To the Gulf of Mexico from Kentucky?

[SailorGirl7497]

(Im sorry if this is in the wrong section if the forum)
Hello all. I have a question from an idea for a vacation trip. Obviously its physically possible but in terms of sight seeing and the like can you sail from Louisville KY to the Gulf? Has anyone done this? How long would it take? Is it a horrible idea and Im stupid for thinking it would be any fun? I have no clue so I would like other peoples opinions!

[Ocean Girl]

Sailorgirl7497,
I don't know about the full sailing part, but if ya have a canoe, kayak, small shallow power boat, I believe it can be done. My friend is from Kentucky and he has always talked about outfitting his canoe with a small sail to travel from kemah ( which is near the Texas coast) to Kentucky.

I'd google the trip. Also, I'm almost positive my friend talked about a book he read that inspired him. But he also talked about snakes and hardship, and my friend is not a pampered man ( vision an Indian tracker turned sailor)

If the idea really grabs you, you might be able to break the trip up into legs.
I do understand why you like this idea, like a river flowing to the sea.
Cheers,
Erika

[SunDevil]

Look up the great loop. It is part of it once you reach the Mississippi.

Cruising the Great Loop – Books and narrated photo tours for boaters

I think it would be fun to take a trip from Ohio down to Florida and the Keys.
Portage to Portage Paddling Project - Home
Not so sure about coming back however...

Sailing might be tough on the river, and there are quite a few locks I've heard.

[tropicalescape]

I have a friend that did it in a Hunter 34(?)then he cut across lake ocachobee up to the east coast....I think!...DVC

[SailorGirl7497]

[QUOTE="Ocean Girl"]Sailorgirl7497,
I don't know about the full sailing part, but if ya have a canoe, kayak, small shallow power boat, I believe it can be done. [QUOTE]


Even though when I think about it I can see why you say this but still why not a sailboat? The river is deep enough.

[Ocean Girl]

[QUOTE=SailorGirl7497;934256][QUOTE="Ocean Girl"]Sailorgirl7497,
I don't know about the full sailing part, but if ya have a canoe, kayak, small shallow power boat, I believe it can be done.

Even though when I think about it I can see why you say this but still why not a sailboat? The river is deep enough.

Well, I had a brain fart that you can get to the the great loop route via.. Ohio river..?? from Kentucky( do I have it right?). Still trying to find that book my friend was reading, it was ' taking the back roads home to kentucky' very old book.
Sailing the Mississippi isn't very reliable. But you are heading south, a nice current so you need to keep steerage. it also is well advised to stay away from the work boats as they have limited stopping and maneuvering. I don't feel the best person to give advice though clearly I have given a lot! I've done the ICW from from stem to stern ( east to west) at least twice, pleasure boats need to be able to stay clear of work vessels, sailboats ( under sail ) are at a disadvantage in this as their maneuverability is limited to wind and tight quarters. I personally don't feel it is safe to sail on the ICW, my husband adamantly disagrees with me( we found this out while traveling down the ICW). We compromised by starting the engine whenever a tug was near, but that didn't exactly lesson it's dangers because we had high winds, sigh.

If you talk to sailors who have " sailed" the loop, you will find they motored most of the Mississippi. So it might be best just to outfit a little shallow draft powerboat.

If you want to use your sailboat; because of the many low bridges it might make it better to just remove the mast. Some sailors ship their mast down to Mississippi or Louisiana and have it waiting for them.

Whew! Lord i have more to say but i think i shoud stop here, someone who has done the loop hopfully will chime in. I sure hope this is useful info and I'm not steering you wrong. As with everything you read on the Internet, take with a grain of salt .
Erika

PS
There are some great "Great Loop" blogs out there, you may try reading some of those....
dagnabbit, I just remembered my mom's girlfriend did the great loop in a 22 foot sailboat! I will get her Email address and fwd it on to you in a PM.