Accurate Forecast

Just wondering who (which website) seems to offer the most accurate/reliable forecast for the BVI. Next week (4/16-23/16) seems pretty cloudy with more rain than usual....

yuck...
http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=58

I do not think you will get an accurate forecast for early next week. There are two storm in the North Atlantic that will interfere with the normal trade conditions. The storms of heavy weather will never get near the VI but they will suck the energy out of the normal easterly trades. On the mainland the forecast would say something like a lazy high creating light and variable conditions with unstable air(rain). In short the accurate forecast is light and variable with unstable air producing light to moderate winds in all directions. The swell created from the storms many miles to the north will come from the North starting on Friday and continuing until at least Tuesday.

Normal winter trade conditions will not return if at all before Wednesday:



Next week would be a good time to charter to sail much further south. Next week in the BVI put the main up and motor sail forget any of the foresails. This will be very summer like weather without the chance of a tropical wave.

I've been following windguru as well, we will be setting off saturday and it looks like we will need to alter our itinerary based on the lack of wind...Thursday looks like a great day but we are still a week away...it's been changing daily.

Just put the main up and use the main to stabilize the boat wherever you want to go by motor. At least for the first part of the week any anchorage exposed to North Swell may be uncomfortable. The key to any stops next week will be flat calm anchorages the boats and crews passed out in them should expect to swing 360 during any night, maybe more than once. Anchoring should be avoided.

Learned a lesson on flat calm at a mooring ball when the boat does the dance. make sure your bridle to the ball is tight. A longer bridle can wrap the chain from the ball to the anchor block around your keel. Waking up to have to deal with a chain wrapped around your keel is not a great way to start the day.

I make sure the pennant is up tight to the bow, with two lines.

This applies more to mono-hulls, but I saw one "special" that managed to have so much line out on a cat, that he wrapped the rudder.

NOAA weather covers Puerto Rico and USVI and is the same weather an hour or two late. If you use an iPhone, the Marine Weather app is really good.

http://www.weathercarib.com/

this site has almost all the local info you could want