Sailing from St Lucie Inlet to Long Island Sound

[msulc]

Hi, We our taking our boat from Stuart to Port Washington, NY on May 9th. We have four crew and would like to get out into the gulf stream and go non-stop so I can get back to work and get back to paying for the boat.

I was wondering how I would know the optimal route with regards to getting into the gulf stream and how to know where the strongest current is. One note is that we do not have a meter for speed meter under our boat. We do have the GPS which gives us our speed and also have a line to pull behind us if we need to use that. I guess I am pretty sure I would not want to go out to the gulf stream if the wind was coming from the north. But if it was favorable, what is the best angle to take to the gulf stream from the st lucie inlet and how do I figure out what location to be in to take full advantage of the gulf stream?

If we get past Cape Hatteras on the outside, it seems like we just take a straight shot to New York and turn in and head up the east river (with the current of course). Is that right? Is there any current we need to avoid after Cape Hatteras or any we should try to catch?
Thanks for any advice!!!!!!

[Lost Horizons]

You need to go east into the deep water, 1000 feet or so. Do not stay close to shore where it gets shallow - the seas are more rough there. Follow the coast line staying in ~1000 ft deep water; don't go too far from shore in case you need to avoid bad weather. You should gain about 3 knots going upstream for a while.

[GordMay]

Check out the excellent advice

here ➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ons-33107.html

and ➥ http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-ny-25932.html

[msulc]

Thanks for the tips!!!