New to Sailing - Question About Sailing East Coast

[Sailaway Kid]

Hi

I am new to sailing and I have been asking around about a trip from NJ to the ICW and points south. I have received some information that confuses me about time and travel estimates. I have seen on Iboat a 21' sailboat traveling between 2 knots and 6 knots travel about half the distance to Bermuda in four days. Yet people have advised me that it would take me a least two days to sail from NJ to Delaware Bay in a 24' foot boat going about 5 knots. I don't have plotting software or been able to figure the distance between NJ and Delaware but how could it take so long? Are there some really rough or difficult areas traveling down the east coast?

[skipmac]

From Sandy Hook to Delaware Bay is about 130 miles. 130 miles divided by 5 kts = 26 hours sailing time. One day if you go nonstop, two if you travel days only.

If you are not able to take a chart and figure the distance from one point to another I would highly recommend you take some classes before attempting to take a boat into the ocean.

[Sailaway Kid]

Skipmac
I know you must think I am surely crazy. I do plan to take a boater safety course and sailing lessons. It was bothering me and still is. When I was younger I am sure I sailed from Cape May to Delaware in about 10 hours. Maybe I have forgotten something about the trip. I remember I was given the helm after Cape May and sailed the boat all the way until we got to the largest bay. At first I thought is was the Chesapeak but I am sure it was Delaware Bay now. I remember we had to go through a few bridges and a canal and then went down the ICW. I know the boat was around 28'. It may have been larger. I guess that would make it possbile for the speed to be about 10 knots and making the trip half that of a smaller boat.
Thanks for the miles info.

[skipmac]

Well, Cape May is southern end of NJ that is also the north side of Delaware Bay. If you are in Cape May NJ you are already at the entrance to Delaware Bay so you could sail up into the bay a good distance in ten hours.

The next big bay going south is the Chesapeake but from Cape May it is again about twenty hours or more.

[Mambo]

Originally Posted by skipmac

From Sandy Hook to Delaware Bay is about 130 miles.

And of course, from Cape May point to the delaware bay is . . . one foot step.

[Mambo]

Originally Posted by Sailaway Kid

Skipmac
When I was younger I am sure I sailed from Cape May to Delaware in about 10 hours.

I've done that trip in just over an hour on a beachcat. It is all wind direction and boat speed. Even in a small mono hull displacement boat ( a slow little boat) you can do the trip one way in 3-4 hours if you have decent wind.

[Binyamin_Delta]

Google Maps Distance Tool:

Google Maps Distance Calculator

You can switch to "Satellite" view also. It is quite accurate, although use it for navigation at your own risk blah blah et cetera.