impassable.
We had an easy out of the Sea of Abaco through the North Bar Channel
Passage. We had an wonderful crossing through the Northwest
Providence Channel, over the top of the Berrys, and over the Bank, and
we had a smooth Gulf Stream crossing. The Stream crossing was so
smooth we kept a close weather eye out for Billy Zane!
No comments:
Post a Comment