News & Views for Southern Sailors - Southwinds Magazine

Gulf StreamCrossingsBy Rebecca Burg“We hit something,” Terry said, smackingone hand into the other. “Bang!” Terrygoes on to describe a recent Gulf Streamcrossing with her husband, Captain Ron,and pet poodle, Ocean, on their 36-footGulfstream trawler, Silk Purse IV.Every year, thousands of boats cross the Gulf Streambetween Florida and the Bahamas. A well-worn trail, it’san easy hop when the weather is right. However, whenthe wind picks up and shifts against the current or squallsstart rearing their cloudy heads, a Gulf Stream crossing canbe dangerous.Boaters may also encounter fast-moving freighters,unlit vessels at night or unseen obstacles floating in thewater. Silk Purse had encountered the latter. It was earlysummer when the trawler had left the north end of KeyBiscayne, near Miami, FL, and headed toward Bimini,Bahamas. It was 4 a.m. Experienced cruisers, they’d waitedfor a good weather window and faced less than three-footseas. In the dim gray light of dawn, Silk Purse hit something.The trawler shuddered as she glanced off a submergedobstacle. Quick-thinking, Ron threw the engine into neutralwhile Terry scurried forward. Pushed into motion by SilkPurse, a large tree bobbed upright, then began tumbling endover end. The trawler fell away. Wide-eyed, Terry watchedas the tree’s massive, knarled root ball careened over SilkPurse’s bow. Just missing the boat’s rail, the sodden tree vanishedback into the inky water. Undamaged, the luckytrawler was able to continue her journey. With no furthersurpises, they arrived in Bimini by lunchtime after a 47-nautical-milecrossing.Waiting for good weather, the number of boats in FortLauderdale, FL, grew. By Easter weekend, the windowopened. Escape, a Hunter 290 sloop, bounced and rocked herway through a crazed crowd of weekend warriors, fishingvessels and fellow Bahamas-bound cruisers. It was only2:30 a.m. Cruising couple Tom and Babette brought Escapeinto calmer seas after skirting a long line of waiting cruiseships. The conditions were so calm that the sailboatmotored to West End, Bahamas. “I would’ve liked a littlewind,” Tom admits, but he was glad to finally resume theirtrip and appreciated its uneventful nature. “The roughestpart of the whole thing was getting through the crowds atFort Lauderdale!” Babette said. With a 70-nautical-mile hop,an early start and fair skies ahead, Escape traveled at a fuelconservativepace and reached West End near 3:30 p.m.Their travel time was 13 hours.Dennis, a long-time sailboat owner, had recentlybought Island Dream, a trawler. He says he was still thinkinglike a sailor on his most recent Gulf Stream crossing thisJune. With wife Sharon and crewmember Bob, Dennis tookIsland Dream out of Jupiter, FL, at 5:00 p.m. for an overnightcrossing to West End. With years of sailing experience, itwas a routine trip for Dennis. However, he was still gettingused to his new power vessel’s different handling characteristics.The weather forecast showed nothing alarming. Yet,midway in the trip, a rapidly developing low-pressure areaformed over Island Dream. In the dark of the night, squallswhipped the waves into a dangerous jumble. Easterlywinds gusted to 50 mph, and the growing seas were estimatedto be near 12 to 14 feet. About 30 nautical miles offshore,the trawler struggled to make headway. “At thattime, we were only traveling half a knot,” Bob says.Forward progress became extremely difficult, andDennis turned around to make a quick downwind slide tosafety. Back in Florida, Island Dream waited for better weatherto resume her travels, this time by day, and arrived atWest End after covering 60 nautical miles in an easy 10hours.Dick and Carol Simmons have been crossing the streamevery year since 1964 in both power and sailing vessels.Currently, they cruise in Gusto!!!, an Island Packet 44, andthey recall their most memorable experience. It was earlyfall in the mid-’90s, and they left Port Lucaya, Bahamas, for40 October 2006 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com