Weather in BVI in August?

[Dunwoody]

We are contemplating chartering a Catamaran in the BVI the 2nd week in August. What is typical weather for this time period? Are the seas rough? How''s visibility for snorkeling? How often and how long does it typically rain? What are the chances for a storm/hurricane? I don''t want the vacation to be a total wash-out (no pun intended).

[gdwyer]

We went sailing in the BVI for 11 days last August and for 5 days in September the year before. We are going again this August.

On the negative side
It is warm. Roadtown radio indicated that the highs were about 100 degrees Farenheit and the lows were about 90. Weather.com indicates that the highs in St. Thomas are about 95 and the lows are about 85. Whatever the temperature, it is quite warm during the day. Compared to St. Thomas or Roadtown, it is nicer in a boat on the water because the wind blows over water which is quite a bit cooler than 100. The air actually is cool in the evening, and we have slept quite comfortably every night. I recommend taking a thin, comforable, waterproof jacket for the evenings in case it rains. Even so, you will not want to wear a lot of clothes.

I do not know the probabilities of a hurricane. I would do a web search to find out if you want to know the actual probabilities. I did that before the first trip and don''t recall. We pay attention to the radio in the morning. In the event of a projected hurricane, we would go back to base. The charterer will contact you and tell you to do so anyway. Best thing then would be to go home. Second best would be to go to a safe place above the storm surge. I trust the Moorings to take care of it sensibly. They don''t want to get hurt either. The Moorings only company I have dealt with -- bears part of the risk of a hurricane in the sense that we will get a make-up trip because we buy the trip insurance.

Advantages
There are not a lot of people around. There is no contention for anchorages or moorings. It is easy to go the Indians for example (rocks with mooring balls) and tie up for some great snorkeling. Everthing is quite laid back. No lines in restaurants, which apparently can happen during the winter.

Conditions
The snorkeling is fantastic; from the boat, you can clearly see the bottom 50 feet below. The sailing is great with constant winds. The water is smooth and surge from the Atlantic is less of a problem than during the winter.

I love it.

I hope this answers some of your questions.

Jerry

[fernesails]

Hurricane season has already begun. Check out any virgin island weather website. I copied this:
Hurricanes
One of the greatest natural threats in the Virgin Islands is hurricanes. A hurricane is a generic name given to a wind system that forms in a spiral shape. It circulates around a central point called the eye. Hurricanes can be considered a tropical cyclone. The storms are classified according to formation stage; tropical depression, tropical storm and hurricane. Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th with the highest occurrences of storms between late August and early October.
Be safe!
Ferne