Hi all,
We made our first use of the Gulf Stream to travel from the Bahamas to the east coast. Once we entered it at 27 degrees N we stayed between 79.4 & 79.5 W and rode it north. Winds were light so we generally made about 9kts until 30 N where we got squalls and wind (during the evening and night). Our choice to go a little NNE to Georgetown instead of a little west to Charleston to get out of the stream didn't work as well as I hoped. The seas that had been 2-3 in swell changed to 4-5 and square. (Square meaning very steep but not breaking)
That slowed us down just to keep the bow from plunging over each crest. It also shook up the fuel tank enough to get the filter clogged. Had we continued further east when the stream turned for Hatteras and then turn back towards shore, the ride would have been smoother. There is also some counter current as you near shore that runs southerly. At times the best we could travel was 6kts.
We did OK for our first long jump and would probably do it a little differently next time.
All U Get
We made our first use of the Gulf Stream to travel from the Bahamas to the east coast. Once we entered it at 27 degrees N we stayed between 79.4 & 79.5 W and rode it north. Winds were light so we generally made about 9kts until 30 N where we got squalls and wind (during the evening and night). Our choice to go a little NNE to Georgetown instead of a little west to Charleston to get out of the stream didn't work as well as I hoped. The seas that had been 2-3 in swell changed to 4-5 and square. (Square meaning very steep but not breaking)
That slowed us down just to keep the bow from plunging over each crest. It also shook up the fuel tank enough to get the filter clogged. Had we continued further east when the stream turned for Hatteras and then turn back towards shore, the ride would have been smoother. There is also some counter current as you near shore that runs southerly. At times the best we could travel was 6kts.
We did OK for our first long jump and would probably do it a little differently next time.
All U Get
