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Old 28-12-2014, 16:02   #16
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Re: Ii need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

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icw only goes to virginia tho?
Yes ICW only goes to Norfolk. After that you can do day sails up the Chesapeake and then down the Delaware Bay. Then out into the Atlantic from Cape May and up the Jersey coast.
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Old 28-12-2014, 18:47   #17
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Re: I need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

I have done the trip both inside (slowly) and outside (fast but with crew) in the last three years. Both have benefits.
All the postings contain everything I would do or have done.
With weather and destination planning in advance, both are doable. It is essential to have lots of fuel in addition to your main tank. Containers are cheap.
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Old 29-12-2014, 07:48   #18
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Re: I need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

I urge you to have an automobile size battery and functional navigation lights with LED bulbs. If your solar panels can't hack it, get some new ones. You may get caught in a passage that ends up in the dark, and you should have an anchor light. I assume that though you have sailed in Maine you have not gone south with this boat. Going south in September or October can mean facing strong SW winds, and you may only be able to make good at night.
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Old 29-12-2014, 07:55   #19
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Re: Ii need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

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Yes ICW only goes to Norfolk.
..................
Actually the New Jersey Coast has a well functioning ICW that runs from Cape May to Brille at Manasquan Inlet; however, the section south of Absecon inlet has a low fixed bridge. I have easily run the section from Atlantic City to Manasquan Inlet with my 4.3" draft and just a brief touch in soft mud near area south of the Point Pleasant Canal.

Those with a draft over 4.5 feet are excused from a need to be aware of the full extent of the ICW.
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Old 29-12-2014, 08:16   #20
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Re: I need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

You have already received much good advice. I would only add that for your first time, I think you should plan on the ICW to Norfolk, then up the Chesapeake, which is a great cruising area in the spring. Plan on stops at Smith Island, at St. Mary's (first capital of Maryland), at Solomon's Island for spare parts and repairs or replacements, at Annapolis, then through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (on a flood tide). Plan to arrive at the Delaware River at high water, then downstream through the Cape May Canal to anchor near the Coast Guard piers. Top off fuel, water and provisions at Cape May, wait for settled weather with a SW breeze, then go for Barnegat. If the weather turns bad or you are just too tired, you can pop into Atlantic City en route. From Barnegat to Sandy Hook is a good day trip. Stop at Atlantic Highlands if you need anything, then plan to be at Governor's Island just as the tide turns fair in the East River. After passing under the Throg's Neck Bridge, you'll be in Long Island Sound for some beautiful sailing. At the eastern end, go through the Race on an ebb tide and visit Block Island's Great Salt Pond. From Block, head for Marion, Mass. Go through the Cape Cod Canal and you have reached your destination. When you've made the trip a few more times, you can add in some more blue water time sailing outside, but you'll have plenty on your plate with this passage. Good luck (and you should know LUCK IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY)
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Old 29-12-2014, 09:46   #21
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Re: I need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

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i am sailing a 25 ft 1969 coranado fin keel with a 3.6 draft and a 9.9 johnston outboard 2 stroke. im looking to leave fernandina beach , florida in or around april 2015 to the inside of the hook of massachusetts. any advice for a beginer sailor?
i know i have to go on the inside at cape hatteras.
- is there any other places i should go around or avoid?
- some people say i cant do it in my little boat with my little engine?
- what is your opinion on the sailboat i am taking?
i will have a portable vhf, and a portable garmin gps. i have the icw flip book chart, and good ground tackle. sails are in good condition. not much of an electrical system. i have a depth finder and a compass, but i dont use much else than that. i want to sail outside as much as possible and was just planning each passage by the weather. any advice helps.
thanks

Get a real vhs. You can throw the hand held farther than it's range. They are cheap with no bells and whistles. I be skeptical of a 9.9 OMC. Not that they where bad but age and hrs. take their toll. I've had two that came with boats. Both quickly became the proverbial "boat anchor".

Other than that experience and crew info would be most important as usual.

Enjoy yourself.
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Old 29-12-2014, 10:08   #22
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Re: I need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

I would go the ICW to the Chesapeake in that boat. You can stop to rest whenever you want and a breakdown will not be a life threatening event. Have you ever checked the condition of your keel bolts and rudder? On the outside a decent NE wind against the Gulf Stream can be a very rough event.... one of the roughest I've been in ... even in a 47 footer....
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Old 29-12-2014, 10:38   #23
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Re: I need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

You have received a load of good advise. I think maybe after reading more of your responses. Hops off shore for a day sail are very few. You are not prepared for off shore singling. I don't mean that to sound derogatory. As some had said you just can't drop the hook. Your vessel sounds like it requires someone at the helm all the time. That does not cut it in heavy weather. If you elect to go off shore insure you have a good radar reflector, Clorox bottles don't show up on radar well. A ship wouldn't even know you where there. Giving them some advance notice might help?
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Old 29-12-2014, 10:45   #24
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Re: I need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

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I would go the ICW to the Chesapeake in that boat. You can stop to rest whenever you want ...............
Not really. There are several stretches where anchorages are over twenty miles apart. That could be three or four hours for a slow boat. You have to plan for anchorages.

Also, for much of the ICW, sailing is impossible or impractical. Power is necessary.
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Old 29-12-2014, 12:02   #25
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Re: I need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

you can vamp some power from the magneto on most outboards and convert it to dc with a rectifier the way a car does.

reading your posts it seems you've sailed from the gulf of Maine to Florida ?
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Old 30-12-2014, 04:44   #26
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Re: Ii need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

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Actually the New Jersey Coast has a well functioning ICW that runs from Cape May to Brille at Manasquan Inlet; however, the section south of Absecon inlet has a low fixed bridge.

Can you roughly estimate (inside) transit time from Cape May to Manasquan Inlet?

FWIW, a quick chart check describes that bridge (McGahn Bridge) clearance as 34.78' (NOAA) and 35' (C-Map). Perhaps that's enough for OP...

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Old 30-12-2014, 05:09   #27
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Re: Ii need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

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Can you roughly estimate (inside) transit time from Cape May to Manasquan Inlet?

FWIW, a quick chart check describes that bridge (McGahn Bridge) clearance as 34.78' (NOAA) and 35' (C-Map). Perhaps that's enough for OP...

-Chris
It's 118 statute miles along the NJ ICW from Cape May to Manasquan. Because of the low bridge that you mention, I've never taken the section from Cape May to Atlantic City that is about a 30 mile run offshore.

The section of the ICW from Atlantic City to Manasquan includes many easy anchoring opportunities in Barnegut Bay. I also like the head of the Metedeconk River at Brick, NJ. As a very casual cruiser, I take my time, so my transit of this area may taKe me four or five days! Afterall, I can spend three months to get from North Florida to Maine!

I'm not really a destination oriented cruiser.
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Old 31-12-2014, 03:35   #28
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Re: Ii need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

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It's 118 statute miles along the NJ ICW from Cape May to Manasquan. Because of the low bridge that you mention, I've never taken the section from Cape May to Atlantic City that is about a 30 mile run offshore.

The section of the ICW from Atlantic City to Manasquan includes many easy anchoring opportunities in Barnegut Bay. I also like the head of the Metedeconk River at Brick, NJ. As a very casual cruiser, I take my time, so my transit of this area may taKe me four or five days! Afterall, I can spend three months to get from North Florida to Maine!

I'm not really a destination oriented cruiser.

Interesting. I hadn't though to look for mile markers along there; thanks.

I'd prefer the leisurely approach, too.

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Old 31-12-2014, 03:53   #29
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Re: I need some advice on going from Florida to Massachusetts

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Top off fuel, water and provisions at Cape May, wait for settled weather with a SW breeze, then go for Barnegat. If the weather turns bad or you are just too tired, you can pop into Atlantic City en route. From Barnegat to Sandy Hook is a good day trip.
I personally would not recommend banking on Barnegat Light inlet to anyone who does not have local knowledge. I know it very well and it does not take much for the inlet to turn into a dangerous nightmare, particularly for a boat without good auxiliary power and the capability of standing offshore. While Barnegat is the obvious choice given it's position almost halfway between Cape May and Sandy Hook, it's just too much of a gamble. Get there when the wind is sets up against the tide and you're good and screwed. Then you have to head for the other inlets and in his boat, given it will be late in the day, that will not be a great situation. I think he's much better off taking Hudson's advice (AC, Manasquan, Highlands).

Technically, I believe, the ICW does continue up the Jersey coast, but as pointed out requires a couple of outside hops.

If you're not in a hurry, I would consider visiting some of the highlights of Maryland's eastern shore on the Chesapeake, like Oxford and St. Michael's, Oxford in particular. It's less direct than shooting up the western side of the Bay, but it's infinitely more scenic.

If your Garmin does not have marine charts built in, I would strongly urge you to get one that does. It will make the whole trip much easier and safer.
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