Where does the Gulf Stream flow after leaving the Gulf of Mexico?

After exiting the Gulf of Mexico through the Straits of Florida, the water forms the Florida Current, which is joined by the Antilles Current to become the Gulf Stream.12

The current flows northward along the continental slope of the United States until it reaches Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Beyond this point, the Gulf Stream leaves the continental slope and turns northeastward as a meandering current toward the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.13

Near the Grand Banks, the current begins to break up into swirling eddies and branches. From this region:12
* Some water continues northeastward as the North Atlantic Current toward the British Isles, Iceland, and the Norwegian seas.13
* Other portions flow south and east, eventually joining the Canary Current or becoming part of westward-flowing countercurrents that circulate back toward the Sargasso Sea.123