Tropical Weathr pattern in Caribbean - tropical wave brings lightning, squalls, thunder and rain

We have been writing a lot about our land adventures lately so I thought I would insert a little sailing entertainment for you.



We had an exciting sail from Antigua to Marie Galante yesterday. It's an 80 mile run around the Eastern shore of Guadeloupe, an easy day sail for Zen. We'll have breakfast in Antigua and be on the hook in Marie Galant for an early dinner we figured. Well, we nailed the beginning and end but, besides the outstanding dinner Monique whipped up when we arrived (what's new??), the middle part is what's worth writing about. This time of year the weather patterns in this part of the Caribbean are very similar to that of the US East Coast. The only difference is that the Tropical Waves (similar to the New England Cold Fronts) travel in the opposite direction, East to West. These Tropical Waves pack rain, thunder, lightning and blustery squalls. Once they blow through there is a 3 to 5 day period of 15 to 20kt Easterly trades. Two days ago a Tropical Wave passed over the area and we decided it would be a nice window for a leisurely day sail to Marie Galant. I watch the weather very closely. This is not a race, it's a family cruise and if the weather is not good then we don't go.



A little side bar for the sailors out there. This time around I decided to use a suite of software products from a company named Ocens for all our on-board weather (www.ocens.com). It allows me to download and display every kind of weather map/forecast you can imagine. They compress everything so it only takes a few seconds over our very slow satellite internet connection. It's like having a weather man on board. This is a huge difference from our last cruise back in 2000. No more futzing with the SSB to try and capture a barely legible weather fax. I simply click on the products (surface maps, wind/wave, text) and send a request to their server. In less than 30 seconds I have all I need to make a safe and informed weather decision.



Okay, back to the story. Sorry for the little commercial above but what do you expect from an advertising guy :). Now let me tie all this together for you. Ocens is great but let's face it I'm no Gary Ley (our trusted local weather guy back in RI) and sometimes a little "gotcha" sneaks through. The general prediction was spot-on. The wind speed and direction matched the forecast (15 kts from the E) and we started with a beautiful 8 to 9kt close hauled course towards Guadeloupe. The seas were still a bit boisterous from the passing Tropical Wave but we knew they would subside as we sailed. About half way between Antigua and Guadalupe I looked out toward the horizon and saw a HUGE gray thunder head. Hmmmm, I thought, probably should prepare for that one. Monique saw me gesticulating in the cockpit, saw the thunder head a couple miles dead ahead and said "you need help taking in a reef". We reefed the main and jib and hardened up on the runner. The wind started to pick up from 15 to 20 and auto (our autopilot steering system) was doing just fine. Then the rain began and the wind kicked up to about 30 and started to back. I took over for auto at the outside helm because I thought a little natural shower would be good for me and I wanted to take advantage of the wind direction. As I altered course the rain got harder and the wind started to increase again. Shoot, I thought, I should have gone to the inside helm...too late now, I'm already soaked. When the wind hit 45kts the rain hurt as it hit us and we were really hauling-the-mail...through the blinding rain I saw 14kts on the GPS. The seas had been flattened by the driving rain and Zen was humming along like it was born for this...solid as a rock and under complete control. At this point we had twisted off the main and taken in a second reef on the jib. We knew it was going to pass as quickly as it arrived so we didn't bother further shortening the main. I started to see sunshine through the pelting rain, oh good.I thought....just a little further. A few minutes later the wind started to drop and the rain was replaced by the rays of the sun. With the wind back down to about 15 kts it seemed like we were going backwards. The whole event lasted about 10 minutes. We shook out the reefs and kept going. The remainder of the trip was beautiful. After we passed the tip of Guadeloupe we turned to a broad reach and blasted at 9 to 10kts to the anchorage in Marie Galante. BTW...what were the kids doing during all the excitement...you may be asking? They were sleeping in the main salon and didn't even notice.



Final note.HAPPY B-DAY Darlene!!!!