I was very surprised when I read the Street article. The really safest thing to do is haul the boat, buy a cord of firewood and renew ones library card. But if one wants to go sailing, then of course you are going to see 25+ knots of wind and of course you need to be prepared for 40+ knots. As to Street's distances to and through the Gulf Stream, I refer him to the Navy Gulf Stream daily updates. The real distances are much shorter than he suggests. From Norfolk or Beaufort the weather forecasts for the first 36 hours should be very accurate. One would be through the Gulf Stream in that time frame. Of course from Newport it is a bigger problem as (1) it will take up to 36 hours to reach the stream and (2) the stream is much wider there, so it will take longer to get through it. As to his talk about cold weather until on reaches the stream, that is why there is good long underwear. With SSB or Satphone to download weather, or even a service like OCENS, plus a daily chat with Herb, a trip to the Caribbean should be quite manageable.