Where the trade winds blow

When you read a brochure or article extolling the virtues of the twin islands, more likely or not, it will mention the islands’ cooling trade winds. Not only do these winds provide pleasant relief from the hot Caribbean sun for holidaymakers lazing on the beach or create nature’s own airconditioning in buildings designed to make the most of these breezes, but more importantly, they are the reason why Antigua has some of the best sailing in the region, if not the world. But what exactly are trade winds, and why are they socalled?

Trade winds are predictable and permanent east-towest winds in the Earth’s equatorial region. The Coriolis Effect (the way the Earth rotates faster at the Equator than at the poles) causes prevailing winds to move from east to west on both sides of the equator across this 60-degree belt. This means that the Caribbean is one of the few places where wind direction can be predicted with relative certainty. And sailing westward across the Atlantic can be shortened considerably by using the trade winds.

Indeed, from thence comes the name. Early commerce and trade to the Americas from Europe and Africa relied on these winds and associated ocean currents. Without trade winds, Christopher Columbus would perhaps never have “discovered” the New World, and history may have taken a whole different course.

Today, vessels still take advantage of nature’s “push” across the Atlantic. And as the yachting and sailing season begins in Antigua, many will be retracing the path that so many seafarers before them have taken towards the paradise that is the twin islands.