Gulf Stream Crossing

For all landlubbers, a little information regarding the Gulf Stream.  The Gulf Stream is essentially a large river that runs in the Ocean.  It is a constant current that runs north and then east.  And it is large - about 50 miles wide typically.  The current is swift running as much as 4 knots or more in places.  So... if your direction is east the Gulf Stream will push you north.  It is considered a treacherous spot because in addition to the swift current the Gulf Stream is said to "make its own weather".  If there is a storm at sea it will be considerably worse in the Gulf Stream.  So the goal is always to cross the Gulf Stream as quickly as possible.  By Tuesday the wind did shift as predicted and after about 12 hours of light wind the night before the Gulf Stream had calmed down.  We had a steady W/WSW wind that was blowing at 16 to 18 knots.  By 0730 Ben and I had put up the mainsail and the staysail.  About 20 something miles before reaching the Gulf Stream we set out the fishing gear.  We are using a Cuban YoYo rather than a fishing rod and reel.  Within about 15 minutes we caught a tuna!  Today is Ben's birthday and he caught the fish - so that was a nice little gift.  At 1000 we entered the Gulf Stream.  It is thousands of feet deep and the most beautiful sapphire blue color.  At 1030 the other guys were up and we put up the genoa.  We were flying along under full sail at about 7 knots.  Occasionally we were seeing over 8 knots. Our degree of heel was about 10 to 15% (that is how much the boat is tipped to the side).  It was a perfect warm sunny day.  In the evening we had a birthday dinner for Ben.  I had made a peanut butter pie the day before when he wasn't looking.  So we put a candle on the pie and had a celebration.  By nightfall we were out of the stream and everyone breathed a little easier.  That was the nicest Gulf Stream crossing you could possibly ask for!