The Mighty Gulf Stream

"It's been rough and rocky traveling, but I'm finally standing upright on the ground.
After taking several readings, I'm surprised to find my mind is fairly sound."
-Willie Nelson

The four of us could easily relate to those famous song lines as we pulled back into Beaufort, NC at 8:00 a.m., December 31, after 63 hours and 350 miles.

Though the details are a little difficult to sort, here's the tale from our Real Shakedown Cruise:

We set sail on Sunday, December 29, at 3:30 with a good weather forecast (light wind!) and a course for the Grand Bahamas. We sailed southeast, knowing the Gulf Stream would take us north, then we would sail south to the Bahamas. Sunset on our first day was lovely with comfortable seas.

The wind picked up as we entered the Gulf Stream, which pushed us along, adding to our speed. We sailed with a reefed main and a staysail. The sky was clear and with countless stars, it resembled a giant pincushion that could not hold another pin.

Soon, seasickess came aboard. In different degrees, we were all affected. The high winds, rough seas, and waves crashing us from all sides contributed to the Mal de Mer. I was fine until I went below Monday morning to make coffee -which no one touched. I had to hold the kettle on the stove and then hold on to the French Press, so I was below too long and joined Larry, Jim, and Patrick in those uneasy, nauseous feelings.

After dark, with gusts up to 39 knots and rough seas, we furled the staysail. It fouled and we could not make enough wraps to get it all in. With a jackline attached, Larry went up on deck to try to put a wrap on the loose sail, but it was too high up the furler. The wind and rough seas eliminated using the bosun's chair, so we could only hope the staysail would be OK. When we were far enough across the Gulf Stream, we turned south.

The saga continues. Electrical problems were the next main event. Late, Monday the beloved auto pilot stopped functioning. We took shifts hand steering, dealing with heavy weather helm, due to the Gulf Stream and high wind. Every hour or so, another instrument would go out. We ran the genset for a while, but it did not seem to be charging the batteries enough to keep us from losing instruments. We turned off all the instruments except the running and steaming lights and started the engine. With a torn staysail that was starting to shred and unable to troubleshoot our electrical problems, we decided Tuesday morning to return to the coast where we were sure we could get the necessary repairs.

The wind stayed with us as we crossed the Gulf Stream going east and rain joined us. We were about the same distance from Wilmington as Beaufort, but with the wind and current, we would make Beaufort a lot faster. With the engine running constantly, the batteries did charge by mid-morning Tuesday and we turned the instruments back on. The wind and the Gulf Stream helped as have a fast trip and we arrived in Beaufort at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.

We do have some minor electrical issues, but we now know, that in addition to our wind generator and solar panels (which didn't have enough sun to be of much help), we have to run our engine more often to ensure our batteries stay charged.

We also need a new starter battery and ignition switch. Last, our Reverse Cycle Air and Heat panel flashes a Lo Power message that indicates we have lost gas in the system. That too, shall be addressed.

We're talking to a sail maker here in Beaufort that may have a used sail that will fit. We're also talking to Mariner Sails in Dallas. Either way, the tell-tales are in good shape and we plan on them being on our next sail.

Our friends, Bryn and Scott, left two days before we did for the same destination. When we returned to Beaufort, they were back here too. They had no mechanical or sail issues, but the Gulf Stream just beat them up and did not want them to cross. Their ocean going 35' Young Sun kept them safe, but they do have to self steer, which is exhausting. We were all glad to see each other.

A captain and crew in a catamaran were preparing to leave soon after we left, with a course to Bimini and then St. Martin. They probably flew across, but it couldn't have been comfortable.

I've read that crossing the Gulf Stream takes both strategy and luck. We could have used a bit more of both, but we will surely benefit from the experieces we've had on our Read Shakedown Cruise. Our salty and cranky dockmaster insists that he would rather cross the Gulf Stream here than in Florida. But, for us, we'll be heading down the coast as soon as we have everything ready to go and a decent weather window. The weather forecasts may not be right-on for coastal weather, but they are certainly superior to the ocean forecasts.

From Beaufort, NC, Happy New Year.