North from the Bahamas

[dgz3]

People often equate proximity to land with safety, when just the opposite is true.

In the middle of the Gulf Stream there are no bridges or bridge schedules, tidal schedules, nor schedules of any kind.
No sand bars, oyster bars or rocks to hit. And no inlet conditions to worry about.
No channel markers to spot or miss nor channels to stay in.
There is very little other traffic to be concerned about. The occasional freighter or long liner being about it.

No anchorages to find and assess. No concerns about dragging anchor in the middle of the night. No poorly anchored neighbors dragging into you.
An overheating engine or clogged fuel filter won't stop or endanger you at the worst possible moment.

A chart plotter loaded with east coast charts, an EPIRB, a vhf, AIS and enough electricity to keep them running is all you'll need. A good pair of binoculars can be substituted for the AIS. A good manual bilge pump, a couple of sturdy buckets, and some leak management materials will help you sleep. But you'll not likely need them. Food and water will make the trip more pleasant. But you can catch both on the way.

Sudden summer squalls pose no threat, as there are no hard shallow bits for you to be blown into. Hurricanes and tropical storms aren't prevalent in June.
And there are no mosquitos or no seeums.
A north wind will be uncomfortable, but they are rare in June. You can simply heave to if you encounter one, as it won't last long.

From Memory rock proceed to center of Stream. Turn right. When close to destination turn left.

In my opinion, your boat will bring a better price up north than in Florida. There are simply too many disused boats for sale here too cheap.
You would be arriving at the beginning of the summer season up there. The "season" in Florida is now officially over. Check Craigslist South Fl, Treasure Coast and St Pete/Tampa areas to see how your boat compares to the local market here. And keep in mind that many of those boats will eventually sell for half the asking price. Or less.

Indiantown is a long grind up a boring blackwater ditch that you must motor all the way to from, basically, Fort Pierce. And when you get there, you are precisely in the middle of nowhere. No airlines. No train station. No public transportation I'm aware of. I don't know if there is even a bus station there. You'll need a rental car just to get out of town.
A lot of boats have met their unintentional end in the Indiantown boat graveyard.

Fort Pierce is an easy inlet provided you hit it on the incoming tide. It typically runs 4 knots. An engine failure on an outgoing tide with an onshore wind could be catastrophic. And you wouldn't be the first. But it is wide, deep, well marked and lit with good anchorages just inside and three boatyards and marinas within a mile. Lots of marine supplies, stores, and restaurants. Just get there at the right time.

If it were me, I would be thinking about a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a bonafide blue water offshore passage. You can run the ditch any time. In anything.

Your weather window is getting short, though. July is pushing it. Any time after August could get real exciting.

Good luck. Either way will be a memorable and fun trip.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by dgz3

People often equate proximity to land with safety, when just the opposite is true.

In the middle of the Gulf Stream there are no bridges or bridge schedules, tidal schedules, nor schedules of any kind.
No sand bars, oyster bars or rocks to hit. And no inlet conditions to worry about.
No channel markers to spot or miss nor channels to stay in.
There is very little other traffic to be concerned about. The occasional freighter or long liner being about it.

No anchorages to find and assess. No concerns about dragging anchor in the middle of the night. No poorly anchored neighbors dragging into you.
An overheating engine or clogged fuel filter won't stop or endanger you at the worst possible moment.

A chart plotter loaded with east coast charts, an EPIRB, a vhf, AIS and enough electricity to keep them running is all you'll need. A good pair of binoculars can be substituted for the AIS. A good manual bilge pump, a couple of sturdy buckets, and some leak management materials will help you sleep. But you'll not likely need them. Food and water will make the trip more pleasant. But you can catch both on the way.

Sudden summer squalls pose no threat, as there are no hard shallow bits for you to be blown into. Hurricanes and tropical storms aren't prevalent in June.
And there are no mosquitos or no seeums.
A north wind will be uncomfortable, but they are rare in June. You can simply heave to if you encounter one, as it won't last long.

From Memory rock proceed to center of Stream. Turn right. When close to destination turn left.

In my opinion, your boat will bring a better price up north than in Florida. There are simply too many disused boats for sale here too cheap.
You would be arriving at the beginning of the summer season up there. The "season" in Florida is now officially over. Check Craigslist South Fl, Treasure Coast and St Pete/Tampa areas to see how your boat compares to the local market here. And keep in mind that many of those boats will eventually sell for half the asking price. Or less.

Indiantown is a long grind up a boring blackwater ditch that you must motor all the way to from, basically, Fort Pierce. And when you get there, you are precisely in the middle of nowhere. No airlines. No train station. No public transportation I'm aware of. I don't know if there is even a bus station there. You'll need a rental car just to get out of town.
A lot of boats have met their unintentional end in the Indiantown boat graveyard.

Fort Pierce is an easy inlet provided you hit it on the incoming tide. It typically runs 4 knots. An engine failure on an outgoing tide with an onshore wind could be catastrophic. And you wouldn't be the first. But it is wide, deep, well marked and lit with good anchorages just inside and three boatyards and marinas within a mile. Lots of marine supplies, stores, and restaurants. Just get there at the right time.

If it were me, I would be thinking about a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a bonafide blue water offshore passage. You can run the ditch any time. In anything.

Your weather window is getting short, though. July is pushing it. Any time after August could get real exciting.

Good luck. Either way will be a memorable and fun trip.

A great write up.

[DennisRyan]

Great advice here!

[AJ_n_Audrey]

Originally Posted by gulfcoastsailor

Fort Pierce is my only experience for entering the ICW from the Bahamas. I think it is newbie safest. Before that why not practice some nights sails in familiar waters where you are? Just leave your port sailing a comfortable reach then return the same way. Several nights of that makes you experienced at basic night sailing. 👌

+1 on night sailing. It's no big deal, except on the ICW.

[wesevans]

For those of you who advocate riding the Gulf stream you have apparently not been caught in a low or summer cold front in the stream. If you ride the GS be sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast and get out of the GS if the weather is going to go sour.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by wesevans

For those of you who advocate riding the Gulf stream you have apparently not been caught in a low or summer cold front in the stream. If you ride the GS be sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast and get out of the GS if the weather is going to go sour.

I agree 110%. I have sailed the West coast Wash to Mexico, East coast Annapolis to Trinidad. The worst water I was ever in was in the Gulf Stream South of Hatteras.... in what was a good weather report 2 days prior. My 47 foot boat felt like a toy awash in a waterfall.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

Originally Posted by wesevans

For those of you who advocate riding the Gulf stream you have apparently not been caught in a low or summer cold front in the stream. If you ride the GS be sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast and get out of the GS if the weather is going to go sour.

+1

Have been caught in unexpected NE winds in GS; don't want to ever do that again. My mantra is get across the GS as fast as possible.

[Aden]

I am also planning to leave Abacos before the end of May - weather permitting. I would like to know the best ports for arival to the US from the Bahamas.

I would like to sail up the east coast to Chesapeake and then on to New York. I am thinking of staying in the gulf stream untill Jacksonville as I think this may be a good cruiser friendly spot with conveniant yatch services.

How about the leaving port at green Turtle cay or great sales?

Could anyone add their thoughts on this plan. Thanks.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by wesevans

For those of you who advocate riding the Gulf stream you have apparently not been caught in a low or summer cold front in the stream. If you ride the GS be sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast and get out of the GS if the weather is going to go sour.

If you do hitch a ride up it, ride one edge or the other, not right up the middle, because sea state can change faster than you can blink and you'll want to get out of it.

As an example during a race to Bermuda a few years ago a boat in front of us was becalmed in the stream to the extent that they actually went swimming off the boat. When we crossed the same spot 3 hours later it was a seriously uncomfortable washing machine.

[Tingum]

Aden,
Go on north to Strangers Cay, nice anchorages close by, deeper easy exit off the bank and it puts you a good day further north to exit. Then stay on the Eastern edge of the stream. Beaufort and Capr Fear are just as easy as Jax and you do not have to give up your easting to get there. Also customs is easier. Beaufort is a good yacht friendly stop!

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Tingum

Aden,
Go on north to Strangers Cay, nice anchorages close by, deeper easy exit off the bank and it puts you a good day further north to exit. Then stay on the Eastern edge of the stream. Beaufort and Capr Fear are just as easy as Jax and you do not have to give up your easting to get there. Also customs is easier. Beaufort is a good yacht friendly stop!

Jax seems like a long way from the stream. Riding it up gets you closer to shore.

[wesevans]

The gulf stream is no place to be if the wind is NW to NE over 12k for medium and small pleasure craft. Also no place to be with a low or frontal passage.

[Lowcountry]

Not sure why anyone would suggest staying on the Eastern side of the Gulf Stream. If you stay on the Western side, you can easily get out if the weather turns for the worse, and have the option of ducking into an inlet somewhere. If you're on the Eastern side and the weather kicks up, you must either cross the stream in bad conditions, or stay at sea to the East of the stream. I've been in the Stream in rough conditions and I don't want to repeat it. I always cross the stream as quickly as I can, and then stay on the Western edge of it if I'm proceeding North.

[pete33458]

Originally Posted by Lowcountry

Not sure why anyone would suggest staying on the Eastern side of the Gulf Stream. If you stay on the Western side, you can easily get out if the weather turns for the worse, and have the option of ducking into an inlet somewhere. If you're on the Eastern side and the weather kicks up, you must either cross the stream in bad conditions, or stay at sea to the East of the stream. I've been in the Stream in rough conditions and I don't want to repeat it. I always cross the stream as quickly as I can, and then stay on the Western edge of it if I'm proceeding North.

100% agree. Why not give yourself the option to take shelter? Of course, being on the western edge of the stream doesn't necessarily guarantee you will be able to take shelter; from St. Augustine to Cape Fear you're 40 miles from land if you're riding the stream, and between Morehead City and Norfolk there are very few locations that can accommodate a draft of much more than 5' at low tide. Still, if it was me there is no way I would choose to ride up the eastern side and then hope for the best when you finally must cross.


Pete

[a64pilot]

Just know that if your in the Western edge of the Gulfstream around the Jax or Ga area, your at least a days sail away from shelter, your pretty far off shore.
The two times I have rode the stream up from S Fl. I had good due east winds forecasted for three days or more. Both times they clocked out of the North gusting 20 to 25 within 24 hours of me leaving. Actually probably only 15 to 20, I was seeming 20 to 25, but was moving of course.
It’s not pleasant, but it’s not dangerous either, and even though your motoring and knocked back to two or three kts with the strong N winds, your still making 7 kts or so due to the current.