Winter sailing in Florida Keys or Bahamas?

[Whiskey Bravo]

Anybody been sailing in either of these lovely looking places in Jan - March? I'm especially interested in the reliability and strength of the wind, as I've read one article which suggests a lack of wind can sometimes be a problem.
Thanks in advance.

 

[TimBennet]

Don't worry about the wind at that time of year. You can pretty much expect to have 15 to 20 knots from the eastern-ish direction. The wind fills in around Christmas and then blows until early summer.

These idyllic winds are only interrupted by the 'fronts'. These fronts are the simple boundary line between the polar continental and the tropical maritime air masses. It's the same dynamic as we have, but in a much earlier stage of development, before any associated low pressure systems have had time to develop on them and the front itself has not become convoluted.

Instead, as cold high pressure builds out of arctic Canada and the Great Lakes, the cold front pushes south and east bringing a drop in temperature and a period of winds that veer from the WNW through to the NE before settling back to the prevailing east. The intensity of these cold high pressures will dictate how far down into the islands the front comes, the amount of temperature drop, the strength of the wind on the front and the amount of precipitation.

The further south and east you are less often these frontal expansions will reach you. There'll be more in the Abacos than the Turks and Caicos for instance. But they can be violent with gale force winds, heavy rain and once in my experience, freezing temperatures and snow to the greater part of Florida.

It takes a bit of care to find anchorages that can work for all stages of this frontal veering wind. Most popular anchorages just lie on the western side of any bit of land as these will offer a lee to the prevailing easterlies. But the unexpected arrival of a cold front can make all these a lee shore. The Hiscocks were caught out by one and came closer to losing Wanderer in the Bahamas than anywhere else on their travels. The other aspect to watch with these fronts is they will give northerly winds in the Gulf Stream. A force six over a 6 knot current will kick up quite a sea!

But both the Bahamas and the Keys are great cruising areas, although the more competent (and shallow draft) you are, the greater the chance of getting away from all the migrating American 'snowbirds' who like to flock together, get quietly drunk and moan. Bit like cruising over here.

 

[Salty John]

A very comprehensive reply from Tim.

Those fronts are called 'northers' locally. If you want to cross from Florida to the Bahamas at that time of the year the approach of a norther gives you the opportunity - before the front arrives the wind goes south of east (sometimes even west) and drops in strength - then you motor-sail the 70 miles across being sure to get hunkered down on the other side before the front arrives.

If you're on limited time such as a holiday charter best not plan on crossing the Gulf Stream, though, because you're never sure of when the window of opportunity will open for going or coming back.

The Keys is a good cruising area - up and down the sheltered Hawks Passage are interesting overnight stops and Key West shouldn't be missed.

 

[SimonJ]

I would go for the Bahamas any time. The weather explanation given above says it all very well. Shallow draught gives you a wider choice of destinations. If you are in a US Boat the anchoring kit may include a rope 'rode' rather than all chain which is much to be preferred in the somewhat open anchorages you may be using. A good anchoring set up is vital. You need to remain alert to weather forecasts as passing fronts may require you to shift anchorages. But the Bahamas are delightful & the people charming - although I would avoid New Providence. Shallow ater sailing on the clear blue water of the banks is not to be forgotten! The cost of the seasonal cruising permit is a pain (& a greater amount for those over 35ft LOA) and you should go as massively stocked up with essentials from USA as you can because provisions (except rum) tend to be expensive and imported. The Abacos are, while cooler, probably more developed than the more southern islands.

 

[AndrewB]

I agree with SimonJ - the Bahamas definitely have it over the Keys. Shallow draft is a big asset for both, but a particular problem with the Keys is that with a draft above 5' you are limited to the outside and there the NE trade winds strictly limit the decent places to anchor, making for less than ideal cruising.

Re TimBennett, I was told these fronts, which arrive from the NW, are known as "busters" locally ("Frio frente" in Mexico and Cuba). My own experience is that they are most prevalent coming out of the Gulf of Mexico where they are possibly accelerated by the landmasses of Florida, Cuba and Yucatan. NW Bahamas certainly gets them but not too often. Monitor the USCG CAMSLANT (station NMN) automated High Seas forecasts on 8764KHz four times daily for the most reliable spoken weather information for this region, though among the Keys most people rely on the continuous weather forecast transmitted on the VHF Wx channels.

 

[TimBennet]

"I was told these fronts, which arrive from the NW, are known as "busters" locally"

I don't know how locally that would be. It's not a name I ever heard or is listed in my compendium of 'local wind names of the world'. I only ever heard them referred to as Fronts or Northerlies. The only Buster I know of is the Southerly Buster in Australia.

"NW Bahamas certainly gets them but not too often"

That's just not true. It depends on the year as they don't work to any timetable. Some years the snow birds in Georgetown in the Exumas have their alcohol soaked hibernation undisturbed apart from the odd, weak front. Other years they come rattling through every 10 days or so. But as a rule, the further north and west you are are, the more often you experience them and the more intense they are liable to be. Conversely the further into the 'out islands' you go, the less troubled you will be.

I don't think the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba or the Yacatan has any influence on the behaviour of these fronts in the area under consideration.

There's really no need to bother with NMN. Even with the new smaller forecast areas, they are still big, and I wouldn't bother until looking for an opportunity to tackle the Thorny Passage if you're heading that way. The Bahamas are still a very 'sea based' society so ever local radio station gives very detailed forecasts of the fronts as they are likely to disrupt the ferries, supply boats and the small fishing boats. In Florida they are also widely publicised as the drop in temperature in particular can have a devastating effect on the orange harvest. So there's no shortage of warnings. I would only bother to listen to 'Iron Mike' on NMN if you want a laugh at the inappropriate use of technology.

Actually listening to the highseas forecast from NMN is an excellent way to fully understand the brilliance of the UK Shipping forecast. A similar amount of useful information, takes the USCG about 10 times longer! Instead of giving the sea areas names, they spell out the area covered each time. So if the USCG were doing it over here, 'Fitzroy' would be "The area of the far eastern North Atlantic, east of the Bay of Biscay from 7 degrees out to 15 degrees west, and from 40 degrees to 48 degrees North, including the waters offshore NW Galicia down to the border with Portugal."