stacy

[stacy]

Hello, Thom and I are new members and we have been reading your forum for approx a year. WE are now faced with needing some advice concerning sailing from southern Georgia in early Nov planning to sail east of the Bahamas until making our first stop in San Salvador. We will be making the passage in a Leopard 46 cat and would appreciate any advice . We do have some sailing experience on the West coast having sailed mono-hulls from S.F. to Mexico and then on to Tahiti. We have also sailed a 33' cat extensively on the S.F. Bay but this will be our first time sailing the East coast. Thanks. Stacy

[AnchorageGuy]

stacy, having sailed the east coast and the left coast the best advice I can offer is to get much more familiar with the weather patterns and be able to acquire as much weather info as possible before heading out. The weather on this side is quite different and much more unforgiving especially in the November, December, January time frame. This will probably be the biggest deciding factor for your trip. The combination of weather and the Gulf Stream can turn into a real voyage stopper so do your research and gather as much info as you can starting now. There are lots of good resources out there.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Stacy,
Welcome aboard!! Hope you can find the information you need.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[stacy]

Chuck Baier, thanks for the info and SkiprJohn, thanks for the welcome. Stacy

[camaraderie]

Stacy...very difficult to sail east of the Bahamas at any time of the year due to prevailing winds....of course in Nov...you start getting into gale season but early november is a good time. You will most likely need to get quite east (maybe 70 degrees?) of the Bahamas and then head back in to make San Salvador. Also...since the Stream typically lays well offshore of GA...and will take around 24 hours to cross...you need a good 3 day window to start the trip as you don't want to be in the Stream for a blow. Note: I have not made this particular passage but have general experience of the area and the conditions to be expected. Even 15-20 knots out of the north can be quite boisterous in the Stream. Suggest a routing service to help you take advantage or avoid the worst of the Stream and/or adverse weather...Jennifer Clark runs a good stream analysis.
Jenifer Clark's Gulfstream

[Sandero]

You need to read the Thorny Path... can't recall the exact title. But that is an uphill slog. Take your time and pick your weather!

[stacy]

hi all- thanks for the info-We did not realize that the predominate winds were so far east that we had to go so far off shore from the Bahamas to make San Salvador. we were under the impression that they were more out of the north east. We obviously need to do more reading about this. Thanks for the info. Stacy

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by defjef

You need to read the Thorny Path... can't recall the exact title. But that is an uphill slog. Take your time and pick your weather!

A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE to PASSAGES SOUTH ~ by Bruce Van Sant
The Thornless Path to Windward - A Guide to Easy Windward Passagemaking from Florida to Venezuela