Advice on offshore hops instead of the ICW

[drewcathell]

We are heading south soon from Norfolk to Marathon and would like to do as many off shore hops as possible this year. Most folks we have spoken with seem to recommend the following stops:

Beaufort, Southport, Charleston, Brunswick, Jacksonville, Cape canaveral, Biscayne bay, Mararthon

Obviously weather will play a big role in choosing between the ICW and going offshore or skipping a city on the list and continuing to the next stop. Our question for those of you with experience in making these hops is what things to keep in mind with heading offshore in general or advice on improving the trip for any particular hop, i.e. A great spot to wait for a good weather window or a particular distance to stay off the coast for better conditions.

Thanks in advance. Drew and Kathy.

[Dockhead]

Why "hops"? Just go to sea and keep sailing until you get where you want to go. With a few exceptions only, that coast requires a lot of tedious navigation through barrier islands and passes, to get into a harbor. Who needs a harbor, if the weather is decent?

[wsmurdoch]

Beaufort, NC to Southport does not make a lot of sense. It is a long way around Cape Fear then back into the Cape Fear River. Beaufort to Wrightsville is doable in daylight then the ICW to Southport.

[boatpoker]

The weather when you go outside is one thing but coming back in an inlet it is critical that you don't meet tide vs. wind

[hpeer]

We stopped in St Marys for Thanksgiving week. That was a lot of fun and a great way to socialize. The locals out on a Thanksgiving diner for cruisers. I forget the details but we made a week of it.

http://www.riverviewhotelstmarys.com...s-thanksgiving

Then we were at Vero for Christmas where the cruisers had a pot luck Christmas diner. Vero had a free bus to the shopping centers and was very cruiser friendly.

https://www.covb.org/231/Municipal-Marina

[Nicholson58]

Great dismal swamp

[dlane1181]

Concur, unless you have physical or health issues that dictate crew rest.
After rounding Cape Hatteras southbound on one trip, we made brief weather stops in Morehead City and Charleston before our destination, Port Canaveral. The leg lengths were comfortable.

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

Beaufort, NC to Southport does not make a lot of sense. It is a long way around Cape Fear then back into the Cape Fear River. Beaufort to Wrightsville is doable in daylight then the ICW to Southport.

Southport is a nice place to visit and it is not necessarily necessary to go all the way around Cape Fear. Look at your chart about 4 miles offshore and you will see four mile slue.
Maybe not for the faint of heart but my 6 foot draft goes through there back-and-forth nearly every year.
There are many are many other inlets along the East Coast to pop into for weather. That’s what nautical charts are for.
I have single-handed from Beaufort to Florida many times and once passed Southport there is an inlet to pop into every day to keep from doing overnighters.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Great dismal swamp

Hummm. Didn’t know the Dismal Swamp Canal went outside.
I think the question was about going outside as opposed to doing the ICW.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[mnh]

I have a similar dilemma. We are planning to go from Hilton Head to Marathon in early November, and want to bypass Georgia and anything North of St. Augustine. We would like to ideally duck in at Fort Pierce. The problem is that with our speed over ground calculations, it's about 24 hours to St Aug, but 36 to Port Canaveral, and 48 to Fort Pierce. What this translates into is either leaving HH in daylight and then arrive at St Aug/Ft. Pierce during daylight hours, OR, leave HH at night and go into Canaveral in daylight. Besides the tide/wind issues which I am well aware of, I made it a point to try and go into new to me harbors only during daylight hours.

Can someone on this BB who has been into and out of these 3 harbors comment as to what their entry/exit experiences and strategy's have been?
Thanks in advance,
mnh

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

Beaufort, NC to Southport does not make a lot of sense. It is a long way around Cape Fear then back into the Cape Fear River. Beaufort to Wrightsville is doable in daylight then the ICW to Southport.

===


We frequently go offshore from Beaufort, NC to Southport via Masonoro Inlet. The inlet is deep, well marked, and safe in all normal weather conditions. This avoids the slog through or around Cape Fear shoals. From Southport we frequently go outside again at Little River Inlet, putting in again at either Georgetown (Winyah Bay) or Charleston, SC. From Charleston you can run all the way south to St Marys inlet (Fernadina) or any number of inlets along the Georgia coast.

[boatman1]

if you’re a couple (or more) and each of you is up to night watch, then it can be a pleasant and comparatively quick passage off shore. If it’s been awhile since you and the boat have performed passage making, there’s a strong argument to take the ICW to Beaufort, NC. It’s a great opportunity to “get back in the groove” and it avoids the stretch around Hatteras. It’s 48 hours doing that, with no way to get back inshore (unless Oregon Inlet and/or Ocracoke inlet happen to be navigable). You can linger in Beaufort until you’ve a good wx window and then head south. Charleston is a good stop, then Mayport/Jacksonville, then several all weather inlets Below Canaveral. Getting south of West Palm is something of a pucker factor, as you’ll want/need to be right in on the beach to stay out of the gulf stream. Prudence dictates doing that stretch with the crew rested. I’ve done Beaufort to Palm beach in one fetch (one crew) and I was pretty tired. Sailing south from palm beach is interesting as you cruise on past the booming metropolis of Miami and then transition to the more laid back Keys. One extra crew on board makes the night watches a good deal easier, especially for the poor skipper.

[sailorman7225]

I would time a Ft Pierce entry with care. I’ve run into a wicked current there. Personally I’d prefer Stuart or Lake Worth.

[JasonS]

We are on our way down now and arrived Jekyll Island Today:

Beaufort NC to Masonboro Inlet - Wrightsville Beach (we stopped in Carolina Beach as we prefer to Wrightsville)
Southport/cape Fear to Hilton Head. This is 190 miles and an overnight. However , you can stop at the following inlets if you want to do day sails.
Southport to Murrells
Murrells to Five Fathoms Creek
Five Fathoms Creek to Charleston or North Edisto
Charleston or North Edisto to Port Royal ( Hilton Head)
Tybee Roads (Hilton Head) to St Catherine’s Sound
We like the serene GA ICW and went inside from here t o Jekyll with an overnight along the way.
Jekyll to Cumberland - stay at one of the Cumberland anchorages
Cumberland to St Augustine
We stay inside after that but you could jump down to Cape Canaveral or longer down to Jupiter/Palm Beach/Boca Raton/Hillsboro/Ft Lauderdale/Miami

Good luck and enjoy. Feel free to follow our travels at Facebook.com/breathesaildive

Jason

[Enfant Du Vent]

Many sensible comments have been made.
MY primary advice is to do ICW from Norfolk to Beaufort, NC. Only then go out if/when you feel like it. On my first trip went inside to see Dismal Swamp Canal--ho hum--and the next 3 times "inside Hattaras" were based on comment from an experienced sailor in Charleston. As an 18 yo he and a mature skipper were going north and chose to go outside Hatteras. A storm came up and they ended up on the beach......he survived / skipper didn't. He explained that weather predictions are excellent as systems move from west to east--on land where everyone lives; but undetected "cells" can quickly form just offshore where no one is watching any more.

And then there was the couple I met in Ft. Lauderdale who said the roughest weather they had on their 4 year circumnavigation was going outside of Hatteras.



I preferred outside hops because I was single-handing and no one would make the coffee while I steered. (NO autopilot, and wind vane useless when under power.)


Harbors: Jacksonville = another ho hum; St. Augustine = charming. (Just be sure to set 2 anchors, as current can be very strong. I spent an hour kedging off the Lion's Gate bridge, after only setting one anchor.)