Our first trip was in Oct. We had many hot steamy nights with several nights of multiple showers (close the hatch drills and sleep deprivation but AC would solve that. We also had what turned out to be Lovey and Thurston Howell III aboard - they don't get invited anymore. Although I call it the worst trip ever, it was the beginning of something great!

As for hurricanes, most charter outfits mention (and I guess they are not totally unbiased) that they are usually not as powerful that far east, not terribly likely to hit directly and in the event you will have plenty of advanced notice and be called back to base to wait it out in a hotel. That said we had one pass 75 miles south of St. Croix and we waited it out on a ball in Cane Garden Bay. We had two solid days of heavy rain and some wind gusts to 45-50. Not to diminish the effects of a hit of a cat 5 but my 5 experiences with hurricanes were more along the lines of loss of power, flooding and closings and such. This boat had AC, a lot of electronic entertainment aboard so we had a major card tournament and enjoyed some nice meals while we waited it out.

Normally, I would expect Oct to have a little less wind, a few more showers, a few more degrees of temperature, no crowds and a few places closed.