Caribbean Passagemaking

by Weatheritt, Les

• ISBN13: 9781574093087
• ISBN10: 1574093088
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-01-01
• Publisher: Sheridan House Inc

Summary

Les Weatheritt is a research economist who had been trying to get back to the Caribbean since he was a deckhand on a schooner there at the age of 21. He has cruised the Caribbean many times and is also the author of Atlantic Crossings: A Sailor's Guide to Europe and Beyond.

Author Biography

From novice deckhand to trans-Atlantic navigator, Les Weatheritt, a research economist, has sailed throughout the Caribbean and back-and-forth to Europe for nearly 20 years. A self-taught sailor, Les and his partner Gloria live on a 60' narrow boat near Bath in southwest England.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Pinch yourself	p. 1
Columbus and me	p. 1
Hitting the harmonic beat	p. 2
The enchanted chain	p. 4
Into the Virgins	p. 7
Leeward and Windward	p. 8
A simple passage plan	p. 11
Coming to terms	p. 13
What is this place they call the Caribbean?	p. 13
The three regions of the Caribbean Chain	p. 15
When the music of the empires stopped	p. 18
The secret to your simple passage plan	p. 21
Knocking on Aries' door	p. 21
Prime is a small number	p. 23
The passagemaking logic of the Virgins	p. 25
Pilot books	p. 26
Sea charts-fine food for Joshua's goat	p. 28
A plot full of roses-those amazing pilot charts	p. 29
Navigation techniques-GPS is better than a hungry pig	p. 29
Taking comfort from others-those daring bareboat charterers	p. 32
Surprise, surprise-sunset, sunrise	p. 33
Staying put is no fluke-good ground tackle	p. 34
The sea that flows	p. 39
The Caribbean current	p. 39
What a swell ocean this is	p. 41
The mystery of tides	p. 44
A lunar solution	p. 45
A twist in the tale	p. 45
The wind that blows	p. 47
Constant like the Trade Winds	p. 48
The Intertropical Convergence Zone-the Doldrums	p. 50
Santa's clause-the Christmas winds	p. 51
Summer waves	p. 53
Out through a window	p. 53
Local factors affecting winds	p. 55
Tropical squalls	p. 57
Well, just listen to that-weather forecasts	p. 58
Hurricanes-something significant in the weather	p. 63
Better to be hit by a simulation	p. 68
Thank you, Buys Ballot	p. 70
In a hurricane hole and digging	p. 72
Names to remember	p. 76
Testing the predictions	p. 79
A breath of a boy, and his shy little sister	p. 81
Global warming and/or extreme weather	p. 81
Take to the hills	p. 82
Picture this-a reading list for weather forecasting	p. 83
The land that glows	p. 84
From the gates of hell-the day St Pierre died	p. 85
Still too hot to handle	p. 86
Don't Kick-'em-jenny	p. 88
Drive-in volcano	p. 91
Get the book out	p. 91
A people to know	p. 92
Separated by a common language	p. 93
Sugar and spice-no basis for an economy	p. 94
Giving back-community relations	p. 97
The good, the bad and the boat boys	p. 98
Island passages	p. 101
Sharp points of perspective	p. 101
Bouncing checks on the banks	p. 102
Road map of the ups and downs	p. 102
Easy days among the Virgins	p. 103
Go with ease	p. 104
The long goodbye	p. 107
All hail to e-clearance	p. 110
Times of change	p. 111
Tips to easier passages	p. 112
Going south through the chain	p. 112
Going north through the chain	p. 130
Island guides	p. 142
St Thomas	p. 142
St John	p. 144
Tortola	p. 145
Virgin Gorda	p. 148
Jost Van Dyke	p. 149
Minor islands of the BVI	p. 151
St Martin/Sint Maarten	p. 151
St Barts, Saint-Barthélemy	p. 157
Statia, Sint Eustatius	p. 158
St Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis	p. 158
Antigua	p. 163
Guadeloupe	p. 167
The Saintes, Iles des Saintes	p. 171
Dominica	p. 172
Martinique	p. 175
St Lucia	p. 178
St Vincent & the Grenadines	p. 181
Grenada	p. 193
Trinidad & Tobago	p. 201
Another point of perspective-comparative costs of living	p. 215
Islands off the list	p. 217
St Croix	p. 217
Anegada	p. 217
Anguilla	p. 218
Saba	p. 218
Montserrat-paradise postponed	p. 218
Barbuda	p. 220
Marie-Galante and La Desirade	p. 221
Barbados	p. 221
Staying in touch	p. 222
VHF radio nets-a treasure from the bilge	p. 222
SSB-a fine net to be caught in	p. 222
Coffee and cookies-finger-licking email cafes	p. 223
Sailing newspapers	p. 224
Security-lock it or lose it	p. 224
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday-not OK in this corral	p. 229
Health and hazards	p. 230
Dehydration	p. 230
Sunburn	p. 230
Mosquitoes and Dengue Fever	p. 231
Sand flies	p. 232
Snakes and other biters	p. 232
Don't bite the bad apple-manchineel trees	p. 233
So that's gravity-falling nuts	p. 233
Poisoned fish-don't smoke the ciguatera	p. 234
Fish are biting	p. 234
Jolly jelly fish	p. 235
Lionfish	p. 235
Coral scratches	p. 235
Cockroaches and their friends	p. 235
Hospitals and health centers	p. 236
Entertainment	p. 237
Stretching your legs-best walks	p. 237
Diving	p. 238
Don't break the bank-taking care of coral	p. 238
Whale of a time	p. 239
Turning turtle	p. 239
In your own wake	p. 241
Staying on	p. 241
Fitting out for the tropics	p. 241
Shopping and sailing	p. 242
Ventilation	p. 244
Sun protection	p. 245
Personal care	p. 245
Electricity generation	p. 246
Clean diesel	p. 246
Outboards and dinghies	p. 247
Liferafts	p. 247
The aft gantry	p. 248
Not hoist by your own petard	p. 248
Epilogue	p. 249
Glossary of local terms	p. 251
Measures of wind strengths	p. 253
Index	p. 255
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