(not our boat...another boat in our anchorage)
As I write this we are anchored in another beautiful spot and Mary Beth is standing at the helm. Why is she standing at the helm you might reasonably ask since we are anchored. Sadly she is entering waypoints into the chart plotter (our primary navigation device) to take us from the Bahamas back to the US. We’ll take a course to the northwest from here which will land us near the Florida/Georgia border. The specific place is Fernandina Beach, FL. It’s reputed to be an easy inlet to get into even in bad conditions or at night. We, of course, would like to experience it in good conditions with daylight, but it is prudent to plan for the not-so-nice possibility.
One major factor in planning the trip back to the US is the Gulf Stream. Another important factor in planning, which can force a major change in plans, is wind direction in the ocean where the Gulf Stream is. Winds from any northerly direction “kick up” the north flowing Gulf Stream since they are fighting the current, so part of the art of picking the right day is to have winds from the south. Mary Beth has plotted the current position of the stream into our chart plotter. We adjust our route based on the fact that while we are in it we will be moving 6kts (6.5 mph) north from the flow of the stream.
Two other variables with the Gulf Stream are the width and where the side eddies are located. Eddies are circular motions which can ruin an otherwise good plan. Obviously changes in the weather forecast may change our plans.
We’re through our pre-departure funks and grumps I think and we’re getting excited about being home for a bit. We’re also giving more thought to plans for the next cruising season which could start as early as mid-October. One interesting thing about traveling in a boat is that in planning far ahead you cannot plan for the most important variable, which you all know by now is the weather. You can plan based on averages, but that is not very meaningful for a specific year or day. Future plans, therefore are broad-brush outlines where the details have to evolve based on conditions at the time.
One option is to come back to the Bahamas and see some of the many islands that we skipped including the Turks and Caicos which are actually an independent country even though they were once part of the Bahamas and Cuba. We now know how things work in the Bahamas so there is a certain comfort in that and we really have only scratched the surface of the places we could go. On the other hand, the Caribbean beckons, but it is a long passage down (about 11 days) and we would probably want to leave the boat there over the winter to make a second season there easier. That would preclude local sailing in NC when we are home and complicate any improvements or refitting we might need to do to the boat. We would also like to spend an extended time in the Chesapeake Bay where we could do some cruising with MB’s parents (we will have to violate our sailor’s snob pledge if we want to cruise with a power boat though).
The fall will be upon us sooner than we think and I’m sure my illusions of having free time over the summer are just that – illusions (maybe delusions). There is much to do at home, our daughter is getting married in September, and there is a list of boat things that need attention to be ready to depart in the early to mid-fall.
Addendum: Since I wrote this and before we can post it (no connectivity – shocking I know) our plans have – wait for it – changed because of the weather. We’re now going to go mostly straight across the Gulf Stream to Cape Canaveral. This is about 140 miles further south than we wanted, but the weather window is too short to make the longer trip.