Resonable transit time for East Coast

[Icetug]

On another thread I was called out on the amount of time a particular passage would take. So I am asking for real life accounts of how long it takes to make a passage from Northern FL to Long Island Sound? I was figuring a VERY rough estimate of 1000 miles and taking a minimum of 20 days and more likely 30 days with stops and unplanned delays. This was based on no more than 8 hours of transit a day going inside where possible and an under power speed of 6-7 knots.

I am asking for people that have actually done this, as I know what the math says. I am not interested in sailing round the clock outside as I will be single handing a 37 foot sailboat and don't really want to go far enough offshore to avoid heavy commercial/fishing traffic while asleep. Your experience and mileage would really help out, even if you didn't take exactly the same route or distance.

[Captain Bill]

I did the ICW from Melbourne, FL to New Bern, NC in 9 days with no days off. I did go outside from St Augustine to St. Mary's GA and from St. Catherines Sound to Royal Island due to favourable winds and good weather outside. I probably took 1.5 to 2 days off the trip since the outside distances were much shorter(straighter). My target cruise speed was 7 knots and we cruised for about 10 hours/day.

[motion30]

Last spring I ran from FT Lauradale to the top of the chesapeake bay in 12 days. 1268 miles. But that was 12-13 hrs a day all inside, it seems to me the NC and SC are slow going.

[osirissail]

- - If you stay inside the whole way to Norfolk which I did one year just to see what I was missing by going "outside," It took me about one month. Georgia and the Carolinas are big problems due to shoaling and the need to only run on a rising tide which knocks you down to 6 hours a day. Then the places to stop are so wonderful you want to stay an extra day. A happy medium is part outside and part inside. Generally from Jacksonville area to Morehead City outside then inside to Norfolk with times given by others.
- - I did the whole route outside riding the Gulfstream to about Norfolk and then following the coast of New Jersey then east along the south side of Long Island and it took 5 days. If you want to do the whole thing outside do not go directly from the Gulfstream to the eastern end of Long Island - - from abeam Norfolk follow the coastline of Maryland and New Jersey and then turn right to follow the south side of Long Island. If you go direct you will encounter the "north wall event" where the Gulfstream hits the deep underwater wall of the continental shelf and then surges upwards to make horrendous standing and confused waves - believe me - a horrible event to encounter as I did one moonless night at 03:00. Go west of this wall and then follow along north of it.