Is There a Thread Where People Post Experiences Down the Coast?

[thompsonisland]

I'm sure many, many people have written about their plans and experiences in sailing from Maine to Florida, or that general route. As far as I can tell, there seems no easy way to summer in New England, winter down south, and not risk sailing through horrendous weather or planning on being generally uncomfortable. As this isn't why I sail, I want to read as many experiences as I can. Is there a thread somewhere? I'm having a heck of a time searching.

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by thompsonisland

I'm sure many, many people have written about their plans and experiences in sailing from Maine to Florida, or that general route. As far as I can tell, there seems no easy way to summer in New England, winter down south, and not risk sailing through horrendous weather or planning on being generally uncomfortable. As this isn't why I sail, I want to read as many experiences as I can. Is there a thread somewhere? I'm having a heck of a time searching.

Try the google custom search, rather than the local search. It's much more helpful. Just look below the regular search.
; -)

[thompsonisland]

Thanks!

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by thompsonisland

................. As far as I can tell, there seems no easy way to summer in New England, winter down south, and not risk sailing through horrendous weather or planning on being generally uncomfortable....................

Coincidentally, before reading your post, my wife and I were commenting that this year's summer cruise to Maine and back from Florida was without any significant harsh weather or discomfort. We have seasonally cruised north each summer, but one, since 2002. We have had events including Isabelle, Albert & Irene as well as numerous storms without names, but no more than we would have experienced if we had remained in Florida. We remain wary of foul weather and keep informed of the forecasts. We also don't make commitments to cruising deadlines and we seek secure anchorages or marinas in bad weather. I firmly believe that you can cruise in comfort without weather risks from Maine to Florida if you take the time to be conservative. We've done this many times.

[thompsonisland]

Do you go early, like Sept?

[sarafina]

This is not specific to the seaboard, it is true for all sailing.

It is not so much when you go exactly, it is how you go. Do not sail to a schedule. Be willing to change plans. Plan intelligently with the most current data avaliable to you at the time. Be ready and willing to change plans when more current data indicates the original plan is less than optimal. Remember, a plan rarely survives contact with the enemy. In this case your schedule and the weather are the plan and the enemy. You can plan a sail for any day of the year, and when that day comes you may or may not want to follow thru with it. Do not put yourself into the mind set that the plan MUST be followed. The plan should, like an obedient hound, follow you!

You an find a "good" window ALMOST anywhere, any month of the year. But you can not ALWAYS find one.

[Hudson Force]

We totally cruise by the "Sarafina" method. We left North Florida April 22nd and turned around at Bar Harbor, Maine on July 31st. We left Maine waters August 15th and arrived back in Florida October 19th. Some cruisers, unlike ourselves, will spend three or four weeks underway and then remain at a destination for months. We tend to remain in one location for a few days and then move on; therefore, we keep a steady pace for about six months. Also, though it probably has no bearing on the post, we are "hurricane birds" instead of "snowbirds". We usually spend the holidays from Thanksgiving to Christmas in North Florida with family and then head for the Keys or Bahamas. This type of cruising without a destination date lends itself to easy avoidance of foul weather.

[thompsonisland]

Cool. If we get into cruising, we'll be working, too, so I probably won't be able to be quite as peripatetic as that, and this gives me lots of food for thought on what the transition windows need to be.