I make my way to "winter base camp", which is Newfound Harbor, in the Florida Keys. There I find a decently protected anchorage and access to supplies, so I can rest for a while. Rest? Of course not. I just won't be sailing so that I can catch up on boat projects. First and foremost is to tackle...

...

---

The long trek south from Cape Breton to Florida is done! But I still haven't reached "winter base camp" at Newfound Harbor and Key West. So after a re-stock in Key Biscayne, I'm off again down the Hawk Channel, in blustery, winter conditions. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/user?u=12372934 HOW...

...

---

I arrive in the Berry Islands following an overnight trip from the Abacos. There I get a night of rest before setting off again across the Bahama Bank, wanting to catch the forecasted, favorable southerly winds to blow me across the Strait of Florida. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/user?u=12372934 HOW...

...

---

I drop anchor in the bight by Treasure Island Cay to ride out a frontal passage. Brisk northwesterlies soon moderate the following day and I carry on with my journey. I don't head directly back out to sea, however, opting to take the scenic route through the inland Sea of Abaco. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL...

...

---

The gale roars like a lion and then steals away on cat's feet. The following day I'm struggling to make progress in light winds, trying to close with the Abacos ahead of an approaching, strong cold front. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/user?u=12372934 HOW TO SAIL OCEANS...

...

---

... as it had rolled five thousand years ago. I'm making great progress south toward the Abacos, but I have a day of rough weather to contend with. Though only 12 hours of actual gale conditions are in the forecast, that's enough to put me through several rounds of sail reductions until I have her...

...

---

Brrrr! It's New Year's Day, 2025, and there's something like a window to depart Beaufort, southbound to the Bahamas and on to Florida. Overall a decent if blustery passage on tap, except for a spell of light gale conditions three days out ... SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/user?u=12372934 HOW...

...

---

With high hopes for warmer climes and clear waters, I depart the Chesapeake Bay. But the weather picture is deteriorating. Soon I will have to make a decision. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/user?u=12372934 HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/c-1981134 HOW...

...

---

Ring out solstice bells! I see a possible weather window to head offshore for the Bahamas and Florida and to finally escape the winter cold. For which there will be much rejoicing. However, the GFS model is showing a nasty low pressure forming off Hatteras in a few days, while ECMWF is showing light...

...

---

A little over one hundred miles remain to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and I've got about thirty-six hours before a major cold front pushes through. So it's a race against time if I am going to avoid a Force 9 gale offshore. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/user?u=12372934 HOW...

...

---

Squeezed between two major weather systems is a four-day sailing window from Buzzards Bay to the Chesapeake. This will not be pleasant summertime sailing, but so long as I arrive within four days there will be no gales to contend with. And that's going to have to be good enough. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL...

...

---

Three weeks of shuttling back and forth between Padanaram and Hadley Harbor, the former to re-stock the larder, the latter to shelter from the storms. Sailing windows remain too short to safely head offshore to the Chesapeake Bay, some 350 miles. And so I wait. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON:...

...

---