Virginia to NW FLorida

[Seeking Solace]

I'm planning a trip from just North of Norfolk Virginia to NW Florida the first week of June. I'm hating it because it's the first week of hurricane season. However I've got a window when school will be out and I can go taking my younger son (11) with me to return my 27' sailboat.

This just seems like a very long trip and I'm planning to take at least 30 days if not longer to make it. I know there is the ICW for much of the trip, but I'm hoping to get outside a little South of the Capes.

Does anyone have suggestions, warnings, or information that can help make this as pleasant a trip as possible? I'm a Gulf Coast guy so I know very little about the Atlantic side of things. I've seen the Atlantic a time or two, but not from the water.

I've got all the usual stuff, stove, oven, VHF, HF, 16 gal fresh water, 18 gallons diesel, 18hp inboard, the typical safety gear required. I'm looking for a good source for charts and things I might want to do (with the kiddo) on the trip. Also...What the heck can I do to keep him occupied and not bored out of his mind. I planned to take along some games to play(non-electronic) and plenty of good music.

I'd love to hear how you guys would prepare for the trip and save myself a lot of hard learned lessons. Links to other threads that are similar are appreciated too.

I'd especially like to hear from those who've made this trip already and can share the wealth of knowledge. Thanks in advance.

[donradcliffe]

to keep the kid from getting bored, give him something important to do--like driving the boat or navigating.

For charts, I'd use Navionics on a phone or tablet, or openCPN on a netbook with a GPS.

Hurricanes shouldn't be a problem in June, but keep an eye on the weather.

You can start going outside at Beaufort NC. Definitely go outside around Georgia--the ICW gets real meandering and the flies are mean. An autopilot would be a real help out in the ocean.

Lake Okeechobee would take days off the trip.

[Seeking Solace]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

to keep the kid from getting bored, give him something important to do--like driving the boat or navigating.

For charts, I'd use Navionics on a phone or tablet, or openCPN on a netbook with a GPS.

Hurricanes shouldn't be a problem in June, but keep an eye on the weather.

You can start going outside at Beaufort NC. Definitely go outside around Georgia--the ICW gets real meandering and the flies are mean. An autopilot would be a real help out in the ocean.

Lake Okeechobee would take days off the trip.

I'm fine with days off a trip so long. We've got all summer to get back, but I'd like to get back to work at some point. I'm never going to retire it seems, but owning my own company allows me to do just about anything I want with my time. That's probably why I'm not retiring anytime soon, or ever for that matter.

I'm an avid ham radio guy so I have a keen interest in weather and especially the hurricane season. So I don't have trouble getting and reading weather from the HF or voice.

I think it's a great idea to give him important jobs such as rotational meals and such. I'm pretty insecure about putting him on a watch, but I'll know more after we get going for a week or two about his level of seamanship. He's pretty much as green as it gets so I'm hoping to teach him a great deal of things on this one. He's really very smart, and I'm not just bragging about the kid.

I'll look into the different programs you mentioned for charts. I'm familiar with a couple of them, but I've never needed to use them before. I do have an ST1000 so if it's still working properly there is that. I'm going to have to look up how much power it uses. I'm considering picking up at least one good solar panel (if not two)and MPPT charge controller. There are two group 27 batteries one for house and one for start on a decent switch. I hadn't really considered what the power consumption of a laptop running nav software would be at all.

Is there a cruiser's guide book that's recommended for the route? We're not going to be in an awful hurry so I'd like to get a chance to stop once and a while and see some things along the way. I'm a Florida native and never have been South of Orlando, been out West but not up or down the East coast short of in a car in Florida.

[jtaylo9576]

Last year my wife and I sailed from St Petersburg Fl to Hampton Va in May. Trip was 3 1/2 weeks on 43ft sailboat. Keeping your 11 year old challenged during the inland passages (ICW-Ocachoobe) will be the tough part but there are many interesting places you will be transiting and you two may enjoy "smelling the roses" as you travel. This trip will probably take longer than 3 weeks though since you will invariably encounter delays ( weather etc) and your boat's speed is a factor. We were not able to utilize the mid Florida shortcut through the canal due to our mast height. We also had a 4 day weather wait in Miami, no complaints there, great city.
Going outside is not for the faint of heart or inexperienced. You did not mention your experience level but it sounds like it will be just you and son on 28ft sailboat. If you are experienced then this point is unnecessary but if you"re new I would caution you to reconsider long outside legs on a small boat with young crew.
My wife and I sail outside during favorable weather and did so on portions of our trip home last year. Outside from Miami to Lake Worth, outside from Lake Worth to Ft Pierce, then outside from St Augustine to Charleston SC (31 hours). We have also, in the past, sailed outside from Beaufort NC to Savannah Ga. This type travel requires planning and compliance to be enjoyable. ICW travel is much easier but it also tends to take longer.
Maybe you could break the trip up into stages and leave the boat in certain planned marina's, go home and then come back for boat and continue trip.
Certainly hope this helps!

[dennisjay]

Plan for taking breaks ashore every week. Depending on his (and your) interests, there’s a ton of cool stuff to do along the way, ranging from great hiking to historical sites to Disney World. Involve him in planning. Could be a great bonding adventure. Good luck.

[captstu]

Splitting the trip between part in the ICW and part offshore won't save you much time - unless you are out for 2 days or so, the time in and out of the inlets consumes most of the savings of being outside such as bridges and wiggles in the ICW.

If your mast is under 49 feet you can cross the middle of Florida via the Okeechobee Waterway - saves about 3 to 5 days compared with the Cape Florida route - and is a lovely trip thru the middle of nowhere. There are several inexpensive and free docks along the way, lots of places to stop but limited provisioning. The cross Florida trip takes about 4 days if you relax.

Overall, the trip should take about a month.

[mchlsutton]

A couple of suggestions for interesting excursions along the way that your son should enjoy:

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras
Patriots point in Charleston
Pirates museum in Beaufort (N.C.)
Fort Sumter tour in Charleston

I would certainly suggest stopping for a few days in Charleston and Savannah on the way for the beauty and history that both offer, but as my list above points out, there are things of interest in even the small out of the way towns on the Atlantic coast along your way. This should be a memory that we'll least a lifetime for your son, fair winds and best wishes to you.

[EEC]

I just brought my boat up from Brunswick GA Myrtle Beach SC. Final destination is New England but we'll be making the second leg of the trip late may/June. Brunswick to Myrtle took 6 days.

We were hoping to go outside until Beaufort NC but bad weather kept us on the ICW the whole way. I found the waterway guide book very helpful (especially since my depthsounder stopped working and we just had a handheld one on the end of a boat hook).

As a kid I loved taking the dinghy exploring, there are tons of places to anchor and do this on the icw if you have one.

[John_Trusty]

Eleven is certainly old enough to take part in all the important duties of cruising. I suggest you involve him in the navigation heavily, as a minimum to eliminate the constant question, "how long will it be?" You can ask him that question! Pickup at least a few paper charts to plot your position and progress (https://frugalnavigator.com/collecti...for-eastern-us). This is not just a safety matter (which it is), but also is easier to 'picture' the entire cruise, and will become a great memento of the voyage. Teaching a young person some ded reconning navigation and depending on him to do it daily is a great life lesson.

I suggest you do some searching on this, and NOAA, sites regarding the location and effects of the Gulf Stream. It's hell to sail away the day, and then figure out that the water current had more effect on your position than your sailing!

[Rocinante33]

Good idea to take an 11 year old along. He will be a lot less bored than you think. I just took two twin 11 year olds for 10 days from Miami to Key West and back.

Random thoughts;

Second the important (but supervised) job assignment thing.

Definitely a dinghy. I got ashore every couple of days and this is pretty important. Also, in South Florida I have let the 11 year olds tag along beside me in the dinghy when I have determined it to be safe in narrow and uncrowded parts of the ICW. (Probably not legal, but no law enforcement ever gave me a second look). It encourages responsibility in a way that few other things that kids can do will.

The Okeechobee route will cut days off, but a trip through the Keys is magic for 11 year olds. South of Angelfish Creek the water turns gin clear in the Hawk Channel and there are lots of well marked reefs with mooring balls that allow for fantastic snorkeling and plenty of havens within a few hours sailing. Maximum distances to safe shelter by motor are rarely more than two hours.

It is easy to maintain a schedule of anchoring out on one night and hitting a marina the next all the way down to Key West.

There are great opportunities like that separated by a few hours sailing all the way down the Keys.

Alligator Reef was a particular favorite. Snorkeling in the shadow of a historic lighthouse in five feet of sapphire water with fish/sharks/rays will be a lifetime highlight for the kids.

The run to Naples is long and you need to respect the distance and weather on that, but the Keys by water are like nothing else in Florida. Frank Papy's Cruising Guide to the Keys is a useful companion.

Good charting software (I use Navionics+) is absolutely critical if you draw five feet.

Feel free to PM me if you want any further thoughts.

[tomrealest]

The biggest challenge is going to be to keep Your Son from being bored. I would suggest a project of taking pictures or videos of pasting boats transoms and to organize a project to keep the pictures organized by where You see them or where they are from or type of boats or multiple other things in multiple computer files. You could use a digital camera, smart phone or tablet. He should also keep a journal of the trip with You suggesting copy to put in it. He could add pictures to the journal. If he is going into the 6th grade next year, I would arrange an appointment with one of the 6th grade teachers to get ideas if any of the experiences would fit into the lesson plan for 6th grade. There would have to be multiple projects that he could use the experience from the trip for his school work. Maybe an online blog with his friends and classmates about the trip would keep him in touch with his friends and make him a traveling “Star”. I would have a couple of fishing lines to tow because catching a fish can always be exciting. He should have exciting or interesting books to real on the trip. When You stop there is usually reading material around the marina,

Google potential stops on the trip. For instance, Oriental has a museum that might interest him, etc. I would definitely stop in Charleston and St Augustine. Use Uber or cabs to get places. Take him to the beach. Kids love the beach and there might be other kids to play with. I would definitely skip all of Georgia from Charleston or Beauford, SC. I love Beauford SC. I would stay at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Your son would never forget a trip to Parris Island and the USMC. I would stay outside to St Mary;s river to Fernandina Beach.

I would buy Skipper Bob, Anchorages Along the Intracoastal Waterway. It would be invaluable to You in this trip.
I don’t want to hog this thread but PM me for more thoughts.

[DenverSailors]

I did the trip from Annapolis to Tampa last summer, mostly with my 16 and 10 year olds. They were never bored. I'm surprised no one mentioned fishing yet but we had a great time using what we catch and keep in Colorado as bait to haul in a variety of fish along the way. Some of the fish were just odd to a mountain man, most were tasty! When motoring, we hung a hammock from bow to mast; they hung over the sides; spotted dolphin and alligators; and piloted most of the way. We didn't skip the ICW in Georgia as recommended, and got grounded as promised...but even that was an adventure! We have memories for a lifetime and the day we docked in Tampa was bittersweet: we made it...but the adventure was over. You are creating great memories and I love your commitment to your son and your boat! BTW...I printed charts for the whole trip, but only used the Garmin app in the iPad and iPhone without issue. We avoided marinas but-for fuel and provisions, and the scenery was always fascinating. As a rite of passage...there are few better. Crossing Okeechobee was humbling because I couldn't picture how large it would be in my mind's eye. Fair Winds!!!

[Seeking Solace]

These are great suggestions and I'm taking some notes. I've got some work I've got to get done when we get there to get things ready and it looks like some minor maintenance things to square away as well. Lucky enough I have an old friend I've known since I was 12 just 30 miles South of the marina.

Any suggestions on provisioning? Just a stove, oven, and icebox so no fridge on this one. I'm sure we'll be stopping a good bit because of that. I considered a water maker, but it would far exceed my budget and we've got lots of room to pack things away without unbalancing things. 12 gallon fresh water tank and 16 gallon diesel tank.

[DenverSailors]

You're better equipped than we were. I'd suggest a couple 5 gallon Jerry cans of water and diesel...and I'm sure it's overkill...but that's me. We had an alcohol stove, bottled water, and a cooler. We stocked up on UHT milk, powder coffee mate, cereal, and lots of pasta and just-add-water provisions. Beer, ice, soda and stuff for fish tacos, of course. Eggs are great because you can stow them without refrigeration, and when some break...scrambled is terrific. Simple, cheap, easy. Fair Winds!

[DenverSailors]

While I'm at it...I bought all the Skipper Bobs, Waterway Guides, and read countless Great Loop books and posts, but on the boat...all we used was the Garmin BlueChart app synced with Active Captain and it was plenty.

I'm not the sailor others on this site are, but we learned a great deal, and it whetted our appetites for a future living the cruising,circumnavigating lifestyle. Now if we can just talk the 10 year old into dropping out of school...