TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Conditions for Anegada Passage

What conditions would start to be questionable for a trip over to Anegada from North Sound in a 433pc? Not going until July but taking this week for example, winds ESE 15mph seas 4-6 feet occasional 5-7 feet. Obviously I'll do a close check on the weather before making a decision but what conditions do you start to consider aborting? I realize it's different for a monohull sailboat for sure. I'm thinking 4-6 foot seas and 15mph wind is my limit.

15-20 and Up to 25 knots is about normal. Pretty rare it gets worse than that except for storms. It's not a long trip.

I don't think this is a question anyone can really answer for you. You should abort at whatever conditions you feel uncomfortable. You might also want to make the determination after you've been on the boat a couple of days and become more comfortable with it. Obviously the boat is capable of handling conditions that are much more severe than you might want to experience so this isn't really about a safety issue but rather a experience/comfort issue. Having said all that, I hope you loosen up the wind requirement a little bit or I fear you may not get to see the lovely Anegada. 15mph is only 13 knots. I have been to Anegada many times in the summer months and wind speed is typically a little lower than the rest of the year but I think I've only sailed that stretch once at wind speed that low. As sailbynight indicates 15 to 20 knots is pretty normal. So maybe after being on the boat a couple of days you can set a limit of 20 knots. And even at that speed you might venture out and see about the conditions. You can always turn around if you don't like what you see.

And I suppose the wind speed doesn't really matter since you are on a power cat. So it's really about the wave height/direction and wave period. Given this I think you're best off venturing out a bit and seeing how the conditions look to you. If you don't like them turn around.

Thanks! Yes, I'm definitely more concerned about wave height than wind speed. I'm definitely erring toward being conservative because my crew is very inexperienced. I suppose that doesn't matter much in that situation unless things got really bad. On my last charter on a 433 with a different inexperienced crew, we encountered 40knt winds and what I believe were 8 foot seas in Drakes on our last day going from Jost to Peter. I never felt like the boat couldn't handle it even with an occasional wash over the bow. Passed two sailboats coming into Soper's Hole with torn sails. If I were in familiar waters where I grew up with small boats of my own I'd be out in pretty much anything. With the responsibility of passengers and a boat that's not mine, I tend to be more responsible!

Well it’s actually the time between and the direction of the wave/swells/crests that would decide if you need to hold your drink or will it stay on the horizontal surfaces you set it on.
BTW the Anegada Passage is normally referred to as the route between the North tip of Virgin Gorda and St. Martin.

The Anegada Passage is notoriously uncomfortable from the VI to SXM. Wind on the nose, in opposition to a westerly current, and sometimes a healthy northerly swell makes for short, steep, and confused seas. In a powercat you might feel like you're in a washing machine. Thus the moniker, Omygodapassage. Having a sail up would make a world of difference.

If you're bareboating, making the passage in the opposite direction would be preferred. If I had the choice, in a powercat, I'd wait for a calm weather window. Wind <10K and no northerly swell. Those conditions occur frequently in the summer.

The popular route around Necker is fine, but I'd just grit my teeth and head through Round Rock Passage - actually a straighter shot. Leave at dusk, and if you're lucky you'll see the lights of St. Martin just before the sun rises.

On a cat you would need to be in 10 ft plus to be quessy.

My apologies for any confusion. I realized when I wrote my question that there is the Anegada Passage and what I meant was the trip over from Leverick in North Sound to the island of Anegada. I just figured everyone would know which one I meant. I'm not making the trip to SXM.

If the crew has been aboard for a couple days my experience is seasickness is much less of a problem than taking off from the dock the first day and having a roller coaster ride....

Its been our experience, the time of year you are going, you probably wont have a problem. Even then, give the charter base a call the morning of, and let them give you the green light. Enjoy.

You have to remember that surface condition forecasts are for significant wave height over the entire forecast area. That varies greatly within the area. On the North Sound/ Anegada route in ENE to SSE swell direction, Horseshoe Reef blocks 60 to 70% of the wave energy. In a north swell OTOH things can be considerably different.

The trip from North Sound to Anegada is easy and only 14 miles.. if the winds are strong it will get you you there quicker because you won’t be beating.

Not sure I get it.... First, I don't know what strong wind has to do with sailing close hauled or not. Second, the OP is in a power cat. While I don't know much about power cats I'm pretty sure you can point them dead into the wind just fine. I'm always willing to learn about new things so please enlighten me.

agrimsrud, your first question sailing close hauled in strong winds with seas will make the trip uncomfortable for people without much boating experience. From N Sound to Anegada you won’t be close hauled.
I didn’t realize they were on a power cat.
Does that answer your question?

ok, thanks for the clarification. I get it now. Your original message seemed to indicate that you wouldn't be beating if the winds were strong and I couldn't figure than one out.

Are all the buoys in place?

Only 2 sets of cans in the channel. Saw many boats head directly for the mooring field after the second set. All made it but we didn’t risk it. We followed the waypoints from BVI Pirate.