Swab,
In addition to my offshore sailing, I've sailed along the coast of FL, and to/from the
Bahamas, since the 1960's.....and it isn't an issue staying out of the main axis of the Stream at al;, and/or using the Stream to your advantage!!!
(I currently sail out of the St. Lucie Inlet, just 20 miles south of you in Ft. Pierce....and my most recent trip to the Keys, in May, I found the Stream closer to shore than it is now...)
DJMarchand gave you some good info, but perhap I can clarify a bit....
Quote:
Originally Posted by swabbmob
So, going from Fort Pierce to Marathon - How best to avoid Gulf Stream? Can one skip across toward the Bahamas? How close to the Fl coast can we sail to stay out of the stream?
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Along the SE FL coast, the Stream does usually run almost due North, but it DOES move back and forth a bit hovering near (and just east of) 80*W.
So, here are some details that should help you out....
1) I
usually sail south about 1.5 miles offshore, which keeps me east of most of the daytrippers, etc. and still west of the Stream....(but this all depends on
where the Stream is when departing....)
As you can see from the Gulf Stream position data, it is usually only this 150 miles or so, from the St. Lucie Inlet down to Fowey Rocks, and then onto Marathon, that you need to hug the coastline to stay clear of the western wall of the Stream...
2) I have seen the western wall of the Stream as close as 1 mile off Fowey Rocks, Port Everglades, Lake Worth Inlet, and Jupiter Inlet...and as far as 10 - 20 miles off these locations....(with the central axis of the Stream usually just 5 - 10 miles further east...)
But, typically 5 - 8 miles off is the norm...
3) When heading to, or around, the Keys, once you pass the middle keys (Marathon, etc.) the Stream is still pushing from further south, so as you move past Marathon and Big Pine Key, you'll usually find the Stream to be further away and no issue at all....
4) The Gulf Stream position data (western wall and shoreside edge) is provided by the US
Navy every few days, and is disseminated by the NWS/NOAA (both on-line and on the NOAA
VHF Weather Radio Broadcasts in S. FL...)
Listen to the weather chanels on your
VHF and you'll get this info all along you
route from Ft. Pierce thru SW FL....
Ft. Pierce = WX ch. 4 (162.425mhz)
WPB = WX ch. 3 (162.475mhz)
Miami = WX ch. 1 (162.550mhz)
Biscayne = WX ch. 4 (162.425mhz)
Middel Keys = WX ch. 5 (162.450mhz)
Key West = WX Ch. 2 (162.400mhz)
Naples = WX ch. 7 (162.525mhz)
5) Here is this Friday's data....
THE APPROXIMATE LOCATION OF THE WEST WALL OF THE GULF STREAM FROM FRIDAY AUGUST 24TH...
18 NAUTICAL MILES EAST OF FORT PIERCE INLET.
10 NAUTICAL MILES EAST OF SAINT LUCIE INLET.
13 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF JUPITER INLET.
6 NAUTICAL MILES NORTHEAST OF LAKE WORTH.
9 NAUTICAL MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF PORT EVERGLADES.
7 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTHEAST OF FOWEY ROCKS.
Due to this weekend's
Hurricane warnings for the Keys, there wasn't any
current Gulf Stream data for the Keys...but typical positions are about 4 - 8 miles off
Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, etc....(typically about the same distance off as from Fowey Rocks...)
{As an example here are the locations from my most recent trip south, back in May, when the Stream was a bit closer....
24 NM SOUTH OF
DRY TORTUGAS LIGHT...ON LOGGERHEAD KEY.
26 NM SOUTH OF COSGROVE SHOAL LIGHT...OFF THE
MARQUESAS KEYS.
38 NM SOUTH OF SAND KEY LIGHT...OFF KEY WEST.
9 NM SOUTH OF LOOE KEY...OFF BIG PINE KEY.
7 NM SOUTH OF SOMBRERO KEY LIGHT...OFF MARATHON.
3 NM SOUTHEAST OF ALLIGATOR REEF LIGHT...OFF ISLAMORADA.
6 NM SOUTHEAST OF MOLASSES REEF LIGHT...OFF
KEY LARGO.
4 NM EAST OF CARYSFORT REEF LIGHT...OFF OCEAN REEF.....}
I do hope this helps...
John
s/v Annie Laurie
Glad to know there is enough buffer zone from the stream along there. Sounds like a great sail south to Marathon as long as no cold fronts whack me.
I'm sure there will be some excellent recommendations from this forum.
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