Marine Forecast Island Princess Panama Canal WB Dec 5

[CapeCodFlyer]

We have a nephew and his wife who work at the National Hurricane Center. Our nephew's wife specializes in Marine Forecasts. She sent us the following forecast today, for our Panama Canal cruise on the Island Princess leaving Saturday from Fort Lauderdale.

 

I'm sure you are ready to go on your cruise! You're leaving South Florida at a good time. It's going to be rainy here much of the time you are gone. You should escape the rain as you travel to Aruba. Unfortunately, you'll be just behind a cold front when you leave Sat, so there will be a cool northeast wind and it'll be rocky when you leave port until you get into the Bahamas. It's generally breezy in the southern Caribbean with seas around 6-8 ft. You'll have a chance of rain as you approach the canal and on the way to Costa Rica, but it will improve as you move north. The seas will be calmer in the Pacific side until you leave from Nicaragua . You'll move offshore of southern Mexico Monday or Tuesday. It might be a bit more windy/wavy as you pass that area, but it should quickly improve. The seas will be to 21 feet there tomorrow, so consider yourselves lucky! Looks like you'll have pretty smooth sailing until you leave Cabo. Then, the seas are going to be rocky, especially because you'll be battling the current. The models don't go beyond Fri 12/11 for seas so I can't be too specific.

 

Have a great time! We're jealous!

 

That was so sweet of her to send along. Anybody else on this cruise will know what to anticipate for the early part of the trip.:)

[reedprincess]

We have a nephew and his wife who work at the National Hurricane Center. Our nephew's wife specializes in Marine Forecasts. She sent us the following forecast today, for our Panama Canal cruise on the Island Princess leaving Saturday from Fort Lauderdale.

 

I'm sure you are ready to go on your cruise! You're leaving South Florida at a good time. It's going to be rainy here much of the time you are gone. You should escape the rain as you travel to Aruba. Unfortunately, you'll be just behind a cold front when you leave Sat, so there will be a cool northeast wind and it'll be rocky when you leave port until you get into the Bahamas. It's generally breezy in the southern Caribbean with seas around 6-8 ft. You'll have a chance of rain as you approach the canal and on the way to Costa Rica, but it will improve as you move north. The seas will be calmer in the Pacific side until you leave from Nicaragua . You'll move offshore of southern Mexico Monday or Tuesday. It might be a bit more windy/wavy as you pass that area, but it should quickly improve. The seas will be to 21 feet there tomorrow, so consider yourselves lucky! Looks like you'll have pretty smooth sailing until you leave Cabo. Then, the seas are going to be rocky, especially because you'll be battling the current. The models don't go beyond Fri 12/11 for seas so I can't be too specific.

 

Have a great time! We're jealous!

 

That was so sweet of her to send along. Anybody else on this cruise will know what to anticipate for the early part of the trip.:)

 

You should definitely post this on your roll call as they'll be the ones directly affected along with you. Very kind of nephew and his wife to send over to you. Enjoy your sailing and leave some fun onboard for us as we board the 20th! Happy sails...

[CruiserBruce]

The comments on the Pacific side are pretty normal, although perhaps a bit higher than normal on the sea heights. We did a cruise up from Lima Peru two years ago, in early December. There is an area (a large bay or gulf) just north of Nicaragua that is always windy and higher seas. Has a long name. When we went through the area, winds were in the 70s, seas in the teens.

 

 

Have done, including the above mentioned cruise, 4 cruises along the coast from Cabo north. As your nephew's wife mentioned, you are sailing against the current, and it is commonly rocky. This is very commonly discussed on the Mexican Rivera board.

Edited December 4, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[BillB48]

The forecast your nephew's wife sent along is nice to know, but I don't think it will be much help in predicting the weather on your cruise. That type of marine forecast beyond a couple of days, particularly in the tropics are only useful in spotting trends and not so much for predicting the weather at a particular locale. This is Aruba's Rainy Season, but since they only receive around 20" a year, there is still a good chance it won't rain on your day there. Cartagena, the Canal and Costa Rica are also still in their normal Rainy Season, however the good news here is they are coming to the end of the Rainy Season so the weather is tending more towards a drier pattern. But... scattered showers are always a possibility in these areas in both the Rainy and Dry Seasons.

 

The notation about the windy area off Mexico after leaving Nicaragua... that would be the Gulf of Tehuantepec which is the body of water near Huatulco. This area is noted for very strong winds which are funneled through the mountain passes on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. They are called the Tehuano Winds and this is a favorable time of the year to experience them. The good news here is the passage through this area should only take about 10 hours and it may not be a problem at all.

 

I see in an earlier post that someone on your cruise is planning to do a "live" report of your cruise... so we can all follow along!

 

Enjoy your cruise!!