I haven't crossed the Atlantic. My blue water sailing experience is from Boston to the Caribbean (in November), doing the islands for two years (no regrets) and back to Florida. While in the Caribbean I met many people who crossed from Europe. I remember that quite a few made the crossing end November/beginning December. First half of Nov. is the tail end of hurricane season, so there's reason for caution. The other thing that strikes me is the Lisbon departure. Is the plan to go straight across? Most sailors first go down to the Canary islands or farther, Cape Verde, to pick up the warm trade winds. Otherwise, the first half of the voyage can be rather hellish. Look at the web site of the famous race Route du Rhum from St. Malo to Guadeloupe: http://www.routedurhum.org On the map you can see that the distance from Cape Verde to the Caribbean is less daunting than Lisbon-Carib.

With a Google search you can find much information on a crossing. I found an interesting account of such a trip on http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/6076

Hope this helps, Frieda Lekkerkerker from rather chilly Provence, wish I were in the Caribbean