Hazard spot
Cape Hatteras
The Gulf Stream meets cold coastal water and shallow banks, quickly building a short high sea. The hop north is therefore carefully timed.
- Cause
- Strong current and cross seas
- Main season
- all year
- Position
- 35° 12,0' N 075° 18,0' W
On the map
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How the place works
Off the cape the warm Gulf Stream meets the cold Labrador Current, and the Diamond Shoals reach far offshore. The combination of a current boundary, shallow ground and passing lows earned this corner the name Graveyard of the Atlantic.
What breaks there
The change from warm to cold water brings fog and fast weather changes, and over the shoals a breaking sea builds with wind against current. Anyone heading north meets it with the stream behind them and little in hand.
What this means for your policy
For many policies the US east coast is a cruising range of its own, and the hurricane season raises the same question there as in the Caribbean. Settle both before heading north.
Read this in fullCruising range
This spot lies in the cruising range the calculator lists under this step: Worldwide
Calculate a premium for this cruising range