Gentlemen, In mid-February, I will be departing Miami bound for Long Island. With a hull speed of only 6.4kt, the allure of additional speed Northbound is significant. In addition, as a singlehander, sea room seems far more preferable than a coastwise route. This leads me to consider a route on the seaward fringe of the GS, with a quick escape to the east in the event of contrary weather. My priorities for this passage are: 1-safety 2-speed 3-comfort In the opinion of those with Gulf Stream experience, would it be acceptable for me to use the current, or would it be more prudent to route closer to 65W? My sloop, Princess Aurora, is a 1970 King's Cruiser with an IOR of 21. She is of a a throwback design that predates the weight-saving and big-beamed trends of the IOR specials that became popular in the 70's. She measures 29' LOA, 8' beam, 5' draft, with a B/D ratio of .47. She has a 9' chord [very low-aspect ratio] fin keel with a skeg-hung rudder. In both architecture and construction, she is an extremely seaworthy vessel. Thank you for your time, and any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Gulf Stream passage
I would definitely use the Gulf Stream. Speed is related to Safety. However, I would stop off in NC and finish the voyage to LI in warmer weather. Feb saiing in north atlantic can be ugly. You need to watch the weather closely though. Wind out of the north in the gulf stream is a bad situation, steep choppy seas. I made a passage from Ft Pierce to Beaufort , NC and used the gulf stream. Covered 528 miles in 3-1/2 days. Speed in the gulf stream was 10 knot over ground for much of the run. A 4 knot boost. After 24 hrs I had crossed out of the stream but turned back into it for the speed boost. Had 15 knot winds for a beam reach the first 24 hrs, then wind from astern for remaining 2 days. 1 squall mid second day. Regards, Wayne - S/V Wind Drift
I would definitely use the Gulf Stream. Speed is related to Safety. However, I would stop off in NC and finish the voyage to LI in warmer weather. Feb saiing in north atlantic can be ugly. You need to watch the weather closely though. Wind out of the north in the gulf stream is a bad situation, steep choppy seas. I made a passage from Ft Pierce to Beaufort , NC and used the gulf stream. Covered 528 miles in 3-1/2 days. Speed in the gulf stream was 10 knot over ground for much of the run. A 4 knot boost. After 24 hrs I had crossed out of the stream but turned back into it for the speed boost. Had 15 knot winds for a beam reach the first 24 hrs, then wind from astern for remaining 2 days. 1 squall mid second day. Regards, Wayne - S/V Wind Drift
Your plan will work fine...
...assuming you have a good understanding of and also reliable sources of weather f'cast products while offshore, and you use current GS info. Your Kings Cruiser is a strong, seaworthy boat, so what matters is your navigation & seamanship skills, plus current wx and GS data. The frontal systems that sweep thru and disrupt the prevailing E/SE winds along FL's east coast in the winter are easily monitored, well understood, and you have multiple wx f'cast products available to you while at sea...assuming you have one or more ways to obtain them (VHF closer to shore; wx fax, Navtex, SSB marine & ham wx nets and more, when farther out). So...Q #1 is 'What are your receiving capabilities aboard your boat?' and Q #2 is 'How comfortable are you in your skills to download and utilize the info you receive?' For Gulf Stream conditions, Jennifer Clark is considered one highly-professional f'cast service and you might want to consider purchasing a GS f'cast from her since it will allow you to shape your course to a) capture the favorable current while avoiding eddy's and also allow you to b) stay relatively close to the W wall, allowing you to depart the stream and use one of the all-weather inlets when or if a front is approaching your area while you're on passage. Which leads me to mention I think you've got the wrong idea about 'escaping' to the E if bad weather arrives. A better strategy IMO is to stay on the W side of the GS & plan a W'ly departure in order to tuck in somewhere. Even if you avoid the effects of the N'ly winds on the N'ly flowing GS, you'd still face headwinds (in February, most likely strong ones for a period of time), which wouldn't make sense in your small boat on a N/NE run. These frontal systems may be predictable but they can also be strong, and the days are still relatively short and nights quite long...so don't lose sight of that when planning your run. Offshore temps can also be quite frigid, despite you being in 'southerly waters'. Also, remember that the speed of advance of a front can change, and so NOAA's f'cast of wind shifts and strengths can be somewhat off. I think it's for these reasons that Stu is giving you his cautionary warning. Finally, you might want to do some 'dry run' route planning. ID the all-weather inlets along your route, how far apart they are, and what your longest period of exposure would likely be as you transit N, leaving access to one inlet while still a distance from the next one. That will help you develop a series of 'Go-No Go' decision points and the time periods when stable, non-frontal wx will need to exist for each 'Go' decision. Jack
...assuming you have a good understanding of and also reliable sources of weather f'cast products while offshore, and you use current GS info. Your Kings Cruiser is a strong, seaworthy boat, so what matters is your navigation & seamanship skills, plus current wx and GS data. The frontal systems that sweep thru and disrupt the prevailing E/SE winds along FL's east coast in the winter are easily monitored, well understood, and you have multiple wx f'cast products available to you while at sea...assuming you have one or more ways to obtain them (VHF closer to shore; wx fax, Navtex, SSB marine & ham wx nets and more, when farther out). So...Q #1 is 'What are your receiving capabilities aboard your boat?' and Q #2 is 'How comfortable are you in your skills to download and utilize the info you receive?' For Gulf Stream conditions, Jennifer Clark is considered one highly-professional f'cast service and you might want to consider purchasing a GS f'cast from her since it will allow you to shape your course to a) capture the favorable current while avoiding eddy's and also allow you to b) stay relatively close to the W wall, allowing you to depart the stream and use one of the all-weather inlets when or if a front is approaching your area while you're on passage. Which leads me to mention I think you've got the wrong idea about 'escaping' to the E if bad weather arrives. A better strategy IMO is to stay on the W side of the GS & plan a W'ly departure in order to tuck in somewhere. Even if you avoid the effects of the N'ly winds on the N'ly flowing GS, you'd still face headwinds (in February, most likely strong ones for a period of time), which wouldn't make sense in your small boat on a N/NE run. These frontal systems may be predictable but they can also be strong, and the days are still relatively short and nights quite long...so don't lose sight of that when planning your run. Offshore temps can also be quite frigid, despite you being in 'southerly waters'. Also, remember that the speed of advance of a front can change, and so NOAA's f'cast of wind shifts and strengths can be somewhat off. I think it's for these reasons that Stu is giving you his cautionary warning. Finally, you might want to do some 'dry run' route planning. ID the all-weather inlets along your route, how far apart they are, and what your longest period of exposure would likely be as you transit N, leaving access to one inlet while still a distance from the next one. That will help you develop a series of 'Go-No Go' decision points and the time periods when stable, non-frontal wx will need to exist for each 'Go' decision. Jack
Excellent Information
Thank you gentlemen. These are exactly the kinds of recommendations I was looking for. Originally, I had only planned on Galveston-Miami, but the object of my voyage moved, so I had to extend it. Obviously, the new planning phase is now in overdrive. In my living room, I have one computer dedicated to charting, one to Coast Pilots, and one for online queries. My roommate is starting to get annoyed, I think. Most of the feedback I've gotten echoes what has been said here. That is, the coastwise route seems to be highly preferable. This is somewhat uncomfortable for me, as I have always been a sea room addict. When I first looked at the pilot charts, I envisioned frontal activity squeezing me between the west wall and the contrary GS, so my first reaction was to look for room further east. This route also addressed traffic concerns. Evidently, though, coasting is something I'll have to strongly consider. Thank you again, and any further recommendations (other than "don't go") will be most helpful.
Thank you gentlemen. These are exactly the kinds of recommendations I was looking for. Originally, I had only planned on Galveston-Miami, but the object of my voyage moved, so I had to extend it. Obviously, the new planning phase is now in overdrive. In my living room, I have one computer dedicated to charting, one to Coast Pilots, and one for online queries. My roommate is starting to get annoyed, I think. Most of the feedback I've gotten echoes what has been said here. That is, the coastwise route seems to be highly preferable. This is somewhat uncomfortable for me, as I have always been a sea room addict. When I first looked at the pilot charts, I envisioned frontal activity squeezing me between the west wall and the contrary GS, so my first reaction was to look for room further east. This route also addressed traffic concerns. Evidently, though, coasting is something I'll have to strongly consider. Thank you again, and any further recommendations (other than "don't go") will be most helpful.
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