Mid-morning on Sunday the 9th we left Brunswick heading toward the British Virgin Islands. On our first day out we had a great sail in calm wind and seas. We crossed the Gulf Stream overnight and on Monday morning. By Monday afternoon we got unexpected weather reports of rapidly increasing wind and waves (up to 35 knots) in the area we were going to be sailing in. As the wind was supposed to be kicking in from the north/northeast, we would have been "trapped" on the east/offshore side of the Gulf Stream (huge waves build in it with northerly winds), taking away our option to return to the Eastern shore of the US. The remains of hurricane Paloma over the Bahamas took away Plan C - heading there for cover. So we made the decision to turn around and head straight back across the Gulf Stream before the winds set in. Things stayed pretty calm until about 6am on Tuesday morning when the wind and waves began building rapidly. Thank goodness we were out of the Gulf Stream by then. As it was, by the time we got to Fernandina Beach, Florida, at around noon, we had 20+ knot winds and waves of 6-10 feet. We were moving along at 7 knots with down-wave surfs up to 9.5 knots. We actually had a nice sail back, but it was on the edge of our comfort zone and certainly not anything we'd want to do overnight or for an extended period of time. We had now travelled 100 miles out to sea and back again to make it 30 miles south!
After getting to Fernandina, we looked at the weather, thought some more, and decided that we would head down the ICW (and potentially down the coast "on the outside" for some sections) until Miami. From Miami, we plan to cross the Gulf Stream once again into the Bahamas. We expect to continue on the "thorny path" threading our way Southeast along the island chain. Depending on the weather, we may go from island to island or we may do longer hops by going farther out to sea and stopping only every few days, perhaps in the Turks & Caicos and Puerto Rico. As usual, this plan is firmly carved in Jello!
Looking at what the weather has done, we are very glad we turned around. It looks like most of our passage would have been in 25+ knot winds and the accompanying waves. In talking with friends who were out there, we made the right decision as they had a very, very rough trip! Although we are glad we avoided that, we are frustrated that we are still in the US and that, by the looks of it, the weather is keeping it that way for a while longer.
Some of Dock 10 saying goodbye in Brunswick
Gulf Stream currents
Sailing under spinnaker
