Sailing Aura to the USA was never something that was on my sailing “to do” list. With the hurricane season fast approaching, it seemed like the logical thing to do. It also gave us the opportunity to visit the beautiful islands of Bahamas and Bermuda. Two places that had not initially been on our radar but we are very glad we went.

Getting ready for passage requires more mental preparation than anything else. Yes you need to ensure that you have sufficient food, fuel and gas but the thought of being at sea for five days, heading to one of the busiest countries in the world can be quiet daunting. Also picking that weather window can be tricky, especially when you are heading to a continent the size of America as weather systems can develop quickly off the mainland. Oh and there is this thing called the Gulf Stream that we have to cross. This fast flowing body of water that can run a current of 4 knots can cause you grief if you cross with wind against current as the seas would get big and choppy.. There are also adverse currents that flow off the Gulf Stream that you also want to avoid. Did I mention an increase in marine traffic that means avoiding big cargo ships and surprisingly, a large number of sailing yachts. So this passage should be a walk in the park :-)

Day one was fairly uneventful except for the occasional squall and wind right on our nose. I woke after an afternoon nap to find Simon staring at a few black clouds behind us. “Can you hear the thunder?” he asked. I had a look and was not too concerned as it appeared that it had gone around us. I popped my head around the front to see if there were any other boats near us and had a “Holly Cow” moment. While Si had been peering at the stern of the boat, some big scary black clouds had developed and we were heading right for them. After I had a moment of panic, we furled the head sail and continued on our way. Fortunately it was not as scary as it looked and we sailed through it. Only issue is that it left us with a wind shift with the wind very close on our nose so the next few hours we had to adjust our course so we could continue to sail. Eventually the wind dropped out and we spent the night motoring.

The wind kicked back in on day two. I woke to find myself wedged against the side of the bed…a good indication that Aura was sailing at full speed at 60 degrees to the wind (otherwise known as her sweet spot). Definitely not my favourite wind angle as it makes everything on the boat a challenge as you have to continually hold on with one hand or alternatively, you can wedge yourself in a corner for support. So as you can appreciate, going to the bathroom, putting on deodorant and getting dressed is a major undertaking and results in a few new bruises. I wondered out into the cockpit later that morning only to notice that we had caught a fish. My first thought was how the hell are we going to manage to land a fish in these conditions. Fortunately Si was slightly delayed and by the time he came on deck, the fish had fought its way to freedom. Must say I was slightly relieved to see an empty hook.

As day two progressed, the wind dropped out and it was back to motoring. It is a hard call to decide which is better…having to put up with background engine noise or moon walking around the boat. I would vote for the former but don’t tell Simon!! Day three put on one of the prettiest sun rises I have seen. The sea was flat and it mirrored the spectacular colours that were reflected by the clouds.

We had a great day enjoying the calm waters. We even had a couple of visits from dolphins that put on a display practising their breaching techniques.

By sundown, the wind was up again and we were sailing. Although the wind was at a better angle (90-120 degrees) the waves had increased in frequency and hitting us from the beam. Aura was all over the place so we reduced sail to try and stabilise her. Even with a reefed genoa and reefed main sail, she was still cracking 9 knots. It was shortly after that we took a turn north to commence the crossing of the Gulf Stream. As soon as we entered the Gulf Stream, the waves seemed to flatten out. We only saw an increase of 1 to 1.5 knots of speed due to the current. It was all rather non-event…not that I am complaining.

Day four started saw us leave the Gulf Stream at approximately 9am. We continued sailing north with good wind. A low front was expected to bring strong winds but we didn’t really see much more than 20 knots. The wind was at a broad reach with a following sea…a very comfortable sail. We were making such good speed over the last four days we hoped to arrive in Newport a day earlier but possibly at night. This is something we are usually careful to avoid especially a busy harbour like Newport but the prospect of a good night sleep is too much of a temptation and we decide to make a run for it.

The final day of our passage had squalls scheduled at dawn. I was on watch and Simon kindly helped me reef the genoa before he headed to bed. Fortunately it was light by the time the rain hit us. There was very little wind just lovely cleansing rain that washed the salt from the decks. It was not long after the rain stopped that we received a call from Lady Rebel who were approximately 10nm ahead of us. They had just hit fog. Si and I looked at each other blankly, can you have fog with wind and isn’t it summer? It was my turn to have a nap but when I got up, sure enough everything was wrapped in cold, damp fog. You could see the sun trying to burn through so we both decided that the fog would not be around for long. Wrong again, it stayed with us all day as we got closer to the USA. Fortunately we have our trusty AIS and could see that both La Mischief and Tourterelle where still close by. Not that you could physically see them.

As night fell we were still 5nm from Newport. We had good wind and calm seas so Aura made better speed than expected. Apart from trying to avoid the occasional fishing buoy and fishing trawler there was very little traffic. We were greeted by some spectacular fireworks to celebrate the 4th July holiday. We finally arrived at Newport harbour at 11pm and made our way to the anchorage avoiding the numerous crab pots and high voltage cable danger buoys. It was cold…we were both wearing several lays of clothing and reality hit that we had left the tropics behind. We got the pick down and were very proud of our anchoring ability in the dark. So it was only appropriate that we enjoyed a glass of wine to applaud our successful passage and safe arrival in the US :-)