TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Ground swells

Here is a simple chart of Cane Garden Bay with North marked. One location in this anchorage may be the safest place to be with a sudden North swell. That same mooring or anchor spot could be a disaster if the swell shows up from a storm to the south or the west.



Note: Settled weather so often referenced in the cruising guide does not translate to "good weather" or "favorable weather" it means conditions that will not change for the period in question.


I edited this to try and be more clear. Local Sailor is correct in many of his statements. I was just trying to be clear in my personal experience. CGB is not protected. It is never the place to be in a North Swell. Some spots will give you more time to recover than others is my point. As to the buoy referenced. That single device will give you a heads up to a North Swell, But not a west or south swell from a different storm in a different location. Again my point is to give yourself space to recover from a change in conditions. The closer to the sand, the closer to the rock, the shallower the water. The less time your crew will have to recover to a change in conditions.