Bermuda and back in July?

[OrangeCrush]

As a teacher I’m lucky to once again have July and August free to plan a cruise in my Shannon 38 out of NYC with plenty of eager crew. This past summer we went to Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy and it was glorious. We’re ready for more time offshore and Bermuda is an attractive target.

Thing is, we can’t leave until the last few days of June, which is already early to mid hurricane season. Jimmy Cornell’s book says don’t plan a cruise AFTER late July. I reckon we should be able to get to Bermuda, spend about a week there, and be back to the East Coast before the end of the month. Tropical cyclones take a while to develop so we should have some degree of confidence in a weather window before departing in either direction.

I know that many have sailed to Bermuda in July but is this asking for trouble with our volatile climate? What would be the best strategy for riding out a storm in Bermuda itself if we had to wait for one to pass?

I appreciate any opinions and experiences.

Jack

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

As a teacher I’m lucky to once again have July and August free to plan a cruise in my Shannon 38 out of NYC with plenty of eager crew. This past summer we went to Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy and it was glorious. We’re ready for more time offshore and Bermuda is an attractive target.

Thing is, we can’t leave until the last few days of June, which is already early to mid hurricane season. Jimmy Cornell’s book says don’t plan a cruise AFTER late July. I reckon we should be able to get to Bermuda, spend about a week there, and be back to the East Coast before the end of the month. Tropical cyclones take a while to develop so we should have some degree of confidence in a weather window before departing in either direction.

I know that many have sailed to Bermuda in July but is this asking for trouble with our volatile climate? What would be the best strategy for riding out a storm in Bermuda itself if we had to wait for one to pass?

I appreciate any opinions and experiences.

Jack

On average, you get one named storm in July in the Atlantic and a little under half of those become hurricanes. So you're looking at a hurricane in July every 2-3 years. And only a small handful of those reach Cat3. July is sort of a transition month from from June to the more active later season where tropical waves coming off Africa are more defined.

It's about a 4-5 day sail to Bermuda, depending on where you start from and your boat. If you track the weather carefully you should be fine in terms of getting a good weather window going either way.

I'd probably want to hole up near Banjo Island in St. Georges if necessary, but I don't have any direct experience riding out a big storm in Bermuda.

Have fun and be prepared to spend. Bermuda is expensive. Don't forget to visit the Swizzle Inn while you're there.

[Tortuga's Lie]

Swizzle Inn, Swagger Out!

I have been thinking of the same scenario, I am a teacher as well and the earliest I can leave would be June 18-20 depending on the school calendar.
I could be willing to roll the dice...........

[zeehag]

furycame season is generally tamer in first half than second two halves.. i would watch the trending weather in real time and go from there.
and please donot tell me that 3 halves donot make one whole as cane season does that--irma and maria were two halves and harvey was first half. mathematics doesnot work with nature.

[NahanniV]

Originally Posted by Suijin

...
I'd probably want to hole up near Banjo Island in St. Georges if necessary, but I don't have any direct experience riding out a big storm in Bermuda.
....

That area looked completely full of boats and a few wrecks from previous storms when we were there at the beginning of this year.

July seems to be a relatively safe month.
But if you were caught by a storm:
It seems to me that the best hurricane strategy would probably be to get hauled out with mast down and boat and mast tied down securely.

[TheOffice]

I'll be doing my third Annapolis Bermuda race starting June 9, leaving Bermuda around the 18th.
You are far more likely to be caught becalmed by a Bermuda high than in a tropical storm. Watch the forecast and when in doubt stay put.

[Roniszoro]

The Newport-Bermuda Race starts June 15, 2018. The boats take 4-5 days to get there and tend to stay from a few days to a week before returning to their home ports. They are usually gone by the end of June, less so for hurricanes than for crews to get back to life/obligations in the non-sailing world.

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by Roniszoro

The Newport-Bermuda Race starts June 15, 2018. The boats take 4-5 days to get there and tend to stay from a few days to a week before returning to their home ports. They are usually gone by the end of June, less so for hurricanes than for crews to get back to life/obligations in the non-sailing world.

===

Maybe not a hurricane but it is not uncommon for boats to experience a day or two of gale force winds on the return trip from Newport-Bermuda in early July. I don't know the exact statistics but it has happened to several people that I'm aware of, and there have been more than a few fatal man overboard incidents.

[Seighlor]

Have sailed to Bermuda many times. The harbor at St. George is large, deep and well protected. I would not hesitate to make that passage within the time frame you outlined, of course maintaining an awareness of the weather.

As previously mentioned, Bermuda is expensive.

Enjoy your passage.

[S/V Illusion]

I know the word 'hurricane' evokes a sense of fear but remember most are limited in diameter of storm force wind and therefore not that hard to avoid the dangerous part.

While anticipation and planning are both useful considerations, if you let fear over-rule your decision, no one would ever leave the dock.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Tortuga's Lie

Swizzle Inn, Swagger Out!

I have been thinking of the same scenario, I am a teacher as well and the earliest I can leave would be June 18-20 depending on the school calendar.
I could be willing to roll the dice...........

In my experience it's more like stagger out, lol. It's hard not to get swept up in the revelry there and end up staying longer and drinking more than you ever expected to.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by zeehag

.
and please donot tell me that 3 halves donot make one whole as cane season does that--irma and maria were two halves and harvey was first half. mathematics doesnot work with nature.

There are three kinds of people in the world, those who are good with math and those who are not!!

[Scrimshaw4]

While hurricanes can occur just about anywhere on the east coast during the "season" the other question you might want to investigate is, what will the insurance coverage cost be for Bermuda during the period you are contemplating.

[AiniA]

Retired teacher and made a passage to Bermuda several times starting from Lake Ontario so you have a considerable head start. I don't see any reason not to go so long as you watch the weather carefully and are prepared to abandon the trip if necessary. I would not want to experience a hurricane in St George's harbour, it is landlocked but has a long fetch E/W. Forget about being able to find a hurricane hole there - any decent spots are entirely filled by the many local boats. You are best off heading back to the US if there is a storm that is long anticipated. The wild card is when blows up locally. We had this one year with a TS that was not forecast when we left NYC and passed between Bermuda and the mainland. One boat was dismasted and we had 45 knots with very big, but long waves.

[hellosailor]

Jack-
Given the way that weather on the east coast, and weathercasting, have changed in the last decade, I'm wondering just when JC's recommendation was actually made and whether he'd change it now. If you can dig up contact information for him, I bet he'd answer.

I don't think the problem is the likelihood of bad weather, but rather the problems if it does hit you. If you get stuck in Bermuda, it is a small expensive island with limited resources. If three storms form in the pipeline and they're just "tropical depressions" when you decide to go...will they be three hurricanes, four days apart, as they move out?

Moving out to Bermuda or staying in to the US coast? The tracks often disagree, the storms often zig when they "should" zag. And if there are storms heading up the east coast, you have to outrun them all the way up to NYC again before you find safe harbor, or risk getting stuck where a storm comes after you.

I *think* he's just playing it safe considering the bigger picture. But that you'd really have to look at the weather in the weeks before your trip, and consider heading up to Maine (etc) instead if the crystal ball wasn't perfectly clear.

But even if you wrote to him c/o his publisher, I think there's a good chance you'd get a reply in plenty of time. (And might share it here?)