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General Information | The Windward Islands | The Leeward Islands |
Northern Leeward / US and British Virgin Islands |
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1.
General Information
Seasons
The wet season is from end of July through end of September.
Temperatures vary from 70 to 90°F, yearlong.
Winds
Almost always from NE in the winter to SE in the summer, between
10 and 20/25 knots, which is ideal for sailing.
Squalls, especially in the summer, may come in a brief and intense
manner. They sometimes have gusts up to 35/40 kts. The way to
tell if they
contain powerful gusts is to look at them coming from far: If the
rain "curtain" is vertical, there is little wind in
the squall. If the rain falls at a steep angle, chances are it
blows
hard in there! Better be prepared. Reef early as those squalls usually
move quickly and will be on you before you know it.
Occasionally, at Xmas time, the "Christmas winds" can
blow rather hard.
Swells
In the winter, if a storm is established in the Northern Atlantic,
a northerly swell sometimes develops all the way down to the Northern
Caribbean and makes some anchorages uncomfortable,
rolly,
or downright
dangerous.
Saba is a good example of a dangerous area when the swell develops.
Always check carefully the orientation of your next
planned anchorage on your chart when the swell is present. Also, it is
a good idea to inquire to the local people before leaving.
Tropical Storms, Hurricanes
In the summertime, from June to September or even October, listen
very carefully and religiously to the weather information. Watch
for
the words "Tropical
wave", "Tropical disturbance", and
"Upper level troughs". There are usually announced 3
to 7 days before they arrive at your location, so you have ample
time
to take the appropriate steps, or even simply return to the charter
base, if you feel uncomfortable.
In case of a severe danger though, the base will call you on the
boat cell phone or their call channel to request you return to
the base anyway. This is standard policy among Charter Companies.
2. The Windward Islands
Barbados
On the radio, AM 900 transmits hourly weather up-dates (there's
a good one after the 0700 news) and although Barbados is some way
from the islands, their transmission is quite powerful and usually
obtainable in the Grenadines.
Martinique
The island does have a VHF forecast on Ch. 11 at 0730 and 1830,
but it's in French.
St. Lucia
FM Gem Radio: marine weather reports on FM 93.7 at 0730 and
0930 daily.
FM Radio: 94.5: news and weather usually on the hour and/or the half-hour.
St. Vincent
On the VHF front, very little, if anything, is available. Occasional
broadcast report broadcasts are infrequent and irregular. For instance,
a taxi driver in St Vincent, "Sam Taxi", sometimes broadcasts
a report on VHF 68 at 0900 - but whether or not the report is broadcast
depends on what sort of a night he had the previous day! So sometimes
it's available and sometimes it isn't.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
AM 790 kHz is as good as any and broadcasts marine weather reports
around 0850 and 1830 daily. There are usually also brief weather
up-dates on the hour, every hour after the news reports.
Internet Weather Reports
Carribean Internet weather reports can also be obtained at:
St Lucia: Rodney Bay Marina
St Vincent: Barefoot Yacht Charters
Bequia: Frangipani Yacht Services,
Admiralty Bay
Union Island: Erika's Marine Services, Clifton Harbour.
3.
The Leeward Islands
Anguilla
FM Radio: 1000 FM, with news and weather usually on the hour
and/or the half-hour.
Antigua
AM Radio: 620 AM, with broadcast at 0650
FM Radio: 93.9 FM, with news and weather usually on the hour and/or
the half-hour.
VHF Radio: Ch. 06 at 0900 (English Harbour Radio)
St. Kitts
FM Radio: 92.7 and 93.2 FM, with news and weather usually on
the hour and/or the half-hour.
St. Martin
FM Radio: 88.9 FM, with news and weather usually on the hour
and/or the half-hour.
102.7
FM Voice of St Martin. Sundays at 0900, nautical program
VHF Radio: Ch. 10 at 0730, the Cruiser's net.
Weather channel WX-1 1162.55, all day. Only in St Martin
range, and updates might not be the most recent ones!
4.
US and British Virgin Islands / Northern Leeward Isl.
USVI: St. Thomas
FM Radio: WIVI 99.5 FM - Forecasts at 0730 - 0830 - 1530 - 1630
AM Radio: WVWI 1000 AM - Forecasts every hour
USVI: St. Croix
AM Radio: 780 AM
Porto Rico
AM Radio: WOJO 1030 AM - Every hour, 5 minutes past the
hour
British Virgin Islands (BVI)
AM Radio: 780 AM ZBVI, at 0730 and 1830 daily - updated
every 1/2 hr. on the half-hour.
VHF Radio:
- Weather channel WX-3 or WX-4. Nonstop NOAA Weather
broadcast by St Thomas radio (USVI). Good, frequently updated.
Not received
from
Virgin Gorda, but the Bitter End marina has weather fax information
every morning.
- VHF Channel 16 announces broadcast, switching
to Ch. 18 and/or 85.
Telephone: From any touch tone phone, dial
6900, then, during the greeting, dial 2. The information is
provided by Boatphone
and ZBVI,
is updated up to the minute and is supposedly free.
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