Current Transatlantic/Repositioning Conditions...

[miXterOB]

I'll be doing my first repositioning cruise in 18 days...Tampa to Barcelona by way of Bermuda, Portugal, Cadiz and Malaga.

Symphony of the Seas just completed theirs a few days ago and the consensus was it was cold and rough...insert your best punchline here...😜

Actually...would be grateful for folks to let me know how things are currently in the Atlantic.

 

Thank you!

[basenji56]

My friend is on a Viking cruise a few days out of Europe.  Says the weather has been perfect.

 

Check www.windy.com

 

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 minute ago, miXterOB said:

I'll be doing my first repositioning cruise in 18 days...Tampa to Barcelona by way of Bermuda, Portugal, Cadiz and Malaga.

Symphony of the Seas just completed theirs a few days ago and the consensus was it was cold and rough...insert your best punchline here...😜

Actually...would be grateful for folks to let me know how things are currently in the Atlantic.

 

Thank you!

How are things in the Atlantic?  NOAA has some 200 weather bouys.  Things quiet now.

TAs are rarely rough because the Captain can vary the ship's course by several hundred miles north or south to avoid storms - look up Great Circle Routes.

Have done some dozen TAs.  Have had rough seas in the Caribbean, Southern Ocean, the Arctic and Med.  Never in the Atlantic. 

[miXterOB]

31 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

My friend is on a Viking cruise a few days out of Europe.  Says the weather has been perfect.

 

Check www.windy.com

 

Good tip...Thanks!

[mrgabriel]

We have only done two TAs but will be on one again in a few weeks!

 

The first TA went from Florida towards the Azores and the seas were horrible - three solid days of 25+foot waves. Crew members were sick, passengers were sick. Once we got past Ponte Delgada, it was fine. 

 

The second TA was smooth as glass except in the Bay of Biscay, which you will be avoiding. And it was sunny but cold once we got past the Caribbean. If you were protected from the breeze, lovely and warm and easy to get a sunburn. 

[basenji56]

17 minutes ago, mrgabriel said:

The second TA was smooth as glass except in the Bay of Biscay, which you will be avoiding. And it was sunny but cold once we got past the Caribbean. If you were protected from the breeze, lovely and warm and easy to get a sunburn. 

That Bay of Biscay was horrible.  Not sure if we were on the same cruise.  Mine went from Southhampton to Boston, NY and Florida.  Worse seas I have experienced.

 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, basenji56 said:

My friend is on a Viking cruise a few days out of Europe.  Says the weather has been perfect.

 

Check www.windy.com

 

 

Great recommendation -   I use it all of the time.   Even some of the Captain's used it on a rough crossing for his presentation in the theater.

 

Another really good site -

 

http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display.cgi?a=natla_height

 

It show the projection of Wave Heights over an 8 day window.

 

[Jim_Iain]

As you know it is impossible to forecast the weather especially on a long TA.   

 

Conditions will be very different between a Southern (Canary Island Stop), Mid-Atlantic (Azores) or a Northern Crossing.

 

Generally a Spring TA -   will run in the range of 55-67 F while at sea.   Southern crossings will generally be warmest and smoothest and Northern Coldest and Roughest. 

 

Check the long range Wave Height Model

http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display.cgi?a=natla_height

 

[miXterOB]

Fantastic replies...

I've lived in Florida 30 years so of course I understand about the inconsistency and fluid nature of weather but just doing my best to see if there are strong trends.

 

So would Bermuda to Portugal be a Northern route or midway...seems a touch Northern but it's my first so I know nothing.

 

Please keep those experiences and tips coming.

 

 

[Gaynors]

6 minutes ago, miXterOB said:

Fantastic replies...

I've lived in Florida 30 years so of course I understand about the inconsistency and fluid nature of weather but just doing my best to see if there are strong trends.

 

So would Bermuda to Portugal be a Northern route or midway...seems a touch Northern but it's my first so I know nothing.

 

Please keep those experiences and tips coming.

 

 

I'm on the same sailing as you and I'm hoping to get some inside info from my son who's graduating from FSU with a degree in meteorology in May 😂.   I was the one who told him about the windy app from reading about it on here.  He has other resources and models I don't even want to try to understand.  Windy is great for wave heights and very easy to use.

 

I still find the most reliable source of weather information is the weather rock...if it's wet it's raining..etc..

[boblin]

An April TA will no doubt be better than a March one, for starters. The only port I would have some concerns for would be Bermuda. One of my TA's missed Bermuda because of wind levels and the channel opening to get into port. However, we maintained a more southerly course than would have been necessary for a stop in Bermuda and , as a result, the weather was quite warm and pleasant. We also picked up Le Havre as a port stop, so got into Paris.  Nothing wrong with that!

[Bill Miller]

The Atlantic Ocean, what could possibly go wrong?

[Lastdance]

Remember, the sun is warm regardless, whether you feel it or not.  Always have layers of clothing.  We did FLL to Southampton and Lisbon was rainy, as was Bilbao, but not too bad at all in Bilbao because it stopped.  Bermuda was perfect.  I call that a northern route.  My crystal ball says to just be prepared and never allow the weather to do anything, but get you a little wet!

[zincman3737]

Sailing on the Beyond in November on A TA from Rome.  It goes from Lisbo to Bermuda.  Is that generally by the southern route or the mid-route?

[Jim_Iain]

23 hours ago, miXterOB said:

Fantastic replies...

I've lived in Florida 30 years so of course I understand about the inconsistency and fluid nature of weather but just doing my best to see if there are strong trends.

 

So would Bermuda to Portugal be a Northern route or midway...seems a touch Northern but it's my first so I know nothing.

 

Please keep those experiences and tips coming.

 

 

 

Not sure which ship but after Bermuda you should have stop at either the Azores or the Canary Islands.    The Lisbon one usually stops in Azores (which is also part of Portugal) and would be a Mid-Atlantic.  

 

Northern crossings go north of the Azores and all I've been on were rough and cold.  A couple years ago on the crossing from Southampton to Boston and then to Florida there was a huge northern storm and we had to go south of the Azores and arrived Boston one day late.   Furniture was tied down on the decks the entire crossing.

[miXterOB]

The Portugal port will be Madeira/Funchal which I will now gather info on but please...if you have experienced it...chime in please

 it's an island so possibly considered a piece of the Azores but doesn't seem like it to me....just sits in front of the the egress of the Mediterranean....Gibraltar is due east

Edited March 31, 2023 by miXterOB

[Ex-Airbalancer]

5 minutes ago, miXterOB said:

The Portugal port will be Madeira/Funchal which I will now gather info on but please...if you have experienced it...chime in please

 

Should be shorts temperature for the whole crossing! 
 

[miXterOB]

Fingers crossed you're right Ex_AirBalancer but I've lived here for 10 years and when you Canucks are down here in your shorts when it in the 50's...I'm wearing my flannel lined jeans...even at Paradise Lakes🤣

Edited March 31, 2023 by miXterOB

[soniam]

5 minutes ago, miXterOB said:

Fingers crossed you're right Ex_AirBalancer but I've lived here for 10 years and when you Canucks are down here in your shorts when it in the 50's...I'm wearing my flannel lined jeans...even at Paradise Lakes🤣

We live in Texas, so I always have to find out where people are from before considering their weather/clothing advice🤣

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, miXterOB said:

The Portugal port will be Madeira/Funchal which I will now gather info on but please...if you have experienced it...chime in please

 it's an island so possibly considered a piece of the Azores but doesn't seem like it to me....just sits in front of the the egress of the Mediterranean....Gibraltar is due east

Madeira / Funchal would be a Southern Crossing.

 

Last year our mid-Atlantic was diverted after the Azores toward Madeira for a medical evacuation.    We had to get close enough to Madeira for the helicopter to reach us.     It was interesting to watch but put us into Lisbon 6 hours late.

 

We had rough weather into the Azores but after that it was very smooth and temperate.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, soniam said:

We live in Texas, so I always have to find out where people are from before considering their weather/clothing advice🤣

 

LOL -  Living in Silicon Valley - I suggest people dress like a Summer visit to San Francisco. 

[Canuker]

Climate is what you expect.

Weather is what you get.

[upwarduk]

On 3/31/2023 at 6:27 PM, miXterOB said:

The Portugal port will be Madeira/Funchal which I will now gather info on but please...if you have experienced it...chime in please

We were in Madeira 22/01/23-29/01/23.

We had Spring like temperatures of 20-22c. 
We were even able to sunbathe at mid day, but had cool evening temperatures.
Friends of ours went 2 weeks later and had 2 days of rain.

Impossible to predict.

 

 

 

 

[Nado44]

First graphic shows forecast for today. Ships on the southern crossing would be in fairly calm waters. Second graphic shows forecast for 13 April 2023. Seas would not be as calm. YMMV.

[padgman1]

59 minutes ago, Nado44 said:

First graphic shows forecast for today. Ships on the southern crossing would be in fairly calm waters. Second graphic shows forecast for 13 April 2023. Seas would not be as calm. YMMV.

Fortunately, Silhouette doesn't leave until April 20th...