Why is it harder to cross the Atlantic from West to East? (with Andy from

Three days before Ryan, Anett and I left Bonaire to cross the Atlantic to the Azores, we connected with Andy from ‪@59NorthSailing‬ for a full weather routing brief.
In this video, we go over the differences between crossing the Atlantic from East to West and West to East, the seasonality of both passages, the kind of conditions that are to be expected, and what our weather will look like as we tackle our longest passage to date.
00:47 Weather patterns in the Atlantic
03:46 Routing for a crossing from West to East
05:00 When to cross the Atlantic and in what direction
07:04 What conditions will we encounter?
08:40 Challenges and decisions points
11:59 The hardest part of crossing West to East
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[@cgeorge6250]

What!! They threw horses overboard!!🤤🤤🤤 I have never heard that before. Andy is always teaching me something new when I listen to his talks.

[@petermerritt754]

This is a first class intro on wind patterns for this voyage. Excellent presentation and great editing of screen images into the video. Appreciated.

[@SailingSquib]

This is hundreds of years old knowledge, you can read it in every old sailing book writen befor the internet still exists. North to the bermudas, youmay stop there or go north till you hit the westerly winds. We have done it twelve years ago on a 30 ft sailboat, a friend of us some years later on a 25ft boat, both without serious problems.

[@lukefay2464]

Very good information on routing a trip, Thank you guys. great content.

[@6800891]

Fascinating and potently educational. Can't wait to follow along.

[@allaheadflank]

Great brief - thanks for sharing!

[@sailingfishcake]

That was so well presented, thank you 🙏

[@patrickabas1112]

this was a great piece of excellent information.

[@WillN2Go1]

Terrific episode. Much appreciated.

[@RenlangRen]

I love these technical videos! Thanks for posting.

[@jean-carlosjuliana1280]

Great video again love how you guys keep us updated with your life sailing ⛵️ much love from Bonaire 🇧🇶

[@MK-gr9qz]

Really really great one, thanks👌🏻

[@beckydesancha3164]

That was all so useful. I am getting my head around learning the weather and your video really helped.

[@Cubamara]

Yep! Last year committed to helping a friend bring a trimaran from Portugal to Florida before I checked what was going to be involved. Knew we had to go down the African coast to catch the trade winds. Wasn't expecting the early days of Covid19. Had problems getting the boat 100% ready for the cross, but we left anyways rather than taking the chance we get stuck there. West to East crossing the Atlantic? No way, Jose. Always head west, young man

[@Willco5114]

Great video. Many thanks

[@HeadwatersKayak]

Wow I want Andy as my route planner! Such a great educational video.

[@jeanlanie1]

Thanks for the info. Keep safe always :)

[@sl1pg8r]

I love these informational videos! So much important information concerning how weather affects plans for a crossing. Thank you!

[@benjaminkpope]

I find you in the most random places I swear

[@DiNiSRB]

Learned a lot. Thanks!

[@highnotesailing5843]

Very interesting and useful information! We just missed you while you were in Bermuda. The Bums on a Boat were sailing with me in the Spirit of Bermuda Rally and we overlapped in Bermuda. I always enjoy your videos. A great combination of very useful DIY information and very funny content at times by Sophie! You really are a comedian!

[@sailingkame8613]

Very informative, TY for sharing!

[@mcc.o.4835]

Great video!

[@LONG_TERM_DUDE]

Thank you👍🏻 I like your videos, great content👍🏻

[@Dan6erous]

This is such great info!

[@curacao11]

great info :-)

[@stairman45]

Very informative video. Andy knows his stuff. One comment I must make on a different subject is that I do not understand the new format on youtube. It makes it very difficult to find your newest video. I finally did find it on the youtube home page, but not on yours. Where is it hidden?

[@ericgbarber]

This was very interesting to watch, even for novice sailors that have no (current) plans or means to traverse the Atlantic. Thanks for posting.

[@MrCrabbing]

Fantastic what a adventure

[@kaskl5403]

This was very interesting.

[@RyanSophieSailing]

I’m so glad you thought so! ☺️

[@allanmoore7790]

Thanks for sharing this very informative information! Now I also know how “Horse Latitudes” got the name 😢.

[@salvatoresabbatino4825]

He makes it sound very easy. Thanks for this video!

[@RyanSophieSailing]

With good knowledge and the right state of mind, it is not "that" difficult ;)

[@JustMe-pp1mp]

Thanks for putting this in. Always interested in the manner sailors determine their routes. Look forward to your upcoming videos. Will you be showing us your intended route(s) vs. the one actually taken?

[@SailingSweetRuca]

Nice video, well sailed. We took the direct route, which is becoming more and doable with modern weather routing.

[@freyja4954]

This is the geek stuff I like 😆.

[@benrupp04]

Man this guy is fascinating!

[@llamaflaca]

Hey guys, what application are you using on the mac for weather routing? It did not seem like predictwind .

[@Jacoblejd]

Andy rocks (but so so You)

[@sdsorrentino]

How exactly do they know which direction and how strong the winds are at any given location in the middle of the ocean? Do they have weather stations? Is there some method of measuring the wind speed and direction directly? Or are they inferring the information with the isobars? Come to think of it, how do they measure the isobar locations?

[@h3llrayzor59]

Very cool content... But when do we get to see the Sailing part? 😃⛵

[@JohnParavantis]

Wow!

[@HalifaxHercules]

Usually, going from East to West across the Atlantic is more difficult than West to East, unless your starting point was the Canary Islands. In fact, many famous explorers like Christopher Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean as a result of winds coming from the East along the Tropics. When Columbus was sailing back to Spain, he usually went North until the latitude was comparable to Iberia and then East as winds in that latitude came from the West.

[@markph0204]

Curious what app was being used for the routing example there?

[@tomjones6777]

How do you think you have changed from the sailing challenges ( weather, alone at see out of sight of land, etc.) you faced and learned from ? Thank you. To the skipper and crew of Polar Seal.... stay safe.

[@epyonkills9338]

Great video guys, whats software does Andy use for the passage planing ?

[@cianclarke]

I was trying to figure this out too - it's LuckGrib

[@epyonkills9338]

@@cianclarke Fantastic, thanks for that .

[@roncanizares9966]

Very interesting and informative. Can you tell us what weather software Andy was using? Thank you.

[@cianclarke]

I was trying to figure this out too - it's LuckGrib

[@Nightverslonn]

Why not tack straight east from St Lucia towards Africa?

[@andrewbradnan]

Is it just too uncomfortable (waves) to just take a straight upwind tack S of the high?

[@stevenplancich6449]

Ya Folks gotta move on SOON😜 Stay Safe & Enjoy 😎

[@C_C_SEA]

✨💯✨👍

[@dianapatrikgulliver.066]

Hej på er. I like your videos and as well all info about safety but I do have a remark on this. what I don’t understand is. Why have you no Hydrovane mounted. You save battey power., It works better at ruff sea than an conventional autopilot. In case you lose your rudder you have a good emergency rudder. When losing the rudder you are fucked so it’s quite important. 2 autopilots is good but without 2 rudders what is the point? Cheers Patrik

[@RyanSophieSailing]

This is a good question. I simply don't like how the hydro gear mounts to our boat, So we don't have one. Yes, if the rudder goes, so does the boat and is the risk we are willing to take. To help mitigate the risk we do lots of regular checks and maintenance on the rudder and steering. If we hit something we hit something and it's probably going to do more damage than just taking out the rudder. This is just our thinking... its not right, it's not wrong, it's ours and a lot of though has been put in to it. It might change in the future which does not mean our current thinking is bad or wrong either. Just my two cents.

[@dianapatrikgulliver.066]

@@RyanSophieSailing Thank you for the answer. Agree they don’t look nice. We wish you Buona vento

[@IntelligentEating]

Wind obvs

[@badfairy9554]

Thank god horses fly now.

[@GreatWhiteShark42]

Açores

[@edwardfinn4141]

Ryan and Sophie, the roughest, and coldest part of your Atlantic circuit is now behind you. Watch out for those cats attic winds as you approach The Canaries, I would sail from the Canaries south to a position close to the Cape Verdes. Like Bermuda I would bypass the Cape Verdes but use them as a ‘ fall back ‘ position if I needed fuel or provisions , But do not plan on making a landfall there… The Verdes are a 3rd world country with poor provisioning, poverty and not a lot to do or see… The rest of your trip is going to be warmer and easier.

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Should sail around the Sargasso Sea not through it.

[@edmondmurphy]

Fuk me, we're a little behind are we??

[@RyanSophieSailing]

You’re not behind, I am 😅

[@benjamindover7399]

So, basically, do the same thing sailors did 400 years ago.

[@nicktchoudov8785]

Can't get more annoying than listening 101.5....

[@sava3308]

This is a first class intro on wind patterns for this voyage. Excellent presentation and great editing of screen images into the video. Appreciated.

[@MrRocknrolla4u]

If sailing across the Atlantic it’s better to create your own wind. Therefore I recommend packing as many cans of beans on board as possible.

[@JakobEngl]

Great video !