I think you summed it up well. Being out in the Gulf Stream with any kind of
Northerly wind component can be a very rough ride, possibly life threatening. I

used to wait for the winds to clock around (clockwise) and cross on some wind
coming out of the South, SE, or SW. Navigation can be tricky if you are
crossing
from Florida to a small island like Bimini. These days with GPS it is much
easier
to find destinations, but one should depart far enough South of their
destination, so
they don't have to fight the current to make any corrections.

Sherwin D.

"Wayne.B" wrote:

There have been a few recent posts here and elsewhere which mention
cruising north in the Gulf Stream. Having done that recently with
mixed results I'm interested in hearing about the experiences and
opinions of others. The attraction of course is 3 kts or so of free
boost in speed saving both time and fuel. Downside is the possibility
of northerly winds filling in and kicking up some really short, steep,
nasty head seas.