Azores

purplerobbie

purplerobbie

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What is the latest time in the year for getting back from the azores with reasonable weather?
Is the crossing still ok for August? September?
I think i read somewhere that is a may june sort of time??
Cheers
Rob
 
Re: Azores - lessons from history

Turning to page 160 in the jimmy cornell hymn book, it says that the best time is june and july. 1200 miles, and we were fine in late May, though it seems there has been roughish weather in early June this year.

Of course it *could* be fine in August and September. But although August is a school holiday month, I spose it is historically such because the harvest had to be in, not cos it is lovely sailing weather.

Well-known examples of how bad it can be are shown by the Fastnet disaster (13th August 1979) and by the fate of the Spanish Armada a few hundred years earlier, in September 1588.

Some modern-day boat insurers won't cover a pleasure boat in Biscay after 15th August, and I would/will be out of the area (except for shorter coastal and x-channel passages of course) before end July.

Hope this helps
 
I don't think you can plan or predict very much as the weather patterns seem less like the historic routing predictions every year.

We arrived in June 04, and at the time there were boats returning having been beaten up on route for UK. We ended up leaving towards the end of July, upwind for two days (northerly F5) and then as another low headed for the middle of Biscay we had building Southerlies/south westerlies for the next 4 days ending in storm sails, but at least offshore winds on the North Spanish coast. 850 nm logged 6 days.

Good luck as there is certainly some luck involved.
 
We left the Azores on 9th June this year for Portsmouth. Weather was fine (F3/4) up to Fitzroy but then cut up a bit rough (F6/7) with fairly lumpy seas. OK all in all though and nothing too uncomfortable. We stood well off from Biscay and only passed through the "Top Left Hand" corner of Fitzroy.
 
We arrived back from Horta on sunday taking 13 days to Holyhead weather was a mixed bag but did not come from west/south west as pilot showed from 45N this was our second departure in June,first one found us hove to for 30hrs in 60 knots 250m north of Azores went back for a rest.the weather does not seem to be following its predicted paths this year so any time over the next couple of months should be treated with respect.I had a Saltram 31 and yours is the 40? great boats John
 
[ QUOTE ]
I had a Saltram 31 and yours is the 40? great boats John

[/ QUOTE ]
Dunno what mine is? it was in the listing as a 34 but it has the same waterline lenght, beam and draught as the 36? I think it's the 36 but if they ask in the marina it's a 34...
I also have an original line drawing for the boat which classes it as a 34? It looks a lot bigger than a 34??
 
All the old received wisdom is based on decades or centuries of data and is based on long term averages. This data may no longer be as reliable as it was, as whether you believe in climate change or not anomalies are becoming the rule rather than the exception . . .

As I understand it the chances of a reasonable passage vary with the stability of the Azores High. This year it is wobbling all over the place, collapsing, coming and going and the weather patterns between here and the UK are very fluid to say the least.

June and July are traditionally the best months, with lowest average wave heights and gale frequencies, but May was a lot quieter than June this year.

It is not a predictable passage - more's the pity, as we have to make it sometime this month . . .


- Nick
 
webby plans

link thru to his bluemoment site and the forum gives his latst plans.

He seems to be considering going to northern spain. Urg, imho. Cos altho shorter next leg, that means likely tougher and longer time, n over biscay. I wd head as north as poss, ireland or falmouth but if willing to run off southwards do that as a later option. Dunno how much weather forecasting he has on board tho.
 
I do not have any of the books with me at present but I would suspect the passage should be done before that hurricanes start bouncing back across the Atlantic. Every year is different but there are some trends. Obviously doing it in the winter half of the year is prone to the frontal depressions. Summer is good but then the bad times can be survival conditions. Even an Ex-tropical storm has more energy than I would like.

So how about this for a nasty year:
http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/1998/index.html

Lat year: Debby and Helene

http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/2006/index.html

The master page so you can see the trend that if they start early in the Atlantic then they seem to like the Azores. From the dates you can work out what is prudent.

http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/


As for extremes:

The problem with weather is that we can see so much more now. Older times storms would do their worst and no one would know. So there are more extremes reported. But in general you should only see a shifting of the dates as the climate warms and cools. (Other than extremes mid Winter and mid Summer).

Just look at the amount of rainfall stations: There were never that many when "records began". Careful positioning can find many rain enhanced areas. I think I grew up in one.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/networks/rainnetdaily.html

It I also like the lottery. If a storm revolves around southern England and Sheffield gets a good deluge it is all over the news as the flood defences prove totally inadequate. But for most of last night the poor Outer Hebrides had their own private rain storm rotating over them and no one thinks it is odd.

As for any more comparisons between Sheffield and the Tsunami that were on the radio at the weekend, that proves that UK media is the weathers worst enemy.
 
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