Ocean outlook: Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Ocean

Caribbean Sea © Noonsite

Caribbean Sea:

Pretty much every island in the Caribbean has its own cruisers' Facebook page which have replaced, in many ports, the once popular VHF Cruisers Nets. However, now it seems that WhatsApp groups are becoming the favourite method of finding out weather, local information, communicating with fellow cruisers and assisting with security. Talk to cruisers when you arrive in a new anchorage and see if there is a local cruisers' WhatsApp group you can join.

As is often the case in the low-season, robberies and attempted robberies increase in the Caribbean. Just this month a yacht in St. Vincent was boarded by armed men and the crew held at knifepoint as they stole many valuable items. See Noonsite's security reports for more incidents that have occurred this winter in the Caribbean.

A fire in the marina complex at Falmouth Harbour in Antigua has destroyed buildings and affected a number of well-known businesses including the Yacht Club Marina according to news reports.

The Costa Rican government has announced an extension of the maximum stay period for foreign tourists visiting on a tourist visa, from 90 to 180 days.

Atlantic:

Rally season is about to begin for yachts Caribbean-bound both from the US East Coast and Europe. The transAtlantic rally ARC+ starts on 5 November from Las Palmas in the Canaries. Find out more Rally news here.

After years of orcas "playing" with yachts along the Iberian peninsula and causing a significant amount of rudder damage, sea trials are under way in the area to test a new acoustic deterrent device, which if successful will be available to yacht owners for the 2024 season.

In South Africa, a new border management authority was officially launched on 5 October. While there is no change to pre-arrival procedures for yachts, which are administered by OSASA, it is imperative that incoming boats follow these procedures correctly, handle PAN timeously (96 hours before arrival), and ensure that all crew members have made any required visa arrangements ahead of time. OSASA remind cruisers that the PAN legislation applies to incoming South African-registered yachts as well, so returning South African skippers are pivotal in showing government that the yachting industry can handle its own affairs.

A German sailor has been rescued by a passing freighter after his yacht sunk hundreds of miles off the coast of Brazil after a collision with a suspected submerged object.

Mediterranean:

The Corinth Canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea, remained open this month as an extension to canal operations. It will, however, close at the end of October so that restoration works can begin again - estimated to be completed by March 2024.

This article has been provided by the courtesy of noonsite.com