Free Energy departed from Palm Beach, Florida heading for Newport , RI. This will be an offshore passage up the east coast with an expected passage time of around 5 days. I have 3 crew onboard in addition to myself and we’re sailing together with another Outbound 46 sailboat named Stella Blue who is also heading to Newport. Stella Blue is pictured above in the sunset photo from last night.
Currently Free Energy is passing by the border of Florida and Georgia about 100nm offshore in the middle of the Gulf Stream current and Newport is roughly ~800nm from our current position. The Gulf Stream is a wide strong current the runs up the east coast of the US until around DC and is giving a big boost to our speed while we are in it. The normal top speed of Free Energy is around 8 knots (knots stands for nautical miles per hour, often abbreviated kts), but the Gulf Stream is adding 3 to 4 knots to that right now.
Yesterday was a bit rough as there was a moderate breeze coming from the north which made it quite rough in the Gulf Stream. Last night the wind shift to come from the south, which has resulted in much more pleasant conditions. The waves are only around 2ft which is quite comfortable for seasons sailors.
Another advantage of being in the Gulf Stream is the water is warm, around 75F, which keeps the air warm. I’m currently perfectly comfortable in shorts and t-shirt out on deck. When we pull out of the Gulf Stream in a few days the ocean and air temperature will be in the 50s and I won’t be wearing shorts and T-shirt on deck for the rest of the passage.
The wind is expected to get stronger as we head further north, peaking with sustained winds around 22kts with gusts up to 30 kts. That’s a pretty stiff breeze but Free Energy will be going with the breeze and I expect she will handle those conditions just fine.
I’m keeping an eye out for Dolphins, although I haven’t seen any yet. Last year on this passage we were visited by dolphins about every other day.
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