Boston to the Keys

[Howard Augenste]

any information on sailing from Boston to the keys would b greatly apreciated I plan on leaving by the end of August I am concerned about the New Jersey coast as I am a singlehander.

[Hudson Force]

Are you planning Coastal hops or long distance offshore? I am a coastal cruiser and we have frequently cruised from Maine to the Keys with thirty to seventy mile days. We take the Cape Cod Canal, Cape May Canal and C & D Canal and crusie down the Chesapeake as well as the North Carolina Sounds. On the New Jersey coast we use Manasquan, Absecon & Cape May Inlets. What is your mast height and your draft? Are you interested in finding anchorages with shore amenities? Let us know.

[capttman]

How large a vessel do u have? I too am a single hander and have done the trip several times, NJ there are a few places to stop draft dependent.. More info and we may be able to help

[ActiveCaptain]

Originally Posted by Howard Augenste

any information on sailing from Boston to the keys would b greatly apreciated I plan on leaving by the end of August I am concerned about the New Jersey coast as I am a singlehander.

Does your insurance have an endorsement that requires you to be north of a certain point until November 1st?

[yachtfinder]

Have been back East last five seasons solo transiting Marathon to Great lakes each year. Offshore max 30 hr trips. Have also traversed entire ICW Norfolk to Miami. Good place to start is picking up a copy of Skipper Bob Anchorages along ICW. Covers Troy lock upstate NY to Key West. Have significant amount of good suggestions entire route to anchor at plus a few no chg docking. Just email if you want me to provide. Two caveats: Contessa 26, boat speed maybe Max 5kts? Don't be offshore, underestimate sailing hours and attempt to enter an inlet that's not Class A. Even the St Augustine Inlet has a current advisory NOT to use without LOCAL knowledge. A second good source via WiFi is cruisersnet.net With a 4.0 draft, the ICW would be a reasonable journey. Your rig should clear the 55' bridges at Cape May Canal and Julia Tuttle in Miami.
Departing late August? Go slow, my insurance is a no go below Cumberland, GA til AFTER Nov 15th hurricane season end. Bon Chance!

[Unicorn Dreams]

September is peak hurricane season.

[yachtfinder]

September might be peak but mid November 1994 ran into Hurricane Gordon off JAX Fl while delivering new Beneteau 42 S7 from Pilot Pt, CT to St Petersburg. Always nice to be cautious.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by yachtfinder

September might be peak but mid November 1994 ran into Hurricane Gordon off JAX Fl while delivering new Beneteau 42 S7 from Pilot Pt, CT to St Petersburg. Always nice to be cautious.

Yes, Hurricane Gordon was an oddball.

[brak]

FWIW BoatUS insurance has no such clause (especially if your boat is in Florida all the time, which is a type of coverage you can always buy).

[ActiveCaptain]

Since the OP is in New Hampshire, most likely his insurance has a limits endorsement. The cost savings is usually too hard to ignore and most agents just put it in. If you're in New England, the limit is usually Hatteras. If you're on the Chesapeake, the limit is usually Hilton Head or the Florida border.

I never understood why I'm stuck at Hatteras until November 1st while other friends can go to Cumberland Island over the same time...

[capttman]

Originally Posted by Howard Augenste

Thanks for the info capt. anchorages with amenities would b great also would like to hook up to morings u can contact me at haugenstein "at" msn "dot" com thanks again.

Active captain is a good place to look as well as skipper bob's

[Hudson Force]

Howard, With plans to keep the conversation here instead of with email, so that all on the forum can share ideas; I'd still ask about your draft and mast clearance as these data will determine many of your choices. Also, will you be expecting overnights offshore or short day hops? What about your expectations regarding motoring and sailing? Are you planning to accept motoring for some inland passages or are you more inclined to sail only? If you are planning to do significant motoring, what is your cruising speed under power? Also what are your time constraints for reaching the Keys? We don't often cruise with deadlines and sometimes take as long as two months for this route with many stops. Our first ports out of Boston are usually Provencetown, Plymouth, Onset and Newport. We find that Plymouth and Newport have moorings available at a cost with little space for anchoring, while Provencetown and Onset give us safe anchorages and dinghy access without costs. This brings up another question. Do you plan to make choices about your route that would allow for the least expense?

As I see Capttman's post above, those other resources are great!

[Howard Augenste]

sorry for not filling in all the info.I sail a Contessa 26 mast height 36' and I draft 4.6' Iwill have all the time no problem my main concern is to have a safe voyage so what ever that takes is my goal have 6yrs local sailing experience I normally take the cautious approach I know things happen that I will have to deal with as far as motoring goes I have a new engine installed since I hear there is a lot of non sailing on the intercoastal. I would like to do day tripping if that is possible.

[mparent]

Sailed last summer from Deale to Nova Scotia. Worst part was little Egg Harbour in New Jersey. Sand shifted and we went aground because charts were off. I hear the only good harbour is Atlantic City or try an all nighter to cape ma.

[Howard Augenste]

when running the coast of N.J. do they have offshore buoys