Pretty well everyone has heard of the famous trade winds, but I didn’t know much about them until I moved to the Caribbean. The trades are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that exist in the equatorial region, and the flow of these winds is such that they have been used by sailing ships to cross the world’s oceans for centuries. These reliable winds encouraged colonial expansion through the establishment of trade routes, hence the word “trade” in trade winds. The winds are strongest during the winter months, especially December and January. The weaker the winds the more rainfall we get on Bequia, so our wet season happens during October and November when wind is scarce. With the absence of the trade winds the weather becomes almost unbearably humid and, although the precious rain we collect in our cisterns is welcome, the dampness during the wet season can be quite depressing. The lack of wind also allows the dreadful Saharan dust to linger in the atmosphere, but that’s a story for another time.
The trade winds arrive in December and continue throughout February, blowing 20 – 25 knots fairly consistently. Their arrival coincides with the start of the yachting season, and our beautiful chain of islands is a coveted destination for sailors. The winter months offer lovely weather to those escaping the cold, but sailing can be quite a challenge when the trade winds are howling! People who scoff, “it’s just a piece of breeze” probably haven’t had to scurry about in the middle of the night when heavy gusts cause an anchor to drag, nor fight at sea during a powerful squall to reef a mainsail! In our part of the Caribbean (from St. Vincent to Grenada) the trades are especially strong, blowing 30 – 40 knots through the channel at times, and the waves can build to 10 feet or more. As a non-sailor, I truly don’t see the appeal of battling the trade winds aboard any kind of vessel – watching the harbour action from my front porch during a raging squall provides me with more than enough entertainment!
On Bequia we wait for the Christmas winds with a great deal of anticipation. The welcoming breeze heralds the onset of the holiday season, the spending of much-needed tourist dollars and, perhaps best of all, they mark the end of our dreary wet season. The trade winds usually make their presence felt by mid-December, and throughout the island people can be heard remarking on their arrival;
“Christmas breeze mon, Christmas breeze! Christmas winds blowing, de Christmas winds reach!”
Those of us living on Bequia know what “wind blowing” means in December, and we also know that come February the word “blowing” will mean something entirely different. Shouts of “Blows, Blows!” during whaling season may well be cause for celebrations that have nothing to do with the wind, nothing at all! This year the Christmas winds are late, they should have arrived by now. The sea has been abnormally calm, and any breath of wind has not been blowing in from east to west. It’s been quite hot and still the past few days, and I am sure the entire island is looking forward to the blessedly cool trade winds. That lovely breeze, along with some turkey, is all I want for Christmas, and I’m waiting with high expectations for both!
I remember bringing my wife to Bequia in August when there was little wind. She was miserable. We needed the trade winds for that trip to help cool us down.
Now that we can travel again (darn pandemic), I look forward to visiting next year and catching up with family.
Cheers!
Unfortunately the late arrival of the Christmas wind may be a sign that the “future” of climate change in the North Atlantic trade wind belt has arrived. What is anticipated – and born out in observation – are weaker trade winds, coral bleaching from higher temperature, less rainfall in the Caribbean (increased off Africa), less cold water nutrient upwelling from the deeps and higher water levels.