ICW-East Coast

[boatman61]

Hi Thom.. never raced boats in my life.. officially.. not a masochist and I'd likely punch out the skipper with the mouth.
So ignore everything that follows..
For the less 'Elite'..
The reason most cruisers choose the ICW over via Bermuda is down to simple economics..
If for example one wished to get South to Florida or the Islands from NY one faces a 1st leg with lots of commercial traffic and 650 odd miles crossing the GS in one of its less friendly areas well known for breaking boats.. at the end of which they have to circle round to the South to enter Bermuda due to the many outlying reefs to the N and either side of the island.. I've know friends who've taken two weeks+ to make the trip and needed to spend time with repairs on arrival in Bermuda.. not cheap.
After that its another 1000 odd miles non-stop S to where you want to end up.. E or W of the island chain.
This to be honest.. and no deprecation intended.. is over and above the level of cruising many folk wish to endure.. they want pleasure not pain.
Personally.. being a Gung Ho Egotistical ******* I take the Longer route and shorter time.. it pays more per nm than the slower route..
An ICW delivery at owners insistence I would do if I just wanted a relaxed holiday.. and could afford the related Pay Cut.
Nice breakfast.. lunch on the hook and later anchor up to watch a lovely sunset.. and a 40nm daily average.
Minimum stress and wear and tear.. and no family/crew giving you the evil eye.. coz you scared em shitless..

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Hi Thom.. never raced boats in my life.. officially.. not a masochist and I'd likely punch out the skipper with the mouth.
So ignore everything that follows..
For the less 'Elite'..
The reason most cruisers choose the ICW over via Bermuda is down to simple economics..
If for example one wished to get South to Florida or the Islands from NY one faces a 1st leg with lots of commercial traffic and 650 odd miles crossing the GS in one of its less friendly areas well known for breaking boats.. at the end of which they have to circle round to the South to enter Bermuda due to the many outlying reefs to the N and either side of the island.. I've know friends who've taken two weeks+ to make the trip and needed to spend time with repairs on arrival in Bermuda.. not cheap.
After that its another 1000 odd miles non-stop S to where you want to end up.. E or W of the island chain.
This to be honest.. and no deprecation intended.. is over and above the level of cruising many folk wish to endure.. they want pleasure not pain.
Personally.. being a Gung Ho Egotistical ******* I take the Longer route and shorter time.. it pays more per nm than the slower route..
An ICW delivery at owners insistence I would do if I just wanted a relaxed holiday.. and could afford the related Pay Cut.
Nice breakfast.. lunch on the hook and later anchor up to watch a lovely sunset.. and a 40nm daily average.
Minimum stress and wear and tear.. and no family/crew giving you the evil eye.. coz you scared em shitless..

Lots of good info. Thanks. Crossing to Bermuda doesn't sound too good especially if you are a singlehander on a small boat

My sister has warned me many times about sailboats she had seen in the GS (the better part crossing from Florida) when the wind was northerly that were just sort of stuck in big waves and going nowhere. (she was on either a 35' Yacht or 44' yacht with large diesel with her husband and crew)

As far as load mouth skippers and punches, that just goes with the territory in buoy racing which is why I was calling it ridiculous before.

There's yelling on the starting line. Then coming into the downwind mark at 5-20 knots with 2-5 other boats with spinnakers up, there are sometimes threats laced with foul language etc. especially if boats are overlapped

Then there's the rounding where you have to drop the spinnaker and round without fouling which gets interesting as a singlehander since you have to let go of the tiller to get the spinnaker down, then bring in the main (sheet in, traveler in), make the turn, and get back out on the trapeze. (but you cannot go wide around to avoid the other boats because then you lose. it's to slow that way. you have to stay in tight and fight for position)

Cruising and enjoying the day, nature, sun, moon, sky, coastline is a nice alternative to racing is my thinking these days.......

[thomm225]

Oh, I forgot to add that once all boats have returned to the beach after say 4-5 races most of the aggression is gone

Or each of us loud mouth Skippers have pissed off so many sailors that there would be lines forming and who has time to wait.

So, it's sea ya next week "expletive", but first help me take down my mast

Damn, I'm starting to miss buoy racing!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Seymore

You're talking about Tania Aebi's first trip? Where she, as I remember, pushed away from the dock in New York harbor, immediately ran aground and had to be towed around the shoals out of the harbor?

I finished up the last decent book I had last night then saw Tania's Book Maiden Voyage barely sticking out from under a pile of other books when I went searching for another

The book starts with her final Atlantic Crossing. She's 880 miles off New York in gale force winds nearing 50. Her Contessa 26 has already been knocked down several times but she is still making way.

Speaking of a crash course in sailing/cruising (that from another thread) This is just two and one half years from her start mentioned above when she was 18 years old

http://www.emahomagazine.com/2013/12...h-tide-sailor/

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I wonder why everyone motors down the ICW to get to the Bahamas rather than sail out to Bermuda then head South.. (or East of the Gulf Stream then South)..............................

It could be they enjoy the trip on the ICW. It could be they want to stop at night. It could be they enjoy the towns and anchorages along the way. It could be they enjoy meeting fellow boaters. And it could be they feel safer on the ICW.

[thomm225]

Could be ....Tania took a different route though. Bermuda then South

You are right though, it is definitely the way some want to travel. I've seen plenty sailboats motoring the ICW along the Gulf Coast even though the beauty is in the gulf.

Crystal clear Blue/Green water.

First time I was there in the early '90's, I parked my Hobie 16 about 2 miles out in the Gulf and dove overboard trying to touch the bottom. It looked so close. I was outside Destin on the Ft Walton Beach side

Plus, I've done quite a bit of ICW already. A 50 miles stretch here, 20 there etc from this area as far south and west as Biloxi, Mississippi. It gets old

[Captain Bill]

I don't know why one would go all the way east to Bermuda to go to the Bahamas. Many people in NC leave from Beaufort, go SE to cross the stream then south to the Abacos. They watch for a weather window and go. The monohulls usually take 4 days and the cats 3 to 3.5. Leaving the Chesapeake would add another day of so with the added complication of getting around Cape Hatteras. If you look at maps of the gulf stream, it's not all that wide off of the Carolinas and it gives you a little easting as you cross.

[Captain Bill]

Going to Bermuda to see Bermuda is different from going to Bermuda to avoid a trip down the ICW which is how I read your opening post. I was just pointing out that not everyone takes the ICW to Florida to go to the Bahamas.

[Captain Bill]

OK, where did Thomm225's last post go. I was responding to a post I read from him but when I posted my reply his post #23 was gone and my post was now 23. Thomm225 did you delete a post?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

OK, where did Thomm225's last post go. I was responding to a post I read from him but when I posted my reply his post #23 was gone and my post was now 23. Thomm225 did you delete a post?

Yeah, I didn't like parts of it so deleted the whole thing.

Thanks for you post.

[Seymore]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Yes, she was 18 years old and it was her first solo sail I believe. From there, she sailed to Bermuda which took her like 2 weeks ....maybe 20 days.

She was worried she'd missed it and sailed to far East but she found it. She was learning celestial Nav as she went.

Tania Aebi was very brave, but at that point she couldn't spell 'boat', so her decision to go by way of Bermuda isn't relevant.

[tuffr2]

To me the ICW gets narrow in places. And could get boring. One reason I am moving to Florida to bypass most of it.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Seymore

Tania Aebi was very brave, but at that point she couldn't spell 'boat', so her decision to go by way of Bermuda isn't relevant.

Actually it is relevant because it's where I came up with the idea ...... from reading her book. That and I work with a guy that was stationed there

But you are right about her (and those around her) that help her prepare.

She had done only one Atlantic crossing before taking off solo and that was when she was maybe 16. For that, she and her family took a one week sailing course, bought a boat, then set sail from England.

On her solo trip on the Contessa 26, the actual trip to Bermuda was the shake down. The chain plates leaked so bad water covered the cabin solo after the first storm. The water tank was contaminated with some sort of fiberglass residue, and she had multiple engine problems. All this was discovered about 200 miles offshore except the engine which she started having problems with almost immediately

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

To me the ICW gets narrow in places. And could get boring. One reason I am moving to Florida to bypass most of it.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Yep, it does get narrow especially when you have to sail it, at night, with no engine to rely on....... but I only had to sail 50 miles of it on 4 different occasions. Only 2X did we have to sail late at night arriving at our destination around 3 am. (Ft Walton Beach)

The bitch is the barges when the wind drops and you are in the channel especially when you have no radio or running lights. We did have a flashlight though that we used to point at the sails when near approaching boats. (Beach cats don't have running lights)

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

To me the ICW gets narrow in places. And could get boring. One reason I am moving to Florida to bypass most of it.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I've always felt the opposite.

Miles offshore with nothing or at must a smudge of land on the horizon...talk about boring.

On the ICW, there are towns to see rolling by. Lots more wildlife to see. It's more challenging from a navigation perspective. Way more to keep you from getting bored.