Gulf stream. Educate me

[Agape39]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Yes, and the wait can be significant sometimes. I spent over a month in the Keys once waiting for a window -- honking NE winds and cold fronts that Feb that would just not let up.

Of course, there are worse fates in life than hanging out in the Keys for a month...

And, someone else may have mentioned I think, but there is lots of commercial traffic in the Straights of Florida....a bit like playing in the highway.

Yea, and your the frog! Last crossing in Aug I had to go around 4freighters and 2 cruise ships, radar helps a lot.....

[Agape39]

Originally Posted by bluemoose

So this North wind issue, what type of wave action does it generate? Is it similar to Lake Erie in a storm? 4-8 in short chop? Worse? Obviously it's the ocean, so it could be really worse, but I'm trying to tie it to something this mid-west sailor can relate to. Thx.

In aug this year the weather said 4 to 6 ft with easterly 10 to 15 kt wind, well you might want to plan on 8 footers, but coming back at 7 kt winds from the south the seas were dead flat......I've also seen 20+ ft with anything out of the north.

[sv Winterlude]

We just crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas for the first time last winter .. previously having crossed it 4 times the other way to the Western Caribbean. We were leaving from SW Florida and I had a bit of trouble finding information. I wrote a blog post with our specifics - lat/lon, strategy, weather, etc. Here's the info if you're interested in that route: Winterlude’s Route & Waypoints: Florida Keys to Exumas/Bahamas Of course, this information is not for navigation! Just like the cruising guides.

[sck5]

Get the Explorer charts for wherever you are going in the Bahamas

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by bluemoose

So this North wind issue, what type of wave action does it generate? Is it similar to Lake Erie in a storm? 4-8 in short chop? Worse? Obviously it's the ocean, so it could be really worse, but I'm trying to tie it to something this mid-west sailor can relate to. Thx.

It can easily be up to 8'. Winds on an opposing current can really be a mess. If there was just a weather shift, you could have current from one direction, waves from another and winds from a third. Imagine sailing through a giant, front-loading washing machine ...

[SV Liberty]

Without even reading it, I would have confidence in Winterlude/Jan's info. We have crossed 3 times from FL to the Bahamas, and once from NC to the Bahamas. Possibly our best passage ever was Miami to Nassau. Left just as a mild cold front was swinging the winds from the SE to the S, by the time we were 2 hours offshore the winds were SW (and since the bow was pointed SE to account for the northerly flow of the stream that made it a beam reach), as we sailed on to the banks north of Bimini the winds shifted W then NW on the banks overnight, then clocked thru N and NE as we exited the banks at NW Channel shoal and pointed the bow to Nassau. Our LAST passage, however, was a little different. We got to Lake Worth after 2 days offshore from St. Mary's, then after checking weather decided we had about a 12 hour window to cross the stream before it turned NE, blowing hard. We made it, motorsailing hard, and we were the last boat to make it to the Bahamas for the next 10 days. The last several hours were less than pleasant. Any significant N component winds can be unpleasant or dangerous.

Also, we have never sailed in a group. In fact, the year of our best passage (see above), a group left several hours ahead of us (we stayed back on purpose) and didn't have the same wind shifts/beautiful passage we did. Groupthink is sometimes not what you want before going to sea, alone. Because when you're out there, you are alone, and you have to be able to take care of yourself.

Have a good crossing!

[bluemoose]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

It can easily be up to 8'. Winds on an opposing current can really be a mess. If there was just a weather shift, you could have current from one direction, waves from another and winds from a third. Imagine sailing through a giant, front-loading washing machine ...

Ah... Lake Erie storm conditions then. That sux. It'll be good to know something will feel like home when we eventually make it down there though

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by bluemoose

Ah... Lake Erie storm conditions then. That sux. It'll be good to know something will feel like home when we eventually make it down there though

Never sailed on Lake Erie, but if you decide to go into the Intracoastal under those conditions, keep in mind that there's one thing that can make it worse ...

shallow water.

[Nibiruwayne]

Crossed from Bermuda to charleston, SC, heading was to savannah, 75 mi south of charleston. At 6 knts