The Atlantic Crossing Guide

The Atlantic Crossing Guide is a reference for planning an Atlantic voyage, whether by the trade wind route to the Caribbean or from the United States to Europe. It draws on the experience of cruising sailors over four decades. This edition has been updated with advice on the following.

Preparations

• Suitable boats, including hull integrity
• Equipment and maintenance
• Advances in navigation and communications systems
• Access to weather and routing information
• Balancing power generation and use
• Planning for the hurricane season
• Risk management
• Crew harmony and health
• Provisioning

Passage planning

• Atlantic weather systems, including tropical waves and hurricanes
• Common routes and timings across the Atlantic
• Seasonal cruising along the bordering coasts and within the Atlantic island groups
• Fog and ice in the higher latitudes
• Key landfalls

About the author

Jane Russell trained as a research biologist and taught science before a five-year circumnavigation with her husband via Panama and Suez. She has since cruised for more than 30 years, coastal and bluewater, with and without their two children. She has written and edited for the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation since 2007, was its Editor-in-Chief for ten years, and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation. She wrote the 6th and 7th editions of The Atlantic Crossing Guide.

Praise for The Atlantic Crossing Guide

“I cannot imagine setting sail without it.”

– SAIL

“A must for all aspiring ocean crossers.”

– Yachting World

“A fantastic amount of information.”

– Yachting Monthly

“A vital part of the ship’s inventory.”

– Sailing Today

“Well established as the standard reference for anyone planning an Atlantic voyage. Packed full of collective wisdom of cruising sailors over four decades.”

– All at Sea

Contents

• 1. Thinking It Through
• 2. Preparing the Boat
• 3. Creating a Home from Home
• 4. Navigation and Communications
• 5. A Happy Ship
• 6. Keeping Healthy
• 7. Dealing with Risk
• 8. Protocol and Paperwork
• 9. Atlantic Weather, Currents, and Route Timing
• 10. The Atlantic Coast of Europe
• 11. Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Coast of Morocco to Madeira and The Canaries
• 12. Cape Verde Islands, Senegal, and The Gambia
• 13. Atlantic Ocean – Trade Wind Routes
• 14. Landfalls in the Caribbean
• 15. Routes Across the Caribbean and Landfall in Panama
• 16. The Caribbean Islands to Florida
• 17. Landfalls on the Atlantic Coast of the USA – including Entrances into the Intracoastal Waterway
• 18. Passages in the Middle Latitudes of the North Atlantic – including Landfalls in Bermuda and the Azores
• 19. Passages and Landfalls in the Higher Latitudes of the North Atlantic