Annapolis to the Keys in January

[hlev00]

I would skip the Keys as your draft is going to make your experience disappointing. Don't give up on the Bahamas though. You will have to pick your spots and be more exposed sometimes but it is doable. The later you try to cross to the Bahamas (after mid-February) from the US the fewer weather windows you will have.

As far as getting to the Caribbean you probably want to go from Norfolk. I suggest spending some money on a professional weather router like Chris Parker to talk over your options and help with departure timing. The winter weather systems can be roaring through regularly by then. Bermuda would be a decision between you and the weather router.

[Zanshin]

I've done the sail from the Chesapeake to the Caribbean twice in January. It is cold up north that time of year. And the fronts offshore chase each other with little time between them. But since you don't have to make easting, stick inside the Gulfstream as others have recommended. I waited for over 10 days in Norfolk/Hampton last time for the right weather window and froze the whole time - my boat heating is reverse A/C and didn't work well with the water temperatures that close to freezing.

Hatteras is close enough to Norfolk to allow you to choose good weather for the rounding.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Tin Tin

Maybe he means the red light 5 miles east of Outer Diamond shoals, still plenty of water in that 5 miles to the next red buoy #2 unless you are a cargo ship. Current flows a lot slower over shallower water.

You mean the Diamond Shoal buoy?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by nmccubbin

One poster suggests hugging the coast around Cape Hatteras to stay out of the Gulf Stream.
It mAy work on the right day, but not always
We sailed north past the Hatteras light several years ago
We were doing 14 knots due to a favourable current of over 6 k. We were a couple of hundred yards from the light
No way to stay inside that day

"Hugging" and "Hatteras" in one sentence makes my skin crawl.


My instinct is to leave the land far, far astern. Bermuda would definitely be my choice if it were up to me. But the owner will be with us after all and he has a couple of stops along the coast in mind. So "hugging" I guess it is We'll wait patiently for the right weather window. We have an excellent liquor locker and terabytes of movies.

[Kettlewell]

So "hugging" I guess it is We'll wait patiently for the right weather window. We have an excellent liquor locker and terabytes of movies.

Downtown Hampton, Norfolk, and Portsmouth all have things to see and do too. If you're planning on stopping at Charleston just be extra careful with the current around the docks there. The current really rips through the municipal marina.

[thomm225]

Looks like several Sailing Vessels are making that inside voyage right now. It's a beautiful day for it.

3-4 are near Nags Head off the Outer Banks and headed South.

One is Laughing Gull, and this boat is moving at about 7.6 knots.

Wind is SW (237 degrees) at 13 knots so should be pretty smooth that close to land.

Pinnacle is another presently speed at 8.9 knots. Wind 14 knots according to AIS.

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais...y:36.0/zoom:10

[MicHughV]

There is actually a modest counter current that runs south down the east coast.

If you go to "Mike's weather Page" and scroll down a bit you'll find a chart showing the GS and and all it's associated meanderings and wanderings.
You can zoom in on it and see the finer details.

That same site also has a plethora of other weather info, wind charts, etc, which can be most useful in determining a route along the coast and even going offshore in the Atlantic.

For sure there are some interesting stops on the Coast. Charleston, Savannah, Fernandina, and several others. Several of these have wide, well marked, dredged ship channels.

Couldn't say why, but Georgia has a very high tidal range, 9' plus in areas, so be aware of that. With that tidal range there is also quite a bit of current to deal with.
Knowing the state of the tide is useful thing to know along the coast.

While many of these places have ship channels, they also have stone/concrete jetties on either side that can go quite some distant offshore. At high tide, these can be submerged. The seabuoy can be some distance offshore.

Not to state the obvious, but those inlets also cater to large ships and tankers and even Navy ships/subs.

Finally, that part of the coast has active shrimp boat activity and they operate relatively close to shore. They operate day and night and often show a confusing array of lights at night making it hard to discern which way they are going. Their trawls also extend some way behind their boats.
You can tell if they are towing a net when the trawl arms are parallel to the sea. When not trawling the trawl arms stand upright.

Bermuda is a nice stop. Be sure to bring allong a fat wallet

[Fintry]

Our worst night out in 50 years and 50,000 miles including a circumnav was Norfolk to Bermuda with a 20 knot northerly -- square waves in the Gulf Stream. As suggested above, pick your weather window around Hatteras and stay west of the Gulf Stream all the way down. That will take some care, but anyone in charge of that boat should know how to be careful.

[carstenb]

Dockhead - Rounding Hatteras is going to be the biggest problem on this trip. But if you wait patiently in Norfolk, you will get a window that allows you to make it round. After than stay close to the coast and ride the counter current down. We made the run in January and it was colder than a witches t*t. but the ride was okay.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Downtown Hampton, Norfolk, and Portsmouth all have things to see and do too. If you're planning on stopping at Charleston just be extra careful with the current around the docks there. The current really rips through the municipal marina.

Thanks!

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

There is actually a modest counter current that runs south down the east coast.

If you go to "Mike's weather Page" and scroll down a bit you'll find a chart showing the GS and and all it's associated meanderings and wanderings.
You can zoom in on it and see the finer details.

That same site also has a plethora of other weather info, wind charts, etc, which can be most useful in determining a route along the coast and even going offshore in the Atlantic.

For sure there are some interesting stops on the Coast. Charleston, Savannah, Fernandina, and several others. Several of these have wide, well marked, dredged ship channels.

Couldn't say why, but Georgia has a very high tidal range, 9' plus in areas, so be aware of that. With that tidal range there is also quite a bit of current to deal with.
Knowing the state of the tide is useful thing to know along the coast.

While many of these places have ship channels, they also have stone/concrete jetties on either side that can go quite some distant offshore. At high tide, these can be submerged. The seabuoy can be some distance offshore.

Not to state the obvious, but those inlets also cater to large ships and tankers and even Navy ships/subs.

Finally, that part of the coast has active shrimp boat activity and they operate relatively close to shore. They operate day and night and often show a confusing array of lights at night making it hard to discern which way they are going. Their trawls also extend some way behind their boats.
You can tell if they are towing a net when the trawl arms are parallel to the sea. When not trawling the trawl arms stand upright.

Thanks. Strong currents, big tides, and fishing boats -- sounds like the U.K. South Coast. Did many years of sailing that.

[MicHughV]

I just returned from Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas.

Counted only 3 sailboats west of the Potter Cay bridge...in bygone years, there'd be 30 or more...

The weather had been awful, worst I've ever seen.
Several fronts in a row....60 knots of wind...massive seas, 15-20 waves in the GS, and elsewhere

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I just returned from Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas.

Counted only 3 sailboats west of the Potter Cay bridge...in bygone years, there'd be 30 or more...

The weather had been awful, worst I've ever seen.
Several fronts in a row....60 knots of wind...massive seas, 15-20 waves in the GS, and elsewhere

Yikes.


It's been much better further North.

[MicHughV]

I've dealt with the Gulf Stream many times over the years and have seen it in it's most gnarly form on occasion, but this past week, is simply on another level.

I had the occasion to witness it from the deck of an 80,000 ton cruise ship, which was being tossed around like a small toy.

But watching this from a deck of a ship, I was wondering what options would be available to me were I sitting on my sailboat.
Though I've in the rough stuff before, where I had to run off bare poles under drogue, this was another story.

Streaming a drogue would likely have been my "go to" procedure, but the wave pattern I witnessed, seemed to come from several directions and at the end of the day, there is little one can do except hang on.

[Kettlewell]

Streaming a drogue would likely have been my "go to" procedure, but the wave pattern I witnessed, seemed to come from several directions and at the end of the day, there is little one can do except hang on.

I've crossed the Gulf Stream between Florida and the Bahamas a fair number of times, and some of them were in pretty rough northers against the stream. Probably nothing like what you were seeing though! However, I don't think a drogue or a chute would be the best in the stream in a norther because they would be pulling you hard against the wind and the seas due to the current. Imagine your boat being towed to windward in those conditions! In the much more modest bad weather I have seen in the stream I hand steered the whole way, weaving and dodging breaking crests and trying to steer whatever would be the fastest course to get out of the stream.