Sailing Conditions
General Conditions
The advisable sailing window in the Azores is from late March to October. Fog is uncommon in the Azores, particularly in the summer. Immediate weather conditions can be found at www.windguru.com or www.climaat.angra.uac.pt.
For information about sailing conditions in the Azores, SAILAZORES advises and has on board of every yacht a unit of the book “Atlantic Islands”, by Anne Hammick, 5th Edition Dec 2011, IMRAY.
Climate
The Azores have privileged climatic conditions, with mild temperatures, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, showing no major variations in air temperature throughout the year, reaching an average of 13oC (55oF) in winter and 23oC (73oF) in summer, whereas the water temperature remains between 18o and 24oC (64oF and 75oF). The climate in the Azores is dominated by the mid-Atlantic area of high pressure which bears their name. The position of the Azores high varies with the season, being more northerly in the autumn and more southerly in the spring, usually lying to the S or SW of the islands. In winter the area can be subject to bad weather periods and very wet days, while in the summer the Azores high can be stationary with prolonged periods of calm weather.
Historical Weather (Averages by month)
Tides
- → In the Azores the average tide range varies around 1.2 to 1.5 m
- → The Azores Current usually flows south or southeast at no more than 0.5 knots
- → On board of every yacht there’s a compilation of all published information for tides of the main ports in the Azores.