Chesapeake to Keys in January

[slomoracing]

Hey folks, curious if anyone has done the following route in January. If so I’d love constructive advice!

Chesapeake (Mobjack Bay) to ICW to Beaufort, NC.

From Beaufort, NC outside to just above Cape Fear, ICW to south of Cape Fear, then outside down to Florida (weather dependent) using the ICW as a bailout when things look rough. Staying inside the Gulf Stream is also the plan.

I’m in a Sabre 28, don’t love motoring but want to avoid going outside until below Hatteras. My mast height isn’t an issue for the ICW.

[Pandor]

I think you’ll fine that heading south you need to depart Chesapeake prior to Thanksgiving- or end of November at the very latest. Otherwise it is simply too cold unless you are talking about a heated cabin cruiser.

[slomoracing]

I have a cabin heater. Also I love the cold, like in a masochistic surf Maine in the winter kinda way. The other thought I’ve had is that with these extremely warm water temperatures this year that it will take longer to get colder especially as I’m traveling south?

[Jammer]

Are you by yourself? I have done some cold passages on Lake Superior. If you are putting in 10 hour days on the water then on cloudy, windy, cold days, it's going to be cold. If you are by yourself it's going to be bad, if you have crew to take turns with you can go below and thaw back out. Do you have a full cockpit enclosure? Or at least a dodger with extensions on it that will block some of the wind?


You may find that some docking/fuel/pumpout facilities are closed for the season or operating at reduced hours.


Does your cabin heater run off the engine coolant loop?


Do you have a diesel in your Sabre or an Atomic 4?


Do you have a feathering prop? You may want to replace it with a fixed prop to reduce the cost of repairs in the event you hit floating debris.

[slomoracing]

I won’t be solo, I’ll be with two other people. I have a fixed prop. I like simple. The cabin heater runs off diesel. The fuel does concern me if fuel docks are closed. I do plan on having spare fuel cans lashed to the bulwharks.

[chris mac]

This is the route we take every year. Norfolk to Beaufort is my favorite part of the icw. Several towns have free docks to give you a chance to stretch your legs and reprovision. We especially like the dismal swamp, but water levels may be low by January.
I'm assuming coming in in writesville beach, and back out cape fear river. Watch the currents and time it for a free ride south.
January will be cold, water temps in mobjack last fall dropped to 11c by mid November when we left. We didn't feel warm until bottom of Georgia. We were running our planar heater 24/7 for the first week.
Fuel will be limited, but available. Water will be scarce though
Have a fun trip!

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by slomoracing

I won’t be solo, I’ll be with two other people.

Three people in a Sabre 28? That's a cozy arrangement, but at least you can keep each other warm.

Many Chesapeake marinas will be closed, as you go south more and more will be open. Keep in mind days are shorter and you won't get a lot of solar power in November.

[slomoracing]

It’s funny but three normal size humans in a Sabre 28 feels about right. I’m used the trailer sailers. Or living in a short roof mid length Sprinter for four months. I’ve been living off and on out of my van for the last few years so the Sabre feels huge to me. Good to know about water temps. Crazy that Mobjack got that cold since I was surfing in Maine in November in a 4/3.

The couple joining me went down the Grand Canyon with me on a three week trip of mine where the temps didn’t get above 22F for five days. We’re pretty suited to roughing it.

I appreciate all the feedback immensely. I think planning on carrying extra food, water and fuel for the trip sounds smart so I don’t get surprised by a closed marina.

I have to have eye surgery in the beginning of December otherwise I would leave then.

[Scrimshaw4]

Have done the route many times and several after Dec. 1. Have had ice in the Virginia cut. Dismal Swamp route and Elizabet City are just not worth it. Hot spot your phone and use the Waterway Guide on the internet to check ahead on available fuel docks. Dock on the east side of the ICW when stopping in Coinjock. Great Prime Rib! Carry enough water to get into the Carolinas. Dowery Creek Marina outside of Belhaven, NC, is a favorite stop and place to replenish everything. Free laundry and courtesy car to get to town for supplies. Great docks. South of Cape Fear, in and out is the way to go if you have the weather. The Myrtle Beach YC in North Myrtle Beach is a great stop over too. Stay away from the Hauge Marina further south of it. Next great stop over is the Brunswick Landing Marina in Brunswick GA. JMHO

[slomoracing]

Good to know about the Virginia Cut, I wasn’t planning on using that section but now even more reticent to use it! I’ve motorcycled and driven down to the outer banks following sections of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal and was excited to see that area from the water.

[SailingHarmonie]

If you enjoy the cold and believe you are smart and knowledgable enough to wait out the weather for as long as it takes to get a good window for the the offshore passages, what is the question--exactly?

You are not going to be frozen into ice (unless it gets as cold as it did in 2019) so just do it.

We make this trip a lot, although always offshore. We find that after the first of November, the weather degrades quickly. It doesn't make it impossible to do the trip, just a LOT less pleasant, and offshore windows become a lot less frequent, and a lot shorter. And the consequences of missing a window call get much more serious. If you are offshore in January, you had best be prepared for winds of 45 knots and the associated seas. You might not see them, but forecasts are (surprise!) not always right.

If you are not familiar with the inlets along that stretch of the coast, many of them will be impassable to small boats for much of the winter as the distant winter gales in the North Atlantic raise significant swells and surf even if they have no local weather impact. You need to be prepared to tough it out in the ocean because running into the nearest inlet is not always going to be possible.

[slomoracing]

I was looking for advice like that from Scrimshaw4.

I only plan on going outside further south of Hatteras. If people have take the ICW from Norfolk just recommendations on marina’s etc, not taking the VA cut, cool stuff like that.

[Scrimshaw4]

When I mentioned ice in the Virginia Cut I should have included that it was skim If you do encounter a January freeze, the Corps would keep the canal open for commercial traffic. I can only image how thick it would have been in the Dismal Swamp Canal that is shallower. I wouldn't recommend the Swamp canal during the winter and besides it might be closed due to low water.

[mjscottinnc]

I’ve gone Beaufort to Florida, inside and out, strange as it may sound it’s been warming outside… depends on the year I guess. If you going inside north of the cape fear to avoid frying pan shoal, just use the slue, I do it all the time. Beaufort to wrightsville is an overnighter, leave at night and transit the slue in daylight. Shallowest lve seen in the slue is 15 foot. I try to follow the 60 foot contour to get some GS counter flow. If weather makes me go inside, I like stopping in Georgetown, sc, Charleston, Hilton head, windmill point is a great marina, same places as others in Brunswick. Generally speaking I leave between November 15 to the 20 I still freeze my butt of until Georgia. I’ve got family all down the Florida east coast so, I generally don’t stop at normal places.

[SailingHarmonie]

Originally Posted by slomoracing

I was looking for advice like that from Scrimshaw4.

I only plan on going outside further south of Hatteras. If people have take the ICW from Norfolk just recommendations on marina’s etc, not taking the VA cut, cool stuff like that.

I’ll repeat my advice that many inlets all along the coast down to Florida can frequently be impassable to small boats in the winter. If you are ok with handling a winter storm offshore, that’s OK, but ducking inside on short notice might not be possible. On a 28 foot sailboat, usable inlets might be two or even three days apart.

Not that it can’t be done, just be sure you include the possibility in your plans.