As a captain who has had the privilege of traveling to places most people only dream of, it’s not uncommon for me to be asked one of two questions when meeting someone. First, have you had run-ins with pirates? Along with this, how many guns do you carry? Second, what’s the worst weather you have encountered? To the disappointment of most, the answers are not what they were hoping for: no pirates, no guns and aside from a few instances that could not be avoided, I have generally had relatively calm weather throughout the entirety of our trips.

Personal Experience

I understand that may sound a bit unrealistic given the experiences that I’m guessing some of you have had. For example, how many of you have set out from south Florida to either Mexico, Bermuda or the USVI and taken a serious beating traveling into the trades for what seems likes like days on end? What if I told you in the months of January through May there are typically three to four days every two weeks when the trade winds break down and could actually give following conditions for some or all of the journey? Growing up fishing, I understand the go-no-matter-what mindset come tournament time. Lots of money and bragging rights are on the table. However, there are plenty of opportunities to travel between destinations in good weather if you give yourself enough flexibility in scheduling.

Weather Forecasts

Prior to and throughout any given trip, I always consult with a marine forecasting service. Over the last 20 years, I’ve consistently used Weather Routing Inc. as a trusted source for long-range forecasts. This private consulting firm is the world leader in the marine industry since 1961, and their staff of expert marine meteorologists are available 24/7, 365 days a year, providing worldwide customized marine weather forecast and routing services. Typically, two weeks out from a trip, we discuss a general voyage plan, including planned stops and intended departure/arrival. With their expertise, WRI will establish some sort of probability associated with portions of the trip and provide recommendations on routes, departures dates/times and expected conditions based on a long-range outlook.

Weather tracking is a team sport, so the more engaged you are with updating your real-time position/speed along the way, the more accurate the forecasting becomes. Provided you have a general route that allows you to travel with the elements, WRI has proven with their service that you can travel relatively anywhere in light weather if given a flexible schedule and an understanding of regional trends. And to answer the original question, the worst weather I’ve ever experienced was in the Gulf of Alaska, where against our better judgment, for the sake of keeping airplane itineraries, we experienced 25- to 30-foot seas with winds at 70 to 80 knots.