At first, blockade running was done by ships of all sizes. The most successful were the steamboats that were put out of work when the war broke out. They could hug the coast and haul their cargoes of cotton to Cuba or The Bahamas and bring back items of lesser value. This collection of mostly small boats worked well at first when the Union Navy could not effectively guard all areas of the coast. So they did not need to be fast or stealthy and the work was fairly easy. The captains knew the coast very well which allowed them to avoid the Union warships. Cotton is gathered in September and shipped during the winter and spring. When the blockade went into effect in April 1961, most of that year's cotton had already been shipped. Only about one-seventh remained for the smaller ships to haul. The 1860 cotton crop had been huge and there was no shortage of cotton either in the Northern states or in England. So there were no great profits to be made or money available to buy war supplies. This worked in favor of the Union even though the blockade was not that effective yet. Still, the blockade runners could make some profit, but not nearly as much as later in the war.