We will be taking off March 31 towards Miami with a max of 10 days planned. Pending weather and gulf stream we plan to make a shot from Hilton Head to St Augustine, St Augustine to Palm Beach, then Miami. If at some point the weather looks bad we will pop in at the closest point to take the ICW but we will not go through Jupiter Inlet (period). If anyone wants to tag along with their vessel message me. I have multiple spots charted along the way for anchoring if needed but overall we plan to make our 570 nautical mile journey to Key West in 5 to 6 days..
Hilton Head sc to Miami (March 31st), Sailing
- Thread starter Joseph Bauman
- Start date
Sounds like a fun trip. We always discuss keeping an eye on the weather forecast but for this trip the currents can also play a role.
Does anyone know how accurate the Windy current forecasts are?
The forecast for today off the coast of SC is Southwesterly flowing at 1.5 knots
But the forecast for Thursday is 0.7 knots Northwesterly flowing.
That's a couple knots difference if you are following along the coast. If you have a cruising speed of 5 knots that is a difference of 25 vs 36 hours from Hilton Head to St. Augustine!
Does anyone know how accurate the Windy current forecasts are?
The forecast for today off the coast of SC is Southwesterly flowing at 1.5 knots
But the forecast for Thursday is 0.7 knots Northwesterly flowing.
That's a couple knots difference if you are following along the coast. If you have a cruising speed of 5 knots that is a difference of 25 vs 36 hours from Hilton Head to St. Augustine!
Jupiter Inlet tends to shoal. Local knowledge is required to navigate it, which you can get from Towboat US if you feel the need to use the inlet. The last time I ran Jupiter was in my brother in laws boat, which draws 7 feet. We touched bottom several times on the way out.
You should be able to avoid the worst of the Gulf Stream current if you run close to shore along the Florida Coast. You might even pick up a back current. I ran that route once on a commercial vessel, and we kept about a mile off shore. I believe there are apps now that will show the current position of the Gulf Stream accurately.
Edit: I hadn't clicked on DArcy"s attachments until now. That is the app you want.
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jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,754
@DArcy Windy is as accurate as the information provided by NOAA.
They get there raw data from NOAA. They add additional alternative sources. The beauty is their assimilation of all this data in to a graphic presentation of modeling from several sources.
They get there raw data from NOAA. They add additional alternative sources. The beauty is their assimilation of all this data in to a graphic presentation of modeling from several sources.