Major storm heading to Bermuda

[mking8288]

Poor souls, still better than at work, :p Been watching that portcam last night - wind, heavy rain (now) & thunderstorm and not easing, good for indoor activities ... Wind gusting 20 to 25 knots & reported increasing to 25 to 30 knots, gusts of 40 to 45 knots, not a good day to ride the island ferries.

 

The Summit left & was doing 12 knots once cleared & outside the reefs and likely got ahead of the approaching storm, but were still informed to expect worsening conditions for 24 hours.

 

Weather front to the west is stalled over/near Bermuda vs. the typical storm that come & go quickly and further away & north into the Atlantic or head for Canada. Looked at the tidal tables earlier, it's past high tide & low tide is early afternoon - so it might be tricky for BA to leave early even if everyone is onboard & accounted for, and don't need to wait & can just go.

 

Hoping for a happy sailing & crossing back to NY, BM's marine forecast - widespread rain or showers, risk thunder with fair to very poor visibility... Seas inside the reef 2 to 4 ft... Outside the reef 8 to 13 ft. Maps from Oceanweather showing a change, with rougher seas, 15 to 20 to 25 ft. waves, south to north to the northwest of Bermuda - that's the direction for the BA later, oops - hang tight & start those motion sickness management regiment, like Bonine. Question of the Day - do they need the pilot boat for the escort and/or can the BA navigate the reefs on her own safely with the tidal & wave conditions ??

 

It's a matter of timing if the BA captain can sail around by staying to the south, as they will have the latest live radar & satellite data feeds along with the updated forecast to plot their course headings. Reminded of one of our GEM sailing out of NYC less than a week after Sandy in 2012, directly into an oncoming Noreaster storm - we're almost flying at 25 knots with gale force cross wind in pretty rough seas, 30 foot waves for 12+ hours and then easing.

 

It will be our turns for BDA in about 2 weeks, our plan B - sleep late, order light breakfast for the morning with free delivery (probably very busy) & tell the Room Steward - DND. Well, if they keep the casino open all night, :D

 

P.S. Rain poncho - umbrellas under these windy conditions would likely get flipped easily.

Edited May 6, 2016 by mking8288

[janetz]

Our daughter is on the BA now. Cant be any worse then our sailing last fall, trying to beat an east coast storm to NY.

That was a wild ride. :)

Edited May 6, 2016 by janetz

[Brighton Line]

Bermuda canceled the West End Ferry (Dockyard/St. George) service for the entire day due to the weather, someone posted a link in the Bermuda Forum.

[goofy4mickey]

I keep checking the web cam. They haven't left yet.

[rafinmd]

Lines are currently dropping on the Breakaway:

 

http://portbermudawebcam.com/

 

Wishing everyone on the Breakaway a safe and pleasant return to New York.

 

Roy

[mking8288]

There she goes, on her way & nearby, there's a pilot boat (the "Powerful") on starboard side (AFT) and further out toward, the "St. George" pilot boat is out there too - safe & bon voyage

Edited May 6, 2016 by mking8288

[myparks]

Prayers they all sail safe- I set sail on BA on Sunday!!!!

[rafinmd]

Didn't take long for Breakaway to disappear in the mist.

 

Roy

[Barb Nahoumi]

Safe passage for the BA & Summit.

[bluesea777]

Nothing major as the title say, at all

 

Much less windy than Scotland :rolleyes:

 

We needed the heavy downpour to keep the gardens green and flowering, and our water tanks full.

 

Breakaway stayed, but the pax must have been disappointed with the weather.

 

Harbour pretty calm all day today.

 

We've had worse weather than last night's and today's.

 

Don't understand why Summit left one day early.

 

Cheers!

[goofy4mickey]

Just received an email from my DD. Everythings OK she just mentioned the ship is rocking ALOT

[Gershep]

Just received an email from my DD. Everythings OK she just mentioned the ship is rocking ALOT

 

With all this rainy weather I hope it doesn't rock too much.

[mking8288]

Just received an email from my DD. Everythings OK she just mentioned the ship is rocking ALOT

With all this rainy weather I hope it doesn't rock too much.

Great on everything being OK. When cruising in rough seas with waves, etc. - location can make a "slight" difference in how bad those rocking motions are. We're on deck 10 Fwd last March with 15' waves and felt a little bit including sideways, not too bad - everything outdoors including the Waterfront were closed off, doors locked. Our BDA cruise on the BA in 2 weeks - two midship staterooms on deck 5 :D

 

Hopefully, they can go fast & sail out and away by morning - BA can do 22 to 23 knots but it will burn fuel.

 

Heard from those on X Summit, live, as they left early - by late morning and I quote, "can feel the swells but not bad at all. Sat outside the buffet at breakfast. Expecting improving conditions from here forward. A totally enjoyable at sea day on the Summit. " Another post from this afternoon, "Enjoying calm seas and Woodford Reserve on my terrace!!! " Sunny & blue skies from the uploaded picture:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=384650&d=1462565677

 

Hintsight is always 20/20 - BA stayed put on the pier but I can't imagine anyone gone anywhere far or at all since last night with that steady shower/rain today - before they released the lines & set sail in the afternoon as scheduled.

 

Well, "moderate" motion overnight is great for sleeping ... (at least, true for us) and hopefully, they will wake up to improving conditions by morning, if not sooner. Oceanweather maritime charts for the region seemed to show improving conditions vs. earlier in the day. I'm sure the "critics" will be writing about it on CC afterward.

Edited May 7, 2016 by mking8288

[Barb Nahoumi]

The Anthem of the seas was in Bermuda this morning, also in rainy weather. I didn't see anyone out and about. She left port at 4pm.

[Rosethorn40]

I just got off the Summit. It wasn't just the heavy rain and strong winds, but also poor visibility was a concern according to the Captain. We did have an extra sea day. It was mostly cloudy during the morning, but by afternoon the skies had brighten, and it was fairly warm. We were in heavy fog last night, ran into it about the same time as the Kentucky Derby. All night you could hear our fog horn blowing.

 

Of course from Thursday evening on the conspiracy theories were going strong. Among my favorites;

 

1) Because we had to dock Tuesday evening (Due to a medical Emergency on board) Celebrity lost casino revenue from Tuesday night. In order to make it up, the storm gave a perfect excuse to leave early, and open the casino.

 

2) Because we docked on Tuesday, the Captain had to burn extra fuel to get to Bermuda faster. In order to conserve fuel coming back, by leaving Thursday night the Captain was able to go more slowly, thus saving fuel.

 

3) We had "electrical issues" and needed to get back to NJ early so they could be fixed. Problem with this theory is we got in exactly when we were suppose to.

 

4) Captain's a female=scared. Hogwash! I saw the captain 3 times on Thursday, and she may be petite, but she carries herself with confidence. It is apparent (And I also asked) that the crew respects her, and has total faith in her ability to run the ship.

 

5) There were a couple others, but I can't remember them now.

 

Bottom line for me is that a sea day with no rain is better than a port day in which it's not only raining buckets, but the wind is blowing high. Been in that situation and it was no fun.

[bluesea777]

It rained here non-stop from Thurs evening to last night - 48 hours - 2 nights and 2 full days.

 

Today I was able to get out and enjoy the day! And finished our grocery shopping! We were meant to go to 2 stores yesterday but managed only one.

 

All our 3 cats are happy and spent most of the day outdoors today!

[allentownahoy]

I was also on the Summit and very happy with what we did. Although we were warned to expect rough seas for 24 hours we really just had some rocking and rolling in the evening and overnight- and not all that bad really. Our Friday at sea was very pleasant indoors and out. As someone else posted visibility concerns were a big issue. prompting our early departure.

 

I am glad Breakaway had a safe and uneventful departure as well.

 

Also, someone I know who was in Bermuda on the Anthem on Saturday said it was pouring hard in sheets sideways and that the rain was actually painful.

[AndyCapn]

I was on this Breakaway sailing. The captain did give an announcement shortly after the Summit left saying they didn't know why it was heading back early and "they have their own reasons." We left as scheduled Friday afternoon without issue.

 

There was some rolling on Friday night but nothing I wouldn't expect from sailing on the ocean. Both my mother and my wife get seasick easily and their pre-bedtime Gravol was good enough. :)