Seeking sweet places to sail boat to on the east side of the USA!

[Matt Derrick]

Hey everyone, as some of you may know from my blog posts, my friend Ryan and myself just got a boat in Key West, but hurricane season is coming in a little over a month and a half, so we're considering what or options are for escaping the storms and ridiculous humidity.

Unfortunately we don't have a ton of money, so going out into the Pacific is out until next year most likely since the Panama Canal is really fucking expensive. So I'm thinking of sailing first to the Bahamas, then up the east coast for the summer and possibly doing the "great loop", which is up the east coast and up the Hudson River and across to the Mississippi River and down to new Orleans.

Those are just ideas at the moment though, so I'm curious if any one knows of places that would cool to visit by sea... Or maybe other places we can go to avoid the heat and humidity. Thanks!

 

[travelin]

get the boat registered(you know its 30 days in florida), have the rigging all up to speed, have the engine checked(i see an outboard with no cover on top, id advise getting another one to keep onboard)

get the safety equipment required by coast guard. you can call them and have a volunteer come out and advise you on exactly what is needed for no charge.

nothing stopping you from going up the canadian coast as far north as you wanna go. in the fall, come back down.

the great loop looks to me like one big hassle with a sailboat.

 

[Matt Derrick]

Boat will be registered next week, all safety equipment is accounted for and engine had a cover, it was just being worked on in that picture. Two rigging lines need to be replaced and a very small rip in the sail and we should be ready to go.
I think the great loop would be worth it especially for Bannerman castle and other such places.

 

[travelin]

whats the draft? i remember a couple years ago when i was researching the great loop there was some concern over a couple of very shallow areas.

there was some solar panels for sale pretty cheap in key west on craigslist a couple days ago.

 

[Matt Derrick]

The draft is 4.5 feet. A bigger concern would be the low bridges, one is like 20 ft I think, but we have a hinge on our may so we could take it down.

 

[travelin]

i saw where you had posted you were eating snapper caught from the boat, i think thats cool as shit!

 

[Matt Derrick]

Thanks man it was delicious and I'm looking forward to going to the dry Tortugas later this month!

 

[noneed]

Matt,
Leaving from Key West you will need to first sail to No Name which is just north of Miami. If the weather is favorable you can use the Gulf Stream to increase your speed by as much as 3 knots. However, you DO NOT want to be in the stream with any wind out of the North. Trust me when I say the waves get big and STEEP. From north of Miami you probably want to stay with the Intracoastal Waterway until you get to Savannah. Thunderhole is a great anchorage just south of the city. There will probably be a bunch of other boats there. Leaving, you have the option of going outside (into the Atlantic) or staying inside. If you decide to go outside make sure you have a good forecast for at least 48 hours. It should only take 24 hours to get to the Charleston SC inlet. You want to sail into Charleston harbor during the daytime. Once you see the 800 foot bulk carriers cruising past you at 20 knots you will know why. Be aware that even thought you see lots of inlets charted as you move up the coast, only Savannah and Charleston are all weather inlets. Most are impassable except in settled weather and only then with local knowledge. Deciding to use one of these inlets because the weather is bad and you're a little bit scared is an excellent way to lose your boat and quite possibly your life. I'll leave it at this for now. If you find this helpful I'll be happy to share more about moving farther north. Have a great trip! Go slow and enjoy. Some of the best places I've ever been are the little backwater towns on the waterway. Sending a boatload of "liquid courage" your way.
Rob

 

[Harvey Steelbanger]

charlestons a cool city to visit if youve never checked it out. Been here almost two years, let me know if you make it out.

 

[left52side]

matt there is a little coastal town on the west coast of florida just north of tampa that is pretty chill to just visit and moore up at. it is called crystal river,and known for its manatees.
the four foot draft might impose a problem there though on lo tides but plenty of boats there and some im sure not all schoal drafts. anyway if you get the message shoot me a pm, if you got anyroom for another salt let me know.

 

[Matt Derrick]

the boat i was on is now headed to mexico, so these plans are no more, but mexico will be cooler anyways. im not with them for the journey, but i'll probably go down and visit them when they get there.