Cat-and-mouse game
The fall pattern is well established now and so we start to play cat and mouse with the weather, that is to say, we have to pick a weather opportunity to leave the East Coast of USA with favorable conditions to cross the Gulf Stream and then head South-Est toward the islands. Cold fronts are now crossing the coast every three days on average, so you know for sure one or two of these will hit you anyway, but you don't want to be in the Gulf Stream when that happens. Patience is the key, choose the wrong time, when a strong wind is out of the North blowing against the current, and you’ll find this a dangerous place to be. Contrary wind in the Gulf Stream produces steep and short waves that are not pleasant to sail thru. Unfortunately some years the weather is not cooperating as we wish and in the past we had to change our plans and work with what mother nature gave us. For now it looks like it will be one of these years, and instead of crossing the Gulf Stream from Norfolk we already had to continue by the coast to Beaufort, and now it looks like we will take us further south by the coast, rather than crossing right away. Oh well, something lost, something gained, Beaufort is very pretty town definitely worth visiting, if you can. Hopefully we will still sail offshore to Puerto Rico - our next destination.
