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Old 27-03-2011, 18:28   #1
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sailing from guadeloupe to NY and back

Hello friends.

i am currently in guadeloupe and intend to sail to NY while enjoying the East coast on the way in june and returning to the caraibes in November. i am a bit lost here as to what cruising guides to get, and if i can sail down the coast via the ICW or have to stay offshore (75 foot mast) on the way back. any advices will be highly welcomed and appreciated!

best regards to all and fair winds.
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Old 28-03-2011, 05:55   #2
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Re: sailing from guadeloupe to NY and back

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Singa.
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Old 28-03-2011, 06:38   #3
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Re: sailing from guadeloupe to NY and back

"75 foot Mast" you will not be able to use any portion of the ICW which involves fixed bridges, which is pretty much all of it. The nominal fixed bridge clearance is 65 feet varied by tide and engineer error building the bridge.
- - So you will be sailing "outside" for most of the journey. However there are many, many entrances that you can turn into for a break or sight seeing and then return "outside" for the next leg.
- - My strongest recommendation is to sign up on the internet with either BoatUS Towing or SeaTow and get their unlimited towing insurance. Inside or outside you can have problems that might require calling for assistance and without "Towing insurance" you can go broke quick or even financially forfeit the boat. The insurance is not expensive, even if you never have to use it.
- - Charts are available free from NOAA online in both Raster and Vector (ENC) versions. Just check to see if your navigation program can use them. The Waterway Guide or other ICW chart kits are a very good idea even if you will not be actually using the ICW as they give you information about "entrances" and what services are available at each one. These are available at boat parts stores/chanlderies all over the Caribbean.
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Old 28-03-2011, 07:16   #4
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Re: sailing from guadeloupe to NY and back

Great, thanks for the info. i will definitly look into the towing insurance thing (something around 125 USD right ?) and the guides.

one of the question i have is should i sail streight from bahamas to Norfolk or do you recommend some must do in between ( i have already been to savannah and charleston in SC and loved it even if i wasn't boating when i first went there some years back.)
thanks again

regards
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Old 28-03-2011, 08:18   #5
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Re: sailing from guadeloupe to NY and back

You'll have to stay outside with a 75 foot mast. The ICW is 65 feet cotnrolling and there is one bridge in North Carolina that is more often 64 than 65. But you can go in, visit places like Charleston, Annapolis and the like before heading back outside. You can explore the Chesapeake at your leisure and there's a good Cruising Guide tot he Chesapeake.
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Old 28-03-2011, 10:57   #6
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Re: sailing from guadeloupe to NY and back

Quote:
Originally Posted by singa View Post
. . . one of the question i have is should i sail streight from bahamas to Norfolk or do you recommend some must do in between ( i have already been to savannah and charleston in SC and loved it even if i wasn't boating when i first went there some years back.)
thanks again regards
That is going to depend totally upon what the weather is like when you actually do it. Non-stop to Norfolk is about 670 nm or about 6 days. Being out offshore for that length of time is usually inviting a storm or some nasty weather to nail you. But it has been done successfully, just depends upon the actual weather when you are doing it.
- - Riding the Gulfstream north can be a wild sleigh ride with some really high SOG numbers. You might just knock a day or two off the planned trip time.
- - But either way, coastal hoping or non-stop there will be opportunities to run for cover all along the route.
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Old 28-03-2011, 12:16   #7
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Re: sailing from guadeloupe to NY and back

With a 75' mast I'd plan to spend most of your time in the Chesapeake Bay or north.

Just be careful to choose your time in rounding Hatteras...it's the graveyard of hundreds of boats. Give it a wide berth.

Once into the Chesapeake, you have thousands of miles of navigable shoreline. One could spend many seasons here exploring.

Or, you could go north thru the C&D Canal, into the Delaware River and down Delaware Bay to Cape May and points north: New York, Long Island Sound, New England, Maine, etc. There's no end to good choices.

Have fun,

Bill
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Old 28-03-2011, 14:42   #8
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Re: sailing from guadeloupe to NY and back

That 75 foot mast height is going to have to be a constant item to watch even in the Chesapeake Bay. There are power lines (high tension electric company supply lines) stretching across some gunkholes and bays. Contacting one of these power lines with your mast is a rather dramatic "4th of July" fireworks type show - not to mention the damage it does to the boat and electronic/electrical systems. So particular attention needs to be paid to charts and visually to what is ahead.
- - Additionally, there are major bridges over the Chesapeake and although the main channel spans are extremely high, the spans off to either side are progressively lower. Lots of sailboats with shorter mast can save time and trouble using these "lower" spans, but not necessary you with 75 feet of mast. Just be careful and use up to date charts - which are available for free online from NOAA and can be used if you have a PC computer based navigation program.
- - Also if you travel north up the Chesapeake to the C&D canal to the Delaware River, you can turn north in the Delaware River and go up to Philadelphia. There are 3 or more good marinas there and the city is a great place to visit and spend a few days.
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