Crossing the Atlantic is not something to be done blindly weather-wise, and no one needs to anymore.

Though expensive, we opted to purchase an Iridium Go satellite hotspot that would allow us to download weather reports, and we subscribed to Predict Wind, a weather routing service. We had used a weather router (Chris Parker) in the past, but wanted the data to make our own decisions this time. Trip had also been studying pilot charts that show decades of seasonal weather patterns in the Atlantic. The Atlantic is famous for weather in the south near Bermuda that leads to dead spots with no wind (we have a sailboat so we want wind) and weather in the north that can sometimes bring too much wind. Toss in the unpredictable Gulf Stream and the Azores high, and there’s a lot to consider.

The optimal months for crossing from the US to the Azores are May and June. Based on personal commitments we opted for the first weekend of June. Tropical Storm Alex was coming up the coast, but heading offshore further east. We used the departure planning feature of Predict Wind, which compares options for 4 days of departures, and had our date.

Once off shore, we would download weather reports twice a day and decide our route. It would have been lovely to sail straight from point A to point B, but currents, wind strength (not too little, not too much – like Goldilocks) and wind direction (as much as possible on our beam (side) or from behind for a comfortable ride) all needed to be considered. You could see weather highs and lows forming and decide how to pursue the most favorable winds, avoiding deadspots that required motoring as well as avoiding too much wind.

So how did we do? We came in contact with three gales in the first half of the trip. The winds alone were not the problem, but the addition of big or big & confused seas made things complicated. We practiced the technique of heaving to when the conditions got to be too much for the crew (the boat was a freaking champ, she would have plowed through anything), and sailed when it made sense. We went much further north than we ever planned (which made for a couple of really really cold and damp nights), but it allowed us to catch consistent westerly then northerly winds that allowed us to sail for a week straight, in beautiful conditions, right into the bay where we dropped anchor.

My opinion? The money was well worth it. The data downloads were reliable, and the weather predictions were as well. It was an exciting ride, but we made the right decision for us and the boat for this trip. As we get ready to move from Terceira to Sao Jorge, it’s rather amusing to be using it for something for only 50 miles (less than a day), but it’s still valuable!