Norfolk, VA to Mystic, CT - 2026
- captfrank
- May 16
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 3
May 27, 2026: The crew has had their last land based meal and they are settling in for a good night sleep before departing, Thursday morning at about 0900.
May 27, 2026: Weather forecast from Captain Tom Tursi -Big Low developing way up north moving NE out to sea producing N winds for you in coming days. Moderate wind strengths until Fri-Sat when you may see 20-25 from N; lower nearer to coast.
No tropical storms expected for a week in N Atlantic
To follow the track of SV Navigator: https://maps.findmespot.com/s/K2S3
May 28, 2026: Weather forecast from Captain Tursi - Assuming that you are headed south to vicinity of C Hatteras then turning N toward Mystic, expect N winds 20 kt and below thru Friday then turning SW Fri night and back to NW Saturday with gusts to 25.
May 29, 2026: Message from Captain Frank - We got off the dock about 10:00 yesterday and were out in the Bay soon after. We saw a few navy vessels, not all of them U.S. We think there may have been some foreign ships in Norfolk for the Memorial Day holiday.
Once out of the Bay, we set a single-reefed main and Genoa to run out 75 miles SE, to clear the shipping lanes and add some length to our trip. Unfortunately, the true wind, out of the NW, wasn’t enough to keep up our speed over ground, so we had to motor-sail.
In the afternoon, we discovered a huge batch of stowaways. A cloud of black flies descended on the boat and we spent several hours fighting them. They bit us, we swatted them and the result was that we won - I think.
After a delicious meal in the cockpit, we settled in for the night, with an almost full moon lighting our way.
Around 4, we reached our “mid-ocean” waypoint and proceeded to turn north toward Mystic. The wind had risen into the low 20s and was coming right in our faces, literally! The course to Mystic was 038 and the wind was coming from 030. We dropped onto the starboard tack, to try to move away from the Gulf Stream, but found ourselves moving south of our outbound track. We were sailing really well, but moving further and further away from our goal.
After attempting to motor in the direction we wanted to go, we reviewed the weather forecast and set a new waypoint further inshore. We hope to take advantage of a predicted wind change later today to get us moving in the right direction again.
All aboard are hale and healthy, and will be happy to talk to you all again soon.
May 29, 2026: Weather report for Captain Tursi - Looks line a tough week coming up for you. Low E of Montauk producing Gale Force from N Saturday and spreading south to your area by midday Saturday; moving E away from you by Sunday as Low moves NE. Your winds turning S 10-15 later Sunday and turning from N 10-20 by midday Monday; increasing to 20 NNE later Monday. Another Low developing several hundred miles E of Norfolk on Wednesday producing Gale Force from N for you; lower winds nearer shore as Low moves E.
Tropical cyclones not expected for next 7 days
May 30, 2026: Message from Captain Frank - Yesterday was a day of extremes. We had wonderful sailing that took us nowhere near our destination and motoring which took us more toward of destination but was slow, noisy and uncomfortable.
Since we couldn’t go directly toward our destination, we decided to come back more to the west and see if we could get a better angle. Also, we had a forecast that said the wind would move more to the southwest inshore.
It did finally turn, a little after sunset and we were finally able to secure the engine and sail, first on a broad reach and eventually on a beam.
Dinner last night was pasta and meatballs. All hands congratulate Suzanne on her choice of pasta.
We have seen several large sea turtles over the past 24 hours and today, about 6, we were joined by a pod of porpoises, who stayed with us until almost 6:30. Every time we thought we had seen the last one go, another would pop up. At one point they were close enough to hear their “voices.”
We have the possibility of some heavy weather this afternoon, so we may heave-to to ride it out. Keep this in mind if the SPOT trails shows us staying in one place for several hours. I promise we will be safe.
It is looking like we may be in late Monday or early Tuesday. We will provide more details as we know them.
Last but not least, everyone say happy birthday to Matt!
May 31, 2026: Message from Captain Frank - Yesterday started out well, but by noon, we were unhappy sailors. The wind was coming right from where we needed to go, at 20+ knots, with gusts into the 30s. This gale had been predicted, so we were ready for it. We had put the second reef in the mainsail and had cleaned up the boat.
When it hit, we hove to on our starboard tack and sat back to wait it out. The forecasts we were seeing indicated that it should drift off by midnight. We sat our watches in the cockpit, wrapped to our noses in our warmest gear. It was cold!!
When the seas and winds did not abated at midnight, I began to curse the weather folks. However, it did start to die about 0100, and by 2, it was gone and we were able to get underway again.
Winds are still light but are predicted to build during the day and we are finally headed the right direction.
Dinner last night was “um, no thanks” so we will have our chicken and tortellini tonight, we hope!
It now looks definite that we will be in on Tuesday rather than Monday.
June 1, 2026: Message from Captain Frank - Yesterday paid us back for the heavy weather of Saturday. We were able to get moving in the right direction and by mid-morning, we were motorsailing. By early afternoon, we were able to shut off the engine and enjoy a wonderful down wind sail. We shook both reefs out of the main and had the full Genoa out in 15-20 knots of wind.
Dinner was the chicken and tortellini that had been pulled from the menu the day before.
Dolphin and turtles continue to cross our paths, as did the fishing fleet out of Banegatt Bay this morning. We are above the latitude of the C & D canal, so we finally feel free of the Chesapeake Bay.
This morning, the Sirius weather update indicated that we would have a cold front cross our path and the wind behind it would be light and fluky. For once, Sirius was dead on! Right at 5:00, we passed from a clear sky to a completely cloudy one and the wind veered 70 degrees and dropped to 5 knots true. We were already running the engine out of gear for a battery charge, so we put it in gear and soldiered on….I mean, sailored on!
Right now, it appears we will arrive at the Montauk Light early tomorrow and be tucked in to Mystic in the early afternoon. All hands are looking forward to warm accommodations and hot showers.
June 1, 2026: Weather forecast for Captain Tursi - Today, Mon winds NE10 increasing overnight to NE10-20. Tue light winds NE; overnight Tue-Wed SW10. No significant features in your area. No tropical systems next 7 days.
June 2, 2026: Message from Captain Frank - As I write this, we are making our turn around Fry Point, on the eastern end of Montauk, and beginning our run across the Block Island Sound to Fisher Island. We have picked up the flood current, so we are hoping for a rapid trip across this twelve mile run.
Yesterday was another good sailing, hard cruising day. The wind, which was light early, strengthened to 20 knots, gusting 25, out of the Northeast. We were able to sail a little west of north, toward Long Island, but we really needed to be going more northeast. Fortunately, as the day progressed, the wind clocked around until it was coming from the east, allowing us to make a curve with it until we were headed generally where we needed to go. However, with the winds came the waves and the combination of the wind-driven waves and the persistent swell made the trip bumpy. Since we didn’t want the boat to pound into the seas, we tended to be a bit further off the wind than a perfect course would dictate.
Dinner was sandwiches again as anything in a pot would have gone airborne. We have decided to eat last night’s dinner for lunch today - chili and rice. We don’t care about the effects as everyone should be off the boat tonight!
We are hoping to be in Mystic by early afternoon, so expect to hear from your sailors today.
Thanks to all of you for letting us borrow them for this week and, when they tell you stories about how brave they were in the face of howling winds and towering waves, believe them.
It’s only polite and may even be true!
Comments