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Old 01-18-2015, 12:08 PM   #7
O C Diver
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City: Fort Myers, FL... Summers in the Great Lakes
Vessel Name: Slow Hand
Vessel Model: Cherubini Independence 45
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 12,835
Anchoring out or marina hopping? It's easy to plan 70 miles a day, but there will be stretches where you won't find a marina or achorages for 20 or 30 miles. So planning becomes very important. Also, while you may plan 8 knots, long stretches against strong head winds and an opposing tide may drop you below 5 knots ground speed for hours. Remember to factor in bridge and lock schedules as most of the ones you will be encountering are not on demand, or have restrictions for rush hour traffic.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is very doable for you. But a 70 mile planned day can end up less than 40 after waiting almost an hour at a couple of draw bridges and bucking a head wind, 2 to 3' chop and maybe some tidal currents. You may also get the day when everything seems to be going your way. Did almost 100 nautical miles one day. Ended up running 2 hours in the dark when a couple of anchorages didn't pan out. The most important take away from my trip was to have multiple alternatives whether anchoring or marina hopping. Would rather have a short day then ever have to run most parts of the AICW at night again.

Ted
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