Hi everyone. We leave the dock this Saturday. Looks as if it's gonna be quite a windy week. Any tips and advice. I sure would hate to miss anegada. Thanks for the advice. Saturday to Saturday charter.

It’s still a little far out for a accurate forecast but I see mostly 15 to 20 knots. Should not be a big problem. Make sure you go counterclockwise around the islands. It will make for a much better ride and sailing conditions. Your only real upwind sailing will be in the SFD. Stick a reef in the main for the upwind work. You could probably take it out for the other legs but you will only gain half a knot unless dead downwind. I would leave it in. The leg to Anegada should be fine as well as the return if you head toward Jost or CDB. All the usual anchorages are fine even in a strong east wind. Enjoy and have fun, should be great sailing! Be aware that 15 to 20 knots actual wind will become 25 to 35 knots of bar Wind!
G

Bar Wind - I like that; haven't heard that phrase before.

Is there a formula for it, such as add true to apparent wind and then multiply by sea state in meters?

just arriving back from a week,,,,lots of wind,,,but our captain,,had no problems,,,

Put the reef in while leaving the harbor. It is easier, and then it will be done. Otherwise, you may wait too long and have to do it in difficult conditions. Also, you are on vacation, not racing, so losing some speed isn't a problem, especially when it buys you greater comfort and security.

When your chartering a light French boat in winds of 15-20K put a double reef in your main and you’ll easily sail at better then hull speed and enjoy the voyage

We don’t reef in 15-20 knots. That’s the fun spot.

We just returned last night from a 10 day bareboat charter. We saw winds that were consistently above 30 knots on Thurs, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. My advice is to keep your itenerary flexible.... we skipped our planned sail to Anegada due to the high winds especially considering that they were forecast to get even stronger ... instead of Anegada we spent two full days in the Lee of prickly pear Island, out of the wind. We missed Anegada but we did not miss the pounding we would have endured getting there and back. While at vixen point we saw Lucy and her work crew, they are working hard to repair the “sand box”.
Like others have said, get your reef set in the main before you get out into the wind, life will be much easier.

Yep, the Christmas winds...and swell...that just keep on giving!

In truth, simply one of the most stubbornly persistent high-pressure/trade-wind systems I've seen parked over the northern Leewards in a long time. Grrrrr. We head down tomorrow to board on Monday. Plan right now is for a reef or two to beat to Leverick and hide for a couple days LOL! Double dose of Beans anyone?

Couple wx links worth viewing and/or bookmarking:
http://forecast.weather.gov/shmrn.php?mz=amz715
http://www.bviddm.com

Here is that pesky sucker:
http://www.intellicast.com/Storm/Hurricane/AtlanticAnalysis.aspx

Not looking so good later in the week either. Grrrrrrrr
https://www.windguru.cz/58

We came down on Wednesday. In addition to wind, there has been even more rain. We’ve had to pump quite a bit of water out of our boat. Right now some serious gusts are blowing.

On the morning you are to head for Anegada check VHF 16 and ask about conditions (yes, I know it’s for hailing only) but if conditions are truly unfavorable someone will report. And what is not to like about a second day in North Sound? Even better, if you do end up in Anegada, and conditions are not great for return trip, this is your lucky day! Another day on Anegada is absolutely the best!

Just finished the crossing to Anegada. (Sunday morning). Not bad at all. Steady 20 knots across 1-2 m seas. We’ve been out since Wednesday the 14th and it’s been windier than normal but good sailing with a reef (or 2). Rainy on Thursday and Friday but nice since then. It’s good reef practice.

Thanks Sailnow! How crowded are the moorings?

We just got back as well. Anegada and Leverick were full by the end of the day. Quite a few at Norman. White Bay was almost full and others were pretty open.
Ellen

8 boats at MC.

Many open moorings at Anegada, but it was Sunday. We’re here for two days so I’ll let you know how it looks Monday night. Unfortunately the restaurants were empty. 3 tables at the Hotel. 1 at Wonky. A handful at Potters. But it WAS Sunday.

Monday afternoon at Anegada the moorings are not quite full. Just a handful of boats anchored. It was windy at Cow Wreck. Not bad for lunch at Big Bamboo.

YAHOO!!! It’s Christmas (winds) in the islands!

35 kts in the channel. 20 in the bight.

20kts plus and gusting our second day here at Leverick - and that's at our slip. It was 35+ rounding Colqouhoon reef on our way in. Wind not as much a problem as the sea state. 10 to 12 foot breaking seas that have not subsided this week and are not likely to this week. Heaviest rain I've ever sailed in yesterday. Cancelled our Anegada plans and scratched most snorkeling plans. Safe decisions aren't always popular. ;0

The good news is we are snug in our slip (thank you Nick!) and night two of Beans starts in three hours!

That's what we had last week. Spent a few nights at Nanny Cay, rented a car for 2 days and drove around the island.

Still fun, just different.
Ellen

Still having fun but it’s reduced our L450 to an underpowered power cat.

Have been sailing since the 12th. Sporty sailing. 2 reefs. Large swells and waves. Trip to Anegada was OK, just rough. Wind is supposed to start falling tomorrow. We leave in a week.

Kevin