By all accounts, this has been a bit of a strange year for Atlantic weather. In typical summer weather, a large high pressure cell, the Azores High, sits directly over the archipelago. Since the wind in the northern hemisphere blows clockwise around high pressure, it’s apparently usually a short motor to the north out of the high and then into the westerlies to sail either east or north.
This year, however, the high seems to be stuck several hundred miles north of the Azores. This means that the wind has been steadily blowing from the north or northeast for the past month, more or less uninterrupted. That’s not ideal weather for sailing to the northeast, which is where we want to head.
So when we saw the weather change with a few days of westerlies forecast, we decided to take advantage, even though we could have happily spent more time exploring the Azores. The islands of Sao Miguel and Santa Maria will have to wait until next time.
The forecast that we have is not perfect – it’s a little too light in the beginning so we’ll need to listen to the engine a bit, and it will probably be a little too strong for comfort as we approach the coast of NW Spain. But it’s the best forecast we’ve seen in a few weeks, so Madrone’s bow is pointed to the northeast.
Day One
106nm (in about 18 hours)
38 27.6N 23 51.9W
Wind NW10 Seas smooth with 4-5’ long period swell
