Meeting Miss Beryl

2024 Wikipedia By NASA/Matthew Dominick
 https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/studying-hurricane-beryl-from-space/
 Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=149984683

Living on an island, you learn to respect weather.  Not that we check forecasts every day, but it can be helpful to keep out of trouble.  Trouble though, sometimes finds YOU!  So here then, is our tale of Caribbean daring-do… 

In June 2024, after months of repair work on our sailboat, Windjammer 3 in Trinidad, we finally “splashed”.  Tropical waters under clear, blue skies beckoned.  Only days after setting the hook in Carriacou, we learned of a tropical system moving west towards us.  Time to pay closer attention then.  So, this is how we met Hurricane Beryl, up close and personal!  These are notes we took from weather reports as Miss Beryl progressed threateningly towards us.  

24-25 Jun 24.  Tyrell Bay, Carriacou.  A tropical system is moving west off the coast of Africa.  At anchor, we experience wild squalls and 53 km/h winds (a near gale) overnight.  Neighbours head into mangrove lagoons or boat yards for shelter.  Given the system’s track, our Cap’n decides north is best, rather than our pre-planned “Escape south to Trinidad.”  Very wise indeed!

26 Jun 24:  Bequia, SVG.  Atlantic system on the move.  Island-hugging, as we move north, lessens the impact of increasingly strong winds and choppy seas.

27 Jun 24: Rodney Bay, St Lucia.  Tropical storm on the way. Winds reach 65 km/h.  Locals seem non-plussed by this impending storm.

28-30 Jun 24: Rodney Bay Marina.  Record breaking hurricane coming!  St Lucia is gusty and overcast.  Moving into Rodney Bay’s sheltered lagoon, we refuel before taking a Marina berth.  After lashing WJ3 securely into her slip, canvas and sails are removed.  Hopefully, the lagoon’s narrow entrance will limit storm surge.  Preparations continued with re-stocking essential supplies.  Time to sit and wait.  We cling to a chance that Beryl wobbles south.  Every mile counts.

01 Jul 24:  Beryl (now Category 4) hits the Caribbean.  The eye passes over Carriacou, a mere 157 km away from us, at 220 km/h causing unbelievable damage.  Thankfully, St Lucia’s airport records 75 km/h, a strong gale.  Despite days of rain, flooding was minimal.  We were safe, this time!

Feeding off unseasonably warm waters, Beryl moved on, quickly intensifying into Category 5 with unimaginable 270 km/h winds.  Over two days, Beryl had strengthened into a major Hurricane; only 6 others have accomplished this record.  Spare a thought for Hurricane Hunters who fly through these beasts to collect meteorological data!  Days later, news and drone footage filtered out of unbelievable damage sustained by islands to our south.  

We remained in St Lucia for the remainder of 2024 Hurricane Season, making a decision not to haul out in Trinidad, but make a dash for Deltaville to a less exhilarating life on USA’s Chesapeake Bay.

Fifth Leg

Finally, the calculations for our very long Season 2024-2025 are done.  

Always chores...

End of Season:  Our figures for 2024-25 from the LOG came in as follows:

From: Chaguaramas, Trinidad Lat/Long: 10:40.993N 61:38.029W  Date/Time: 10/04/24: 2230

To: Deltaville, Chesapeake Bay USA Lat/Long: 37:33.621N 76:19.279W  Date/Time: 4/04/25: 1200

Time Taken: (this year): 514.5 hrs (at sea)  Distance: (this year): 3086nm

Distance Total: (since 2008): 31,368nm  

Weather: El Niño (increased rainfall & reduced hurricane activity) ended in 2024, ushering La Niña conditions (drier conditions, colder winters, and increased hurricane activity).  So, we found ourselves not far enough away from record-breaking Beryl.  La Niña lived up to expectations and after a 4½ month hiatus in St Lucia waiting out the end of hurricane season, we juggled local weather conditions, not quite to “tropical paradise” standard, with a definite need to keep moving.  This year, we splurged on adding Starlink to WJ3’s now impressive collection of antennas, so we had internet connection and therefore weather reports in all but the most isolated anchorages.  It would have been handier had both our computers not decided to give up the ghost during this trip.  We are still blaming Beryl!

Fastest Speed:  We moved at a reasonably consistent speed, found the shortest route, then used both sail and motor.  The aim was to travel about 50 miles per day, leave early and be anchored or docked for “sundowners”.  We were able to reduce our long overnighters to two - Puerto Rico to Turks Caicos in 3 days & then Turks Caicos to George Town, Bahamas in 2 days. This greatly boosted crew morale!  In all, over the total distance covered, we maintained an average speed of 5.9mph.  And for the record, there is no plan at all to upgrade to a faster catamaran or a sleeker hot water boat.  (Although after dreadful travel days, we did toy with the idea!)

Conditions: As this cruise took us on our fifth leg of the Caribbean, chances are we will not attempt it again.  It’s not a difficult run and can be managed over a series of mostly, one day sails.  The only real exception is the crossing between Turks & Caicos and the Virgins.  This time though, we tried something different.  After skimming T&C’s east coast, we headed south for Puerto Rico. Once there, with the Trades howling and a strong Gulf Stream running, it was a sensible choice to follow the coast west!  On reaching the Mona Passage, we ducked around the corner making a B line for Puerto Real - hoping to make it before the morning Trades kicked back in!  Naturally, it didn’t quite go to plan. Does it ever?  Still, we did learn that heading east means bashing into the Trades and timing is everything.  Seeing the south coast of Puerto Rico was well worth the effort though! 

BTW, the fifth leg is a fifth mast on a schooner – the sailboat variety, not a glass of beer!  Cheers, and we’ll see you on the Chesapeake in May 2026.