From California, Around to Florida and Maybe on to The Great Loop

[pdnervo]

hi, new here but have a few questions.
1) about how many days to sail from SF to Fla.
2) what is the best season to go down the west coast. (realizing the hurricane season in the gulf)
3) have no boat now.. but did have a hallberg rassy 30 years ago sailed in SF.... and MacGregor sailed in Gulf... what do you recommend in a used boat under 60 grand or less and where to get one now... also a few fishing boats etc. florida and hawaii single screws...
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im pushing 70 years old and my wife is pushing 63... good shape yet, but not like we were ...
so any advise would be helpful...thanx...pn

[rebel heart]

1) you could hustle and do it in a few weeks with good weather but i'd do a few months and make it somewhat enjoyable. you can leave around october with the baja-haha if you like. might make for some good company especially if you're not familiar with the area.

2) leaving in late october would be good. most of the nasty stuff is june-november. i'm not sure about the other side of the country though (gulf of mexico).

3) you should be able to get something fine for that amount of money. maybe shoot for ~40k and spend the rest getting it set up the way you want. save your money the best you can and get things as you need them. a lot of people buy stuff they think they'll need only to find later that they didn't, or they need something else more and don't have the funds.