Hi Dennis, Sorry we didn't get a chance to say more than about two words at the Nordhavn party at the Lauderdale show. Judy and I came down to Florida from Maine again this fall but went inside for the Chesapeake and Delaware and, when the weather to Beaufort was lousy, took the inside passsage there too. In previous years, we've made the passage between Norfolk and Beaufort by following the coast closely--the so called tug-and-barge route. You don't want to do that when it's blowing hard from the NE, but we've had good experiences with that route and IMHO it beats three days on the ICW to Beaufort. In our Grand Banks 42 the offshore passage between Norfolk and Beaufort was typically a 26-hour trip, less if you can time the currents well between Cape Henry and downtown Norfolk. I estimated about 32 in our Nordhavn 47. This year, we ran from Beaufort to Charleston, essentially following the rhumb line to Cape Lookout shoal, then direct to Charleston, with no interference from the Gulf Stream. From Charleston, we headed down to Stuart, pretty following a route that kept us on or inside the 100-foot (not fathom!) curve. For this trip, we occasionally had up to 1/2 knot against us but never more--occasionally we actually got a little counter-current push. Heading south down the Florida coast, especially south of Canaveral, I've found it best to get in right off the beach to avoid the Gulf Stream. We often run no more than 1/2 mile off. Hope this helps, --Milt Baker, N47 Bluewater, Fort Lauderdale, FL