Caribbean 2021 – Return Passage – Gulfstream North

We have been battling adverse currents for nearly 30 hours as we look to enter the Gulfstream. Very light winds and the adverse current mean a slow pace of motor sailing and less than 8knts of speed over ground has everyone frustrated. We continue to monitor the Gulfstream and the many eddies that spin off of it to find the fastest path but not until we are fully in the stream will we begin to raise speed over ground, and spirits.  We look to our entry into the Gulfstream just north of Charleston and then the stream and southerly breeze will carry us to the entry of the Chesapeake.

A long day with slow but steady progress brings us into the Stream and we finally see the impact of this invisible force on Untethered’s progress over ground. Unfortunately, winds are too light to make meaningful progress under sail so we motor up the coast as we watch the sun set slowly to the west. 

Overnight the watches are uneventful with no weather systems and few vessels to track. As the last overnight watch ends and the sun rises to our east, we find ourselves in a flat waveless Atlantic with not so much as a ripple against the hull. Only our bow wave can be seen radiating for miles out behind us. It is a surreal way to begin our last day in the Atlantic after the large storms and seas we have faced the last week, but the calm settles over Untethered and crew as we ready ourselves to arrive at the Chesapeake and the final leg of our journey.