Boston to Florida

I am interested in bringing my boat to Florida next fall! 1995 Catalina Islander 34 with yanmar 170 diesels 12- 14 knots Checking to see if anyone makes the trip and when would be a good time to leave and slips availablity

Wondering if you plan on running the ICW, from Florida to Delaware, or running outside?

I can't help, but I'm sure this will be an interesting thread.

Jim

From Boston to Long island sound you will be outside, so weather becomes more of a factor. Depending on what you draft the NJ ICW may or may not be viable. Delaware bay and Chesapeake bay are better than being in the ocean, but you still have to watch the weather. Once you get to Norfolk, weather becomes less of a factor. So, going before Labor day will generally give you better weather. Going after October 1st will have you waiting a lot more often for a weather window. I leave around October 1st and only need to make Norfolk (1day) to be mostly projected. So, when you leave can have a lot to do with how many days you want to sit waiting for a weather window.

Ted

If I ever get my boat completed I'm expecting to go from Maine to Florida next fall. O C Diver's advice is right on I've done a number of deliveries going both ways inside and out and it's all about time, if you don't mind waiting for days and days occasionally you can do it virtually any time of year.

I’d book your slip(s) now. Things are tight on the east coast of Florida. Yesterday I was in the Fort Pierce marina office and a call came in asking for a slip for six months. They were told to call back after April. January, powered boats were rafted 3 to a mooring in Vero Beach. Last fall Ortega Landin Marina in JAX had a waiting list. That being said, St Augustine had slips available in the third week of January this year.

Ditto on booking a slip. We do that trip every fall. What’s the boat’s range on 1/3 of it’s fuel capacity at cruise speed?

300 gal tank/cruises 10 - 12 knots/ 10 gallons a hour I believe around 900 miles I have twin yanmars 170

With that capacity I’d look at doing 8-10 hour runs which is about perfect for oct with the shorter days.

Sully11060 said:

300 gal tank/cruises 10 - 12 knots/ 10 gallons a hour I believe around 900 miles I have twin yanmars 170

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Do you have twin fuel tanks or am I doing the math wrong?

I did the math wrong! Thanks for the heads up! A third would be aroung 90 to 100

We are doing almost the same trip in May to bring our "new to us" boat down from the Connecticut River to St James City. We have a 200 gal tank and we are not sure of the mileage but we are thinking (hoping) 7 kph at 2ish gallons per hour. So may be 700 to 800 mile total range. But like I said we are just guessing and we will keep a very close eye on the actual fuel use and replenish being overly cautious.

Boston to LI sound isn’t all exposed. From Boston to the cape cod canal is open depending on the sea direction, and maybe 30nm. Then the canal through buzzards bay is protected. Then a crossing of block island to race point which is maybe another 30nm. It’s not that bad if you watch the weather, which of course you are doing.

Question is, are you in a hurry for some reason? There's lots of gourmet cruising and gunkholing to be done along that whole trip, much of it superior to what you will find in Florida proper. We could take around two months some times from MA FLL.

twistedtree said:

Boston to LI sound isn’t all exposed. From Boston to the cape cod canal is open depending on the sea direction, and maybe 30nm. Then the canal through buzzards bay is protected. Then a crossing of block island to race point which is maybe another 30nm. It’s not that bad if you watch the weather, which of course you are doing.

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Worst part of the whole trip could be the west end of Cape Cod Canal or mouth of Buzzards Bay. A 20 knot southwesterly with an outgoing tide will have you rethinking the whole boating thing in general.

"12- 14 knots"............. Not often,on the AICW

The hassle is bridges , and sailboats. When arriving at a bridge and requesting an opening the bridge tender will look in both directions to see who ever can join you on the pass.

If sailboats are seen chugging at 6K , you will wait for the slowest of them to collect , and the bridge will open.

In some places the distance is such you can try to get out of sight , but its very frustrating to be caught in the southbound pack.

Simplest is to give in and enjoy the ride , at 6K or so you may be burning 1/4 to 1/3 the fuel , and with a cellphone there is no reason to race for a marina slip.

The further South you get the more real and bogus speed zones , wake zones , manatee zones you will encounter so 6K is required.

There are many places where speed is useful, but mostly you will need to go "outside" if you really want to make time.

Only add to all this would be head out at the end of September, by mid October the winds start picking up. Seen a number of people think they will wait until beginning of November and find they are sitting waiting out fronts that come through blowing up to 30 knots for a few days each cycle. Good luck, sounds like a great trip!

Sully11060 said:

I am interested in bringing my boat to Florida next fall! 1995 Catalina Islander 34 with yanmar 170 diesels 12- 14 knots Checking to see if anyone makes the trip and when would be a good time to leave and slips availablity

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We have made that trip many times from NY/Long Island Sound. We like to be underway south by late September so I'd suggest mid-September for leaving Boston. The conservative approach is to go through Long Island Sound and New York Harbor. Try to time your departure from Western LIS to correspond with high tide and you will have favorable current all the way down the East River and south to the lower bay. We generally stage for the NJ coast at Atlantic Highlands behind Sandy Hook. You have enough speed to make Cape May, NJ in one day if you have good conditions offshore. That's the approach I'd recommend, otherwise Atlantic City is a safe inlet and good stopping point for the first night. Go through the Cape May Canal and time your passage up Delaware Bay to have a favorable tide. I do not advise taking the NJ ICW. It is shallow and requires a fair bit of local knowledge to run it successfully. Marinas should not be a problem if you call ahead. There are many to choose from.

Cigatoo said:

Worst part of the whole trip could be the west end of Cape Cod Canal or mouth of Buzzards Bay. A 20 knot southwesterly with an outgoing tide will have you rethinking the whole boating thing in general.

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Buzzard's Bay isn't open ocean by any means...but it can get UGLY.

Benthic2 said:

Buzzard's Bay isn't open ocean by any means...but it can get UGLY.

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The washing machine. I'll take open water anytime.

I've done the ICW a number of times and personally, I hate it. Misplaced markers, constant shifting shouls, speedboats up the yinyang, wall to wall boats in the anchorages .... If I ever do the east coast again will wait for weather windows and go outside.

As a kid I experienced a knockdown there on a Pearson 26 that put the mast tip in the water and burried the jib winch under 3 feet of water. Awful experience. Wonderful boat.