New to Sailing

[Missie]

My brother bought a 40ft sailboat in the Daytona area and needs to sail it to Port St Richey. Can anyone tell me approx. how long that would take as I have to take the time off work to help him.

Your help is appreciated

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Missie.

[skipmac]

Hi Missie and welcome to the forum.

Assume you referring to New Port Richey, just north of Clearwater? Have you asked your brother if he knows how far and how long he plans for the trip? If he can't figure this out on his own maybe he needs to get some experienced help for the trip.

Anyway, the distance is about 500 miles to New Port Richey from Daytona. How long it would take depends a LOT on a number of things. First is the weather. This time of year strong weather fronts with high winds are common and it might be too dangerous to go out for a day or several days.

Next does he plan to go out in the ocean and sail non-stop or stay in the Intracoastal Waterway and only motor in daytime? The first option, if the weather is good, might take 4-6 days. The second could take a couple of weeks.

[CHM]

That boat is unlikely to clear the bridge near Indiantown and the water is nasty going that way. I would take it down the ICW all the way around as there are plenty of marinas and help if you need it. Get a Sea Tow membership and tow package before you leave. You can take your time getting there and you can always rent a car if you need to work. I wouldn’t go outside until you all are familiar with the boat and the weather is more of a factor on the open water.

[denverd0n]

Ditto the comment that your brother should know the answers to these things, and if he doesn't then he might need some help with the move. Details about the height of the mast, and the depth of the keel would also be good information, to decide the best route. He might do the ICW most of the way, he might cross Okeechobee, or he might go outside most of the way. So, it could be a little over a week, or a little over a month -- it just depends.