Transit Time? NY-FL

[olepedersen]

You will be sorry,only 2 persons in high traffic area wont work I have done deliveries up and down the eastcoast since the seventies in November you will hit a blow,you will be tired,hungry,cold, scared etc. anyway go sandy hook to norfolk and see how few inlets are good from there south oh dont forget you will only come in when the sun shines RIGHT
good luck Ole

[annsni]

Originally Posted by scoobert

well we have a racing boat, so during my watch (16 hours) we will be in top form, but before the wifes watch i will switch to the 64% genoa and throw in a reef. then if she gets into trouble, it takes a while.

How will you be in "top form" when in March, you didn't know how to sail?

[Don1500]

Just as the tip of the Lady in the Harbor's flame is disappearing over the horizon you will hear: "Are we there yet?" and that will be the start if a pretty miserable 30 days.

I am into day 10 of an expected 7 days to Daytona from Myrtle Beach. A broken wire that killed the engine at 10PM on a dark night in the middle of a cramped channel, a blocked toilet, and a day in the ocean at 98° with no wind, have made this a memorable trip, so far.

The good days won't stop you, but there will be bad days, and broken things. When you have your head down in the toilet trying to flush out a clogged line AND your in the same 10 ft seas you have been in for 5 days, the beauty of the sea fades.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by scoobert

yes, i have been on the great loop website. its pretty sparse on the ICW from FL to NY.
i did learn on that site i cannot complete a loop on my boat, due to draft.
kind of a bummer.
i think the ICW has a channel of very deep draft? i thought it was used by huge ships?
i will have to reread the part about the canal down south thou. not sure if i can make that area.
regardless, i will sail as much as i can comfortably and safely.

You might want to rethink this trip or, at the least, take an experienced person with you.

[Don1500]

"I think the ICW has a channel of very deep draft?" ROTFLMAO!

Near Swansboro, NC, Came across a tug with a barge, hard aground, waiting for the tide, I read 7' just in front of the barge. Outside the entrance to Jerret Creek (McCullenville, SC) I passed by with less than 1"(inch) under my 5.5' keel in the center of the ICW. The whole stretch from McCullenville to Isle Of Palms is dicey at low tide. 5.5ft is less than 1/2 the 12' the Corpse of Engineers claims, but at low tide you will see less than that in many places. (All of the places I mentioned were in well traveled parts of the ICW and do not have any current plans to be dredged.) I generally go outside from Savannah to Fernandina just to avoid the shoaling in Georgia. Yesterday I came in to Jekyll Island from the north and Had less than zero feet showing on my depth sounder. I was pushing through soft mud for about 100'. People here said I would be lucky to find 6' at low tide near marker G19 coming into Jekyll. Going south from here is better.

[Lasata]

Mark; I remember not hitting truly warm weather last year until Ft Lauderdale... Sure was a cold one. This is why I am starting in October provided the weather cooperates.

Scoobert; you'll probably want to avoid Hatteras (go inside behind Norfolk through the VA Cut, then exit again at Beaufort, NC). I am planning a total of 10 days down to Miami, mostly outside with the exception mentioned above. I've budgeted 5 of those days from half way down the Chesapeake through to Beaufort... Remember, you have locks and bridges to wait for in the ditch, AND you can / should only run during daylight hours while in the ditch.

...IMHO,
Ralph G

[jimking100]

Scoobert, some posts have been insulting so I won't go down that road but there has also been some very insightful messages that you should heed. I have made the trip several times. Once on the outside from Beauford to Charleston, my one crew member became incapacitated from sea sickness and he was a long time sailor. I ended up hand steering (auto-pilot couldn't handle the conditions) for 44 hours before reaching Charleston. That is a long time to be tethered to the helm. I draw 6"8" and had to wait on the tide a few times in SC and Georgia but it can be done, Also, the temperature can be freezing at this time of year, near St. Marys, I saw 21deg F at night for over a week. I am always the optimist but suggest you really reconsider your plan. Good luck and fair winds...hope to hear from you when it is all over. PM me if you would like to talk in person, I can give you a lot more details.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

A good watch system for two people is
0000 - 0400
0400 - 0800
0800- 1300
1300-1700
1700-2400

Do you toss a coin to decide who gets the seven hour shift?

Originally Posted by MarkJ

...person on-watch cooks.

I would like to suggest a better alternative is that the person on watch keeps a good lookout .

[WebWench]

We bought our boat from seasoned sailers. They told us that the best way to get off shore experience is to crew with an experienced captain a few times. Then make sure you have plenty of crew when you start sailing your own boat off shore. People get sick, injured or incapacitated. If you have 4 people on board, at least three with offshore experience, you put the odds in your favor.
If this is your first offshore trip and you are taking only one inexperienced crew with you...you may be risking both your lives. What happens if you get hurt or incapacitated? What will your wife do? Is this trip really worth that?
My suggestion....take your time and go crew with experienced people first!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by WebWench

We bought our boat from seasoned sailers. They told us that the best way to get off shore experience is to crew with an experienced captain a few times. Then make sure you have plenty of crew when you start sailing your own boat off shore. People get sick, injured or incapacitated. If you have 4 people on board, at least three with offshore experience, you put the odds in your favor.
If this is your first offshore trip and you are taking only one inexperienced crew with you...you may be risking both your lives. What happens if you get hurt or incapacitated? What will your wife do? Is this trip really worth that?
My suggestion....take your time and go crew with experienced people first!

I recommend MarkJ... and the yet to be GF without benefits...

[scoobert]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Well that says a lot about your attitude... and your consideration for your crew..
As to hard hits in a 48ftr... your Green is verging fluorescent...
Playing in sheltered waters is a whole different ball game to open waters... and for me that includes the sheltered Chesapeake... figure on an average of 100nm/day for this trip... tho' if I was doing it I'd run across to the N wall of the Stream then shimmy across and head S... east of the stream and picking up the counter currents curving S... and stay well clear of those Capes... the shallows go out a long ways and the sea's can be lethal if your caught out... don't think you'll enjoy the 30ft+ breaking waves... and they'll have to be hand steered... AP's can't steer safely into that stuff and you will be rolled..
Have sailed Cape Fear and Hatteras solo... did not enjoy it one bit...

I dont know what you mean about running around the current???

[I.Grind]

So you plan to stand watch for 16 hours a day, then turn it over to your inexperienced wife for 8 hours? For what, 30 days? Have you tried this out, maybe a little practice run for the weekend? That is a brutal schedule, even for crusty old salts, much less beginners. I humbly suggest you try this watch schedule on for size before you head offshore.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but it sure won't fun.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by scoobert

I dont know what you mean about running around the current???

Your not understanding what he means is another good reason not to do this.

he's saying sail east until you have crossed the gulfstream current. on the eastern side there will be some counter currents heading south.

A smrt move - but then you have to be aware that once you cross the gulfstream, you're in the middle of the atlantic and can't get back across until you are far south - meaning if bad weather comes along, you either run for europe or sit it out (somewhere in the middle of nowhere)

[bobconnie]

All I can hope is ya change your mind! Ive been following your posts, and with the pics you have posted, and your ideas about how things are at sea. And at this time if your ideas and your boat have not greatly improved, your in for a BAD trip! If you care at all for your wife, please get some help to take this boat down this coast!! From what Ive read your not even ready for this trip if ya used the ICW!! Not tryin to pee ya off, but I sure hope ya think this trip over a little. Just my 2 cents

[smaarch]

very much a newbie here (after sailing LIS for nearly 18 years)
I've been researching and planning to take my little 30'er far and wide.
a few weeks ago i helped a friend take his boat up the NE coast to Maine. (because he knows i'm planning such adventures)
3 of us. 4 days - 400 miles nonstop
It was the first time i was off offshore.
It was a great experience and i'm very glad i did it. One i will never forget
BUT:
i have to say there were a few moments where i paused and seriously thought about what we were doing.
like the night the wind kicked up and i dropped a flashlight - watched it float away in the pitch black night and disappear in 2 seconds,
I also have to say in my evaluation, while my friend (an ocean sailor) is prepared for most every eventuality, it seriously made me think about whether i was.

The Answer is NO.
and having the experience i now have, I would not do the trip without further preparation and gear.

I'm very pleased i didn't attempt this on my own keel.

As other posters have said: I think you are going to learn a lot if you take this on.