Best living & sailing on U.S. East Coast?

[bob and sharon]

Here's the situation; my wife and I have lived in WA state for over five years now. We're fed-up with the cruddy winters here, and we're seriously considering relocating to the East Coast.
We've sailed Puget Sound, north into Canada, down the West Coast, around So. Cal. etc... We need a change.
We recently sold our Union 36 cutter, so we're currently boatless.
We live in a nice 35' Fifth-wheel which we pull with our '03 Dodge Cummins. We're mobile.
I am a Marine Technician with lots of ABYC & manufacturers certifications and Project Management experience. Finding work has never been a problem.
Here's the question; where on the East Coast could we re-locate where the winters aren't 6 months long? AND the summers aren't brutally hot and humid? Someplace that would offer a nice cruising grounds and cruising community? My thinking is that Maine is too cold, and Florida too hot & humid, but hey! there's lots in between right?!
Thanks!

[rubyjean]

Hi Bob & Sharon, We saw your boat in Channel Islands Harbor at Oxnard. We never did see you after that. We really enjoyed your company. Hope you find the magic spot, we're thinking about Mobile Al.. Have freinds there that sail. Maybe our paths will cross again somwhere. Did you guy's get caught in the blow at Point Conception? Good to see you guy's are OK. Michael & Brenda

[roverhi]

GFL. There is no place on the East Coast that doesn't have brutally cold winters and/or miserably hot summers. You can move from North to south and back again to have decent weather but not staying in one place. Not that it's such a bad idea to move around to get the best weather.

A PNW winter is unbelievably mild compared to what you'll typically get above about 40N on the east coast. The summer months are typically sauna without cedar enclosure for most of the east coast.

[Katiusha]

Having lived on the West and East coasts, I much prefer the West - winters and summers are milder...

+1 on roverhi's suggestion to move with the weather on the east coast, a.k.a. "snow bird" living.

[Hud3]

The best compromise for what you're looking for is probably the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The winters aren't too bad there. August will be uncomfortably hot and humid; no getting around that. The sailing is great. You'll never in a lifetime be able to gunkhole all the rivers and little creeks that fringe the Bay. Deltaville, VA has a number of marinas where you could find work. There's a nice RV park at Topping, VA, on the Rappahannock River for your Fifth Wheel.

[prof_mariner]

No easy answers, I'm afraid. I've lived aboard in Hawaii, San Diego and am now living ashore in Eastern North Carolina. We're looking to move back aboard and unfortunately haven't found the perfect location yet. Like most things in life, everything is a compromise.

The area we're in at present (South of Cape Hatteras) would be pretty close to ideal if you didn't need a job. Slip rent is cheap (as low as $100/month), cost of living is low, and weather for 9 months out of the year is not bad. There are a couple months during the Winter that it will drop to the 30's at night and a couple of months during the Summer that will hit the upper 80's during the day. You will need mosquito nets and either airconditioning or lots of fans, but otherwise it's not bad at all. We're right on the ICW so you can always shoot North or South for a change (assuming your draft is less than 6 feet that is) or head offshore. Coastal cruising the East coast is nothing like the West. The continental shelf and capes make it considerably more challenging in my opinion (I'm a West Coast sailor). The big problem is jobs. A lot of boat yards have either closed or cut back on staff. A "good" wage here is $8-$10/hour and you'll be lucky to find a job that pays that much. Further South gets too hot and too many hurricanes in the Summer and further North gets too cold in the Winter for my tastes.

As someone else mentioned, the ideal situation would be to head South for the Winters and back North for the Summers.

[Hotel L]

Originally Posted by Hud3

The best compromise for what you're looking for is probably the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The winters aren't too bad there. August will be uncomfortably hot and humid; no getting around that. The sailing is great. You'll never in a lifetime be able to gunkhole all the rivers and little creeks that fringe the Bay. Deltaville, VA has a number of marinas where you could find work. There's a nice RV park at Topping, VA, on the Rappahannock River for your Fifth Wheel.

2nd the Chesapeake Bay

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by bob and sharon

Here's the situation; my wife and I have lived in WA state for over five years now. We're fed-up with the cruddy winters here, and we're seriously considering relocating to the East Coast.
We've sailed Puget Sound, north into Canada, down the West Coast, around So. Cal. etc... We need a change.
We recently sold our Union 36 cutter, so we're currently boatless.
We live in a nice 35' Fifth-wheel which we pull with our '03 Dodge Cummins. We're mobile.
I am a Marine Technician with lots of ABYC & manufacturers certifications and Project Management experience. Finding work has never been a problem.
Here's the question; where on the East Coast could we re-locate where the winters aren't 6 months long? AND the summers aren't brutally hot and humid? Someplace that would offer a nice cruising grounds and cruising community? My thinking is that Maine is too cold, and Florida too hot & humid, but hey! there's lots in between right?!
Thanks!

To avoid brutally hot summers in FL all you have to do is live on the coast. Of course, "brutally hot" is a relative term, and you've been spoiled by NW summers, but 90% of the country has hot summers, and the rest of the places with mild summers either have bad winters (even northern FL can be plenty cold in the winter) or aren't any where near places to sail. They call it a "temperate" climate but most of the country is imtemperate for half of the year or more!

The best compromise I found was west central Florida coast. And, it's a great jumping off place for really good sails, short or long.

You might find the Monterey Bay area meets your standards, or maybe San Diego.

[prof_mariner]

... or maybe San Diego.

San Diego would be ideal were it not for the high cost of slip fees (roughly $1,000/month), long waiting lists for live-aboards, and nutzo taxes. Costs and waiting lists seem to get a bit better the further North you go. Ventura, Monterey or maybe even SF might be considerations.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by bob and sharon

Here's the situation; my wife and I have lived in WA state for over five years now. We're fed-up with the cruddy winters here, and we're seriously considering relocating to the East Coast.
We've sailed Puget Sound, north into Canada, down the West Coast, around So. Cal. etc... We need a change.
We recently sold our Union 36 cutter, so we're currently boatless.
We live in a nice 35' Fifth-wheel which we pull with our '03 Dodge Cummins. We're mobile.
I am a Marine Technician with lots of ABYC & manufacturers certifications and Project Management experience. Finding work has never been a problem.
Here's the question; where on the East Coast could we re-locate where the winters aren't 6 months long? AND the summers aren't brutally hot and humid? Someplace that would offer a nice cruising grounds and cruising community? My thinking is that Maine is too cold, and Florida too hot & humid, but hey! there's lots in between right?!
Thanks!

I suggest the Long Island Sound area for summer. Plenty of anchorages within four or five hours of each other. Plus you could easily cruise up into Narragansett Bay or out toward Marthas Vineyard, Cape Cod too. In the fall head south for a milder winter say in North Carolina or even all the way to Florida. Though this winter was so mild even the Chesepeake area would have been a nice stop. You have a boat not a house why not keep it moving all along the east coast. Follow the sun!

[SV Demeter]

Third vote for Chesapeake bay. You won't have trouble finding work in the Annapolis area. There are live aboard marinas but there are also creeks and coves where live aboard anchoring is possible. Sailing is decent but breeze on Chesapeake is rarely above 15 and often pretty light in the summer. Winter this year was reduculously mild but not always so. Florida would be a good choice for winter but there is no work from what I hear. New England is better for sailing but expensive and winter is out of the question IMHO.

[Verities]

Come on up to Maine again! We don't have winter here anymore!

[svjustus]

Outer Banks, NC is really nice!!

[svpattyd]

Chesapeake Bay, but mid bay , western shore, Maryland. More jobs in your field. Cheaper slips in South River, West River area than Annapolis. Maryland is liveaboard friendly.

[JanetGroene]

[QUOTE=roverhi;910772]GFL. There is no place on the East Coast that doesn't have brutally cold winters and/or miserably hot summers. You can move from North to south and back again to have decent weather but not staying in one place. Not that it's such a bad idea to move around to get the best weather.

As an East Coaster, I agree. One goes cruising to be mobile, not "settle down". One good point about South Florida is that it's a good staging area for the Bahamas, which I believe to offer some of the world's best cruising for those who want uninhabited islands and miles of beaches all to yourself. Cold fronts continue from Florida through the Bahamas, bringing stinging "Christmas winds" as far down as the Virgin Islands. I was in Maine this summer and nearly melted from the heat. Brief, but inescapable because nothing was air conditioned.