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Free Spirit - Wednesday, 11 Nov 2015 Out to the Gulf Stream



We departed Hampton Yacht Club in Hampton, VA at 1500 EST. The Caribbean 1500 fleet is scheduled to leave tomorrow. We're heading out now to try to take advantage of the wind, coming at us from the west compliments of Tropical Storm Kate. The skies were overcast on Tuesday with intermittent rain showers, so we had to take advantage of breaks in the rain to finish loading the end of the last minute items. When all was in order and the crew set, we got underway. 

Winds were west at 5-10 kts when we started motor sailing, but quickly picked up. By 1900 AST (Atlantic Standard Time) we had 20-28 kts of west wind and could douse the engine and sail comfortably with a 3rd reef in the main and full jib. It was easy sailing and a great way to start the adventure. The dreaded waves due to all the Tropical Storm Kate activity did not materialize and we were treated to easily tolerated rolling waves all the way to the mighty Gulf Stream. We entered the Gulf Stream about 0900. The winds shifted to NW for a while and we ended up motoring for a few hours, but the wind went west again and we were able to resume sailing without a motor assist. We had waves 2-4 feet of blue green water with patches of Sargasso grass floating by. 

The guys thought they spotted a few fish, but we somehow were not moved to break out the fishing gear. Our goal is to get across the Gulf Stream as quickly as possible. We made it across the Gulf Stream by 2000 none the worse for the wear. Our decision to leave Tuesday afternoon worked well for a relatively benign Gulf Stream crossing. We just need to make sure we don't get too far east too quickly and run into the remnants of the storm. We made good progress sailing, covering 145 nm our first day. We celebrated Veteran's Day and being off to a good start with white chicken chili and apple cake for dessert.


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