As spring gets closer and closer, I’m watching the weather daily. I know what I want, but the light wind conditions may only last a couple of days, while I need a week plus.
In the last weeks, the more I have thought of this, the more I am thinking of getting north as best I can, probably well offshore.
Offshore solves a number of issues for me:
I like the open ocean
far less fishing activities, like boats and nets
more sea room, if I need to run before the storm (this is always a consideation in my planning)
getting big chunks of distance done in a short time, 3 days = 500 nm
did I say I like the ocean
I like the GUI and data presentation of Windyty.com, so all the maps I show are from them and when I do look at weather, I look at them before anything else. This is what a great case looks like. How long it will last? Not long enough, but a few days, then with a low pressure system developing further west, would give me favorable winds for the second of two 3-day periods (the steaming distance between Huatulco and Cabo San Lucas is 900 nm or 6 days.
Now this looks great. Too bad it will last a day or two and I need 9!
This case though is far more typical, with NW winds >15 knots, even more so in the summer than now.
I’m an eclectic person, who grew up in New York, lived overseas for many years and have a boat, Dauntless, a 42 foot Kadey Krogen trawler yacht. Dauntless enables me to not only live in many different parts of the world, but to do it in a way that is interesting, affordable, with the added spice of a challenge.
Dauntless also allows me to be in touch with nature. As the boat glides through the ocean, you have a sense of being part of a living organism. When dolphins come to frolic, they stay longer if you are out there talking to them, watching them. Birds come by, sometimes looking for a handout; sometimes grateful to find a respite from their long journey.
I grew up on the New York waterfront, in the West Village, when everything west of Hudson St. was related to shipping and cargo from around the world. For a kid, it was an exciting place of warehouses, trucks, and working boats of all kinds: tugs and the barges and ships, cargo and passenger, they were pushing around.
My father was an electrical engineer, my mother an intellectual, I fell in between.
I have always been attracted to Earth’s natural processes, the physical sciences. I was in 8th grade when I decided to be a Meteorologist.
After my career in meteorology, my natural interest in earth sciences: geology, astronomy, geography, earth history, made it a natural for me to become a science teacher in New York City, when I moved back to the Big Apple. Teaching led to becoming a high school principal to have the power to truly help kids learn and to be successful not only in school but in life.
Dauntless is in western Europe now. In May and June, I will be wrapping up the last two years in northern Europe, heading south to spend the rest of the year in Spain & Portugal.
Long term, I’m planning on returning to North American in the fall of 2017 and from there continuing to head west until we’re in Northeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, where we will settle for a bit.
But now, my future lies not in NY or even Europe, but back to the water, where at night, when the winds die down, there is no noise, only the silence of the universe. I feel like I am at home, finally.
View all posts by Richard on Dauntless
Hi Richard,
Wow, 9 day window early in the season eh. Being the planner you are, I’m sure you’ll look at all the options.
WARNING: My $.02 is below.
To my (uber) uneducated eye, Windyty seems to suggest hugging the coast a bit up to Manzanillo or even La Cumbre might provide calmer winds (at least currently). However, you did mention “traffic” (boats & nets) closer inshore could be an issue, especially running longer distance / multi-overnight. In any case, looking at Active Captain (AC) data (which is about all I have), I wonder if taking shorter hops up the Mexican coast would work? It might make life more manageable and more interesting (how hot are the chiles & how smooth is the tequila or cold is the cerveza in various towns?). Seems like there could be a limited number of possible anchorages / moorings to help break up the trip while not breaking the bank or putting you & D in too high a risk from a navigational or security perspective, but that’s all based on minimal (and second hand) info from AC. If that strategy looks doable, make the leap to Cabo once you are closer and have the shorter needed window.
Like I said, I’m sure you’ll weigh your options and pick the best. As I think I’ve heard you say… plan the work and work the plan 🙂
Well that was the original plan. Really, the significant difference is that I have opened my options. Using AC I had/have quite a detailed cruise up the coast. SO now I’ve really just added some more options.
In any case, I will take what the weather offers. The difference is that under Plan A, I would have stopped, no matter the weather. Now, I’ve decided that if the wx is favorable to keep on until it isn’t.
Dauntless at Sea 
Tried Ventusky.com ?
regards bill domb
Hi Richard,
Wow, 9 day window early in the season eh. Being the planner you are, I’m sure you’ll look at all the options.
WARNING: My $.02 is below.
To my (uber) uneducated eye, Windyty seems to suggest hugging the coast a bit up to Manzanillo or even La Cumbre might provide calmer winds (at least currently). However, you did mention “traffic” (boats & nets) closer inshore could be an issue, especially running longer distance / multi-overnight. In any case, looking at Active Captain (AC) data (which is about all I have), I wonder if taking shorter hops up the Mexican coast would work? It might make life more manageable and more interesting (how hot are the chiles & how smooth is the tequila or cold is the cerveza in various towns?). Seems like there could be a limited number of possible anchorages / moorings to help break up the trip while not breaking the bank or putting you & D in too high a risk from a navigational or security perspective, but that’s all based on minimal (and second hand) info from AC. If that strategy looks doable, make the leap to Cabo once you are closer and have the shorter needed window.
Like I said, I’m sure you’ll weigh your options and pick the best. As I think I’ve heard you say… plan the work and work the plan 🙂
Regards,
Karl
Well that was the original plan. Really, the significant difference is that I have opened my options. Using AC I had/have quite a detailed cruise up the coast. SO now I’ve really just added some more options.
In any case, I will take what the weather offers. The difference is that under Plan A, I would have stopped, no matter the weather. Now, I’ve decided that if the wx is favorable to keep on until it isn’t.