FLORIDA to ST MARTEEN

[rescue]

Sailing mid Jan, any info on route, time table ect would be great. anyone going the same time could buddy up. Thanks JIM

[WHOOSH]

Jim, I''m sure you''ve heard this before but I''ll just offer it again in reply to your request: read - and then reread - Passages South by Bruce VanSant. Begin copying your weather f''casts, multiple times daily, china penciling them onto your laminated SWNA chart, and following up with how the wx actually developed vs. how it was f''casted. Try to develop an informed ''sixth sense'' about how the prevaling conditions oscillate, up & down in strength, backing & veering in direction. You''ve already decided when you''re leaving, so you''re going to get the weather that comes that time of year: deeply penetrating fronts, some stronger than others, and entrenched Trades oscillating between the NE and the E or ESE at all other times. Don''t rush, don''t let others put you in a rush (even if it''s your buddy boat...), move when it will be an enjoyable motorsail (that IS why you''re doing this, right...?) and relax and enjoy the island nation you happen to be visiting when it otherwise would beat up you and your boat.

Jack