24-28 June Sailing north from Charleston to Newport

The forecast looks good for us to head north today and it seems we might be able to make it all the way to Newport, Rhode Island, 720nm away. In case the forecast changes we have three duck out spots; Beaufort, North Carolina, before Cape Hatteras, Norfolk, Virginia after Cape Hatteras, then Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

In the end we sailed and motored in the Gulf Stream making good time. In the last few hours of sailing in the Gulf stream before it turned east to Europe we had 6 knots of north flowing current and temperatures in the 28 to 29c range. As the sunset we were wearing shorts and t shirts, but within six hours, I'd added trousers, deck shoes and a fleece. Leaving the warm current our SOG dropped and the sea temperature dropped sharply. The windows were frosted with condensation and the floors damp.

An advantage of sailing north in summer is the daylight hours are longer. Sunrise was at 5.30am and sunset at 8.30pm. We cruised into Newport harbour at 5 o'clock on Friday afternoon meeting a cruise ship on it's way out, fishing boats returning to port, every sailing club in the area out for a sunset sail, day trippers. It was busy.

The trip from Charleston was 720nm. We took four and a half days and sailed about 60% of the way; more motoring than we would have wished for but it was quick with the help of the current.