Bahamas Bound! Sailing Across The Gulf Stream

Nikki Wynn

Nov 27, 2016 — 5 min read

It’s 2:30am. The power cord is being pulled, the fenders are being stowed away and the sails are going up. We shove away from the familiar shores of Florida, cross the notorious gulf stream and enter the clear blue Bahamian waters.

Bahamas baby! It feels oh soooo good to finally be on our way again. This time last year we had just exited Alaska which was our most epic stretch of road travels. We were driving along the west coast of the US dreaming of sailing about the world. Now, that dream is our reality. Watching those city lights slowly disappear into the night’s black horizon was a miraculous sight.

We had oodles of meaningful little moments that seem as though they will be seared into our memories forever. It was one of those big days filled with firsts and we tried to savor them all, but at the same time not get overly excited. Our journey is only in its infancy and we haven’t seen or done anything yet!

sailing the gulf stream — Our little friend who stopped by to say hello and rest his feathers for a while during the storms (and was almost eaten by Singa).

Taking my first shift sleeping in the cockpit. — Taking sleeping shifts in the cockpit.

nikki wynn sailing — Tightening up the halyard on the new Genoa.

The dolphin escort…welcoming us after our first crossing.

anchored at mangrove cay — Dropping anchor at sunset after a long day.

I realize that we haven’t done anything all that remarkable and we’re still newbies at best. But we have done something that many people tried to tell us was impossible, irresponsible, dangerous and blah blah blah.

The ocean is terrifying to a lot of people (fair enough, it should be feared and admired). Then there is the crowd that thinks if you don’t have a ton of experience, you can’t take off sailing oceans much less the world.

We came at this new adventure with positive attitudes, an open mind and almost no real sailing experience. We started looking for a sailboat in February, purchased our catamaran at the end of April and moved into the boat in May. We took a fast-paced one week sailing course in June, worked on our boat a lot and practiced our sailing skills through October and now…we sailed across the gulf stream in November! Sure, it took focus, work (ya know: blood, sweat and tears) and intense dedication but it’s all very, very doable.

You can do anything you put your mind to. Seriously. Don’t let the doubts and fears of others or yourself talk you out of your dreams. There is a great saying, “dreams only work if you do”. I believe in that 100%.

Everyone’s dream, ability, age, budget and so on may be different but I firmly believe we all have the choice to live life on our own terms.

We’ve met so many amazing people out in the world living and experiencing their dream. From traveling families to single or widowed. Hitchhikers and backpackers and expats and work campers. We draw motivation and inspiration from those that came before us and those out there making it happen right now.

This is only the first chapter of our aquatic adventures but our quest will remain the same. We will let our curiosity choose the course and our heart determine the duration. There is no schedule or destination, there is only the journey.

Thanks for being a part of it all and I hope you are in for the long haul…because we are!

Sailing Report

Weather: Low 70’s, Rain storms over open ocean, sunshine and high 70’s in Bahamas
Anchorage: Mangrove Cay
Nautical Miles Sailed: 100
Date: November 4, 2016

Crossing The Gulf Stream

For well over two weeks now we have had north and northeast winds at 20, 25 & even 30 knots. The winds finally shifted from North to East/Northeast late Wednesday and Predict Wind was forecasting 10-15 knot wind speed for Friday. We waited over 24hrs for the seas to calm before sailing off early Friday morning. The worst seas we experienced were over within a couple hours of leaving Florida, about 15 nautical miles off shore. We’ll go into more detail on crossing the stream in the near future. For now, know we were going by what other experienced sailors suggested. Don’t cross with any winds over 15 knots, especially any northerly’s.