In 2001 four or five Worrell 1000 teams, on Inter 20's, decided to sail over to Bimini sometime during the month prior to the Worrell. They had decent wind when they started, but when they got to the middle of the Stream -- about 20-25 miles from the mainland -- the wind totally died, so they turned around and came back.

Also, Theo, in terms of communications and safety, Rick tells me that when you are in the middle of the Stream, you are out of cell phone range and out of VHF range for a handheld (even for most regular VHF radios with antennas). He said nobody in the Bahamas responds to radio calls. If you are in trouble, you could probably hail a passing freighter, and they could contact the Coast Guard. And then, what is really scary is that the Coast Guard may ask the freighter to come to your aid. Those ships are not exactly known for their maneuverability. Sadly, we know this from personal experience.