New England to ICW to Florida in May-June?

[TomLoch]

We're interested in planning a cruise down the classic route inside Long Island, down NJ, up the Delaware to the Chesapeake, and then down the ICW. I absolutely hate being cold, and having crewed 3 times on boats headed south starting in late October (freezing), I'm thinking now with the luxury of retirement of leaving Mass. early/mid May and getting somewhere in northern Florida before end of June, taking our time. Odds very low of a hurricane that early. We'd plan ahead to find a marina and haul out, come back home, then return in the fall after hurricane season and launch for the next stage to Bahamas or Caribbean. I find tons of information and stories of people who make this trip south in the fall, but very little about doing it in the spring. Am I missing something? Are there other things I should be thinking about related to this timing? All info and opinions appreciated! We're in a solid C&C Landfall 38 monohull... have cruised extensively all over New England, Maine, Nova Scotia, etc. Thanks!

[rwidman]

We will be making part of that trip around the same time frame. Charleston, SC to south FL on the ICW.


We have done it before but on the St. Johns River in FL. We usually leave May 1 or so and it's usually warm enough that we are comfortable. Massachusetts might be a little cooler at that time of year.


There's nothing unusual about the trip so if your start date is flexible, just wait until it's warm enough to suit you.

[Badsanta]

The reason most go later is the insurance company won't let them go south of virgina till October. You wil be motoring alot so add a heater to your hot water system. Works great and warms things up in the morning or before anchoring ant when motoring the ICW all day

[skipmac]

As noted, leaving New England May you could certainly encounter some cold days and the water will certainly be cold. And as also noted, your insurance company may jump your rates for leaving the boat in FL during hurricane season, hauled or not.

Regarding weather and safety, you could catch a late season nor'easter so take normal precautions with the offshore hops.

[Captain Bill]

You are clear that in a sailboat you will have to go off shore from Sandy Hook to the Delaware Bay aren't you? May will be a cool month as far south as the Carolinas as it takes a while for the water to warm up. During the spring it's much cooler on the water than it is on the land. Being a new england sailor you're probably well prepared for this anyway.

[One Chance]

Hi Tom
Why head south in May? I would not want to be in our C & C in hot humid weather! We find it more comfortable in our C & C 36 to head north as our boat is TOO HOT in warmer humid weather. We are planning to launch in April this year(retiring) & spend a few months on the Hudson/Champlain?LI Sound & cruising in New England waters, then plan on heading south in early October as the weather changes. Hopefully staying ahead of the colder weather as we head south. Also a reason for leaving at that time is the insurance/end of hurricane season.
Almost everyone is heading north at this time of yea(May/June) to escape the southern heat & to enjoy our comfortable New England weather.
Whatever you decide good luck!

Fairwinds
One Chance

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Tom.

[Hudson Force]

Tom, welcome to the community. Since you have cruised extensively in New England you know the weather in May and what you will encounter will be warmer than that. We frequent this route and find it very enjoyable.

The outside run from Sandy Hook to Cape May does offer easy stops at Manasquan and Absecon Inlets when considering weather. In addition you could cut Cape May with the canal, but I doubt you can fit under the 55' (mean high water) bridges.

There are two locations on this route where we make a "security call" to inquire about meeting large commercial traffic. One is Elliott Cut just south of Charleston, SC. This cut is short, but narrow with a strong current and not a good place to deal with confronting barge traffic. The other is at the "Rock Pile" at North Myrtle Beach, SC. Here the channel is narrow with rocks unseen at high tide. Also, not a good place to meet barge traffic.

In addition, there are many areas where you can take a hop off shore when the weather cooperates. We enjoy the many peaceful wilderness anchorages along the ICW.

[capt-couillon]

Good luck.... sounds like a fun ride. Most traffic will be snowbirds headed north. Smile as you go by. Since you have to make the outside passage from Sandy Hook to Cape May anyway, might suggest running the last 100 miles down the coast to Cape Charles (Norfolk) outside as well. The distance is a lot less than the 250 or so via the C&D route and weather permitting it's not a bad run. Layup in Atlantic City for a night is a good break point. Just sayin...

Summer in FL is great in the fact that it is less crowded, cheaper, and generally more laid back. Yeah it's warm, but if I want cold I would be living in Wyoming... Lately the hurricanes have been as bad in the NE as the South. Dodge ball.

Again, weather permitting and crew willing, there are several sections you may wish to jump outside for. All discussed elsewhere at length. Savannah to St Mary's, Port Everglades to Miami, etc.

Enjoy your winter planning...

[DeborahLee]

Great idea I added one to mine used the engine cooling to the heater. I used a Red Dot school bus heater they have several sizes with fans. You are bound to find one that will fit with out a lot of modification. It only cost $110 probably more now. At night I ran my Honda 2000 and a ceramic heater although now I think I would go for a 12v electric blanket.

[zboss]

Bugs bugs bugs! Hope you like greenheads.

Kidding, sort of. Are you planning on staying in Florida for the season?


Being a Floridian I'll tell you that June is just the start of the hot humid period. It doesn't get really hot and humid until the first week in September! Better have A/C.

[TomLoch]

Thanks so much, everyone, for your helpful advice and comments! We're feeling pretty good about doing the trip with this timing now. The early summer heat down south will be more welcome to us than late fall cold - and since we're not planning to stay there with the boat all summer, we'll miss the worst of the heat. The goal is still to cross to the Bahamas or the thornless path to the Caribbean when fall comes and we resume the voyage after hurricane season, just to avoid how friggin' cold it can get up north if we waited until fall. (I know most others do it down in the fall, and I have three times on others' boats, and I recall on my first trip not even taking off all my layers and foulies for the first 72 hours or so, even to sleep - and I just don't want that experience again!)

Thanks too for the suggestion to run down the coast all the way to Norfolk inside of up the Delaware and down the Chesapeake. I'll have to look more into that. And of course as several of you pointed out, talk to my insurance agent.

What fun it is to plan a voyage while the snow approaches here!
All best,
Tom

[zboss]

You could always ship the boat by truck, unless of course you really want to just do the ICW. If you shipped it, it would be about the same cost as the wear and tear on the boat when moving it on its own bottom. It would be on the hard during the hurricane season and overall less cost to store. Then you would be able to commission it right before leaving.

[TomLoch]

That's an interesting idea, trucking the boat down, something I haven't really considered. Of course I'd enjoy the cruise down, but maybe if that turned out not practical? I can't imagine what it might cost, however, north of Boston to Florida, 38-foot boat with 5-ft draft and 12-ft beam, would require a big truck and presumably a chase vehicle, plus unstepping and stepping the mast - you really think that's the same cost as cruising down plus wear and tear? Anyone have experience with something like that? Have to do some research....

[zboss]

Originally Posted by TomLoch

That's an interesting idea, trucking the boat down, something I haven't really considered. Of course I'd enjoy the cruise down, but maybe if that turned out not practical? I can't imagine what it might cost, however, north of Boston to Florida, 38-foot boat with 5-ft draft and 12-ft beam, would require a big truck and presumably a chase vehicle, plus unstepping and stepping the mast - you really think that's the same cost as cruising down plus wear and tear? Anyone have experience with something like that? Have to do some research....

Maybe 3K or 4K? It costs about 2K in wear and tear (engine hours, sails, consumables, fuel, marinas, moorings, stops at the "must do" restaurants and towns, and so forth) going down the ICW on our 38 foot Cabo Rico. At the end we still have to haul out to paint, check the prop, cutless, rudder, zincs, grease the through-hulls, etc. before heading to the Bahamas.

If time is important you can gauge how much that means to you in dollars.

We can do the ICW (all the way inside) from the Chesapeake down to Miami in about 17 to 20 days if we move all day and every day.. Faster if we go offshore. I work from the boat and we don't really take vacations anymore so that time is my vacation time.