Data from a three-layer quasi-geostrophic eddy- resolving general circulation model have been used to investigate the downstream convergence of kinetic energy in the model's analog of the Gulf Stream, as well as the kinetic energy budgets of the adjacent recirculation region. It is found that the downstream convergence of kinetic energy in the decelerating part of the jet is balanced primarily by ageostrophic flow against a pressure gradient, which may be interpreted as the sum of (1) a divergence of pressure work fluxes and (2) as conversion of kinetic to available to potential energy in the region. In the western part of the recirculation there is an opposite tendency for conversion of available potential energy to kinetic energy, as this flow feeds the accelerating Gulf Stream. The analysis also suggests that instabilities are primarily barotropic in the decelerating jet region and baroclinic in the eastern recirculation regime. However, the two regions are coupled energetically, implying that a channel model enclosing the jet, thereby excluding energetic exchanges through its boundaries, may be inappropriate for investigating the instabilities of the jet.