146: FIRST TIME CROSSING THE GULF STREAM from West End, Grand Bahamas to Beaufort, North Carolina

It's our first Gulf Stream crossing and to say we are a bit nervous is an understatement. It’s also our longest crossing. We were a bit more relaxed when we thought Jeff was crossing with us as he has crossing experience, but then he was gone…home. And, it was just the two of us. While that is a lovely song, it’s not lovely when it has to do with two inexperienced sailors getting ready to make a major journey. This crossing has occupied brain space in our waking hours as well as visited us in our worst nightmares. We hear people describe a bad day in the gulf stream as elephants on the horizon. We are heeding every warning by fellow sailors to pick a good weather window and hired Chris Parker to lead us with a forecast and departure nod. Our satellite is connected, the boat is prepped. It is time to go. The good news is that we have 10 fellow cruisers leaving about the same time and heading to the same destination. We have set our 3 on, 3 off helm schedule and have prepared meals cooling in the fridge. We left West End at 6 am with a successful anchor lift; this was a bit sketchy as we were not sure the anchor would release itself from between the coral, but it did. And, we were off. The seas are calm and there is no wind. We prefer this extreme to too much wind. Our friends on s/v Invia pass us, but we travel with a caravan of slow catamarans for 3.5 days. The only rough part of the trip was the final night when the winds kicked up and the swell hit us on the beam at short intervals. At one point we had 35 knots on the jib which we tried to furl, but it was a bit of a disaster…at least we did not lose any rigging. We released the sheets which wound up like a huge ball of twine awaiting the pounce of a giant celestial kitty. When we pulled into Taylor’s Creek, we could not have been more excited, but nothing compares to the moment when the engines were turned off and the boat was at rest. We had successfully navigated the gulf stream and our longest journey yet. We only dreamed of setting foot on US soil and talked about it nonstop for the past 10 months, never really believing it would happen. But, it did. We made it and within 20 minutes had our first cheerleader on board, Jess Washburn who showered us with amazing gifts from the local market. We will never forget what he and Susannah did for us – spoiled rotten. It was SO good to be “home” on US soil, even for the Yankee visiting Eastern NC for the first time! #sailing #sailboat #sailingprojects #gulfstream #BAHAMAS #westend #BEAUFORT #NORTHCAROLINA NEW TO OUR CHANNEL? We are Eileen and Brown Councill. Welcome to our channel and a glimpse into our life adventure! 2020 was a year of uncertainty and change (for all of us, right?), but we overcame the challenges and decided it was time to chase our dream, to sail around the world! Did I mention that we had very NO sailing experience? Before leaving Qingdao, China, our home of 4 years, we sold almost all of our earthly possessions and started our international search to find the right sailboat that we would call "home." After 5 months of unanticipated twists and turns, we found what we were looking for, a used Leopard 44' Catamaran located in St. Lucia. So, here begins our journey, filled with unmatched excitement and honestly, a bit of trepidation as well. We have much to learn as we travel the world on our floating home and we intend to document that journey and share it with you. We are so glad you have decided to join us, and we hope that you will find our story so compelling that it will inspire you to chase your dreams too! As a viewer, we consider you to be part of our family and look forward to getting to know you. Don't hesitate to comment on our videos and ask questions. We will do our best to answer every correspondence! All we ask is that you have patience with us as we work really hard to improve our camera/video techniques and ability to tell a story. Hopefully, you will be as BLOWN AWAY from watching, as we are in experiencing and producing our adventures! HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US? If you wish to support our video efforts, all we ask is that you SUBSCRIBE, give a THUMBS UP, SHARE our videos with your friends, AND COMMENT! WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET TO KNOW US MORE DEEPLY? It would be an honor and pleasure to deepen our relationship with you as a Patron. Please click on the following link to see how: https://www.patreon.com/sailingblownaway WOULD YOU LIKE TO FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY? https://www.noforeignland.com/boat/6040796987916288 WHERE CAN YOU FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Instagram - @sailingblownaway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SailingBlownAway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eileen.dietrich/ YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/sailingblownaway