Weather... or Not

Weather … or not 2-13-06

It was a dark and stormy night. That was last night. Tonight is not as dark since there is an almost full moon and the wind has died down to 20 to 25 knots. Crossroads and a dozen other boats in Staniel Key and hundreds more all over the Bahamas are staying put and waiting for weather. To be more specific, we have weather; we are waiting for a weather change.

Our good friend Leigh (Honey) asked about Bahamian winter weather. We didn't know much about it either until recently. Here is how it works. First, there's the radically different meaning to the term "weather". When Dave Brown on channel 5 in Memphis talks about the weather it boils down to two things: temperature and precipitation. The weather reports we listen to and discuss at length with other cruisers never mentions these formerly important features. All we want to know about is wind. Wind rules our lives.

In the Bahamas we get the same cold fronts that pass through the U.S.. Most weaken before they get to us and only shift the wind direction a bit. Sometimes the strong cold fronts give us some rain but only in patches. Mostly, we get wind.

When a cold front is coming, everyone talks about where they plan to hunker down to wait it out. We sit still (except for some rolling and pitching) until the wind finally dies down.

So, what is the weather like in the Bahamas in the winter? Temperature is normally around 75degrees and sunny, until a cold front blows, then it can get down to the 60's. It is mostly windy with an 85% chance that it will be from the wrong direction.

Glenn