Houston to Florida to Norfolk

[kurt.reynolds]

Finding quite a few nice boats in Houston area in Texas. But i live in Norfolk area. Looks like quite a trip, I have done Ft Lauderdale north.

Looks like follow the coast from Houston and over to ft Myers and across Florida.

Can you get to east coast of FL in 2 weeks? 10mph, 10 hours per day?

Thanks
Kurt

 

[Pure pleasure]

I did it in 6 days but did 3 days offshore ran day and night for those days

 

[BandB]

Finding quite a few nice boats in Houston area in Texas. But i live in Norfolk area. Looks like quite a trip, I have done Ft Lauderdale north.

Looks like follow the coast from Houston and over to ft Myers and across Florida.

Can you get to east coast of FL in 2 weeks? 10mph, 10 hours per day?

Thanks
Kurt

It would be very aggressive to do. How many of you on the boat, in the crew?

Taking the inside route, Houston to Apalachicola is 653 nm. Following the coast from Apalachicola to Fort Myers another 297 nm. That's 950 nm to get to Fort Myers. The problem is you can't do the 10 knots, 10 hours every day on the inside and that also won't match up to good stops for you. So, some days will cover fewer miles. Running it at a delivery pace, perhaps you make it in 12 days. Then two to three days through the Okeechobee. So, that's two weeks, but an exhausting two weeks. If it's single handed or just one person on the helm it's hard work.

It's also sad to go by but miss the entire area, but sometimes that has to happen.

The other thing is if it's a new to you boat, you might want to run it a bit before undertaking such a trip. There are stretches of this trip with not a lot of assistance available. Do make sure you have your tow membership in advance.

 

[BandB]

I did it in 6 days but did 3 days offshore ran day and night for those days

It's a lot shorter trip if you're running 24 hours a day and offshore. You cut a lot of miles off.

 

[Jamup]

I too live in Hampton Roads and have found a boat on the Gulf Coast. Trucking estimate is around 5k for 34' boat.

 

[rwidman]

Any time you consider buying a boat far from home, you should factor the cost of bringing it home into the price. Even if you bring it home yourself, it's going to use a lot of fuel and there's a chance of mechanical problems with a "new to you" boat.


That said, any book on the Great Loop will have a chapter or two devoted to that passage. Find one and read about it.

 

[cardude01]

Took me about three weeks on the ICW. Two weeks would be tough IMO on a "new to you" boat. Stuff happens. Things break. I lost a couple of days to repairs. Plus you might have to wait a few days for good weather to cross the Gulf from Carabelle to Clearwater (or wherever you decide to cross).