Canada to Miami every year?

[hamburking]

As a previous post said...if you have a schedule, then trucking is the answer. It may seem expensive, but consider all the costs of fuel, food, marinas, and of course your time.

If you can leave earlier, like September, then canals to the Hudson would take you 2 weeks. Rather than ICW, I suggest you go NY to Bermuda, about 1 week sailing. Then its about 1 week south to the Caribbean. This route is all sail. If you really want to do 3 weeks motoring down the ICW going slow, burning diesel, and getting towed off sandbars, you might consider a trawler.

The Catalina 34 you have selected is a nice boat. But you might want to consider something like this instead: https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details...equestSource=b I'd be happy to deliver from Toronto to Montreal for you (no charge) in the spring. Its done the trip south via bermuda in the past. Actually, I'd be interested in being volunteer crew for any part of the trip.

Here's another suitable boat for sale, local to you (Montreal): https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details...equestSource=b

FWIW, I'm thinking of doing the same trip myself (starting in Kingston ON)...maybe in a year or two. That's why I've been studying the route and looking at these boats.

[seabreez]

Originally Posted by vivelibre

Hey, I have this dream, I would like to buy a Catalina 34 and sail from Montreal to Miami and I would like to leave in November and come back to Montreal in April or May. I would like to do this several times. Is this realistic? I know there are two ways, the de-mast canal way and the long way around, how long does each way take (from Montreal to New York). Any other information pertaining to this question would be much appreciated. Thank you and have a nice day.

Did this a few times... leave as late as you can depending of the canal and lock closure. If you need to leave later, go and leave the boat in Albany and come back to Montreal by bus or train. Then when you feel it is time to head south, you leave when you want and the lock will not stop you. The further north you are the less marinas you will find open during that time. Good warm clothes and a good heater. It is a long trip. Weather wise it is always "iffy"... but you also have a lot of time. You will find you do not go every day... because of weather. After we did the trip a few times we then decided to go down one year during the summer, warm, pleasurable time... leave the boat down there over winter and come back the following summer, during warm, pleasurable time. Half the fun of those trips is the trip. Did it 10 times.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by vivelibre

Hey, I have this dream, I would like to buy a Catalina 34 and sail from Montreal to Miami and I would like to leave in November and come back to Montreal in April or May. I would like to do this several times. Is this realistic? I know there are two ways, the de-mast canal way and the long way around, how long does each way take (from Montreal to New York). Any other information pertaining to this question would be much appreciated. Thank you and have a nice day.

November? I would check the canal schedule I'd bet the Erie Canal is closed maybe drained for maintenance.

[vivelibre]

I am really glad to have gotten so many responses to my question. I have read everyone thoroughly and I appreciate your time and knowledge. I should probably mention that I know almost nothing about the sailing world or terminology and that the question I have asked is a hypothetical one, if by chance I am lucky enough to “live the dream” it will be many years from now. I would like to be more specific about my dream and ask all of you the same question. I dream about living aboard a Catalina 34 (or similar boat) full-time, from the beginning of May to the beginning of November I would be living in the Montreal (or Kingston or even Hamilton area) (either at a marina or moored or anchored). In November I would head North and down the St. Lawrence river, around Nova Scotia and to the closest, warmest, budget friendly and weather safe area of the world. In April I would head to New York, de-mast and take the canal North to Montreal. Is this realistic? Can it be done? Some key points are, I will be living aboard 365 days of the year, I need to be in Canada 6 month of the year and I need to take cost into account (which route makes more economical sense). Once again, all of your opinions are much appreciated. Thank you and have a nice day.

[hpeer]

Seabreeze above has your best answer. Heading East and then South is a non-starter in November especially for a new sailor.

I suggest you research the Great Circle Loop Association or whatever it is called. These folks do the Erie Canal transit and have lots of info posted and links to get more info. You are doing a significant part of the loop, just going the wrong way half the time.

There is also the Salty Southeast Cruisers Net which has a lot of info about the leg from Norfolk South.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by vivelibre

I am really glad to have gotten so many responses to my question. I have read everyone thoroughly and I appreciate your time and knowledge. I should probably mention that I know almost nothing about the sailing world or terminology and that the question I have asked is a hypothetical one, if by chance I am lucky enough to “live the dream” it will be many years from now. I would like to be more specific about my dream and ask all of you the same question. I dream about living aboard a Catalina 34 (or similar boat) full-time, from the beginning of May to the beginning of November I would be living in the Montreal (or Kingston or even Hamilton area) (either at a marina or moored or anchored). In November I would head North and down the St. Lawrence river, around Nova Scotia and to the closest, warmesuut, budget friendly and weather safe area of the world. In April I would head to New York, de-mast and take the canal North to Montreal. Is this realistic? Can it be done? Some key points are, I will be living aboard 365 days of the year, I need to be in Canada 6 month of the year and I need to take cost into account (which route makes more economical sense). Once again, all of your opinions are much appreciated. Thank you and have a nice day.

If you are sailing down the St. Lawrence you are going to end up in the Great Lakes. You are not grasping the fact that though not impossible, leaving in November is generally a cold difficult journey. Some people would say leaving in September is really late. Especially on a sailboat with no pilot house. Read. Learn.

[Elie]

I wrote a message in French assuming that the request came fropm a french speaking fellow Canadian, or more precisely a Quebecois.
But it was a mistake as I was reminded by the forum manager(Isuppose). And a good point is made since English is the Esperanto de facto on this forum. So, with my apologies, here is a rough translation of my post.
Essentially my post was stating that it is an easy trip altough a long one. But it has two caveats:
First, the Champlain Barge cannal that links the lake Champlain to the Hudson River, close its operation around the end of october;
Second, marine insurances compagnies are very reluctant to the cover the risks of huricanes or named storms, and therefore impose restrictions to navigation south between june rst1 and december 1rst. The limit south varies but the 38th de south is the very limit. My insurers limits the transit south to the port of New York, before december!.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

If you are sailing down the St. Lawrence you are going to end up in the Great Lakes. You are not grasping the fact that though not impossible, leaving in November is generally a cold difficult journey. Some people would say leaving in September is really late. Especially on a sailboat with no pilot house. Read. Learn.

Actually if you sail down the St Lawrence you end up in the Gulf of St Lawrence (Atlantic Ocean). Going this route in November is pretty much impossible. You would have to deal with snow storms and the like and it would be very cold. You have to go down the canal and time your trip accordingly. This will mean you will be in the Hudson River past the canal in mid-October which is still pretty late. Most people going south want to be Chesapeake Bay for the boat show which is Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. This sets you up nicely to tackle the ICW from Norfolk, VA. You seem to have some parameters (six months in Canada) that seem problematic. If the six months did not have to be consecutive you could get the boat somewhat south (say Chesapeake) and go back to Canada for a month or six weeks. You also need to check the opening dates for the canal heading north. We did it last spring and I think it was early May.

If budget is an issue you would be better off spending the winter in the Bahamas. The Miami area is not cheap. Load the boat up with essentials before heading to the islands. Shopping in the Bahamas is much more costly than in Florida.

[Symphony]

keeping a boat so you can live in two different places is not cheaper than living in one house. You are not anchoring out 100%, so the boat must be cared for all year somewhere. boat maintenance is more expensive than home maintenance (a house doesn't move!). to have machines like hot water, laundry, A/C, heat on a boat is more expensive than having them in a house.

a boat is awesome but not cheap. it's only cheap to live if you able to stay at anchor all the time and have very low comfort level expectations. maybe try living aboard at anchor for a month in the summer first and see if the lifestyle is for you. then plan your travels - you will know a lot more info specific to you.

enjoy

[hpeer]

Personal question, I presume the 6 months in Canada is related to your provincial health care?

My Wife and I bought an international, top shelf $2 million cap, health insurance policy for the both of us. It cost us $3,500/year for two. The only stipulation is you must reside outside the USA 10 months a year.

Just ignore if this is irrelevant to your position.

[Emouchet]

There are plenty of people doing this. In the Montreal sailor community, Philippe Pelletier is a well known sailor that is doing exactly that (every year).
He has written a couple of guides about that, all in french though, such as "L'intracoastal en mode flaneur"...
If you plan on going via the locks in the Champlain Canal, the dead line is early October, since after that the locks are closed for the winter season. So this would put you at the head of the Hudson river mid October to the latest.

[Nepidae]

Don't know if this was mentioned, but you will NOT get down the Champlain Canal, part of the NY Canal System, with your mast up.

I think there are several places on Lake Champlain that will address that for you. Once you hit the Hudson you can re-step it for the rest of the trip.

We went up the Champlain Canal and then back down, we are on the Loop and that was a side trip for us, and it was a great trip. You need to be able to get under 17' bridges and guard gates.

When you get tired of dealing with the mast, up & down at least 2 times a year, look into a trawler. Most who have sailboats find themselves running under power a good amount of time and a trawler will be comfortable, no leaning over to go, and economical.

Good luck.

[vivelibre]

Hey, once again thanks to everyone for the input, this is my first post on any kind of forum website, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have backpacked 5 years in the last 9, living out of a backpack years at a time (went from Colombia to Argentina over a two year period, working in several place along the way). I love Canada, but every time I come back, slowly but surely, I find myself falling into depression, discontent with the life I live. I have decided in in the future I will buy a sailboat, follow the Sun all year long, live a life of adventure (and work along the way). Ideally I would buy this sailboat in Ontario or Quebec and I would live at a marina on the boat all year somewhere near Hamilton ON for the first 1 to 2 years, I would insulate the boat, prepare the boat rigging and safety equipment and I would be working saving some money. I would then leave for the adventure North East, down the St. Lawrence, around Nova Scotia and South down the ICW or maybe I could go from Nova Scotia to Bermuda, Miami, Bahamas. I would live this adventure for 5 or 6 months, anchoring out 90 percent of the time, then I would come back to Lake Ontario in April or May
( Hours of Operation - New York State Canals ) as soon as the Erie Canal opens. My impression is that this can be done, depending on what month you leave in, there seems to be a big difference from leaving in September compared to leaving in November. One of the reasons I wanted to stay in Ontario for 6 months was because of health insurance rules in Ontario. It seems that my 6 month parameter is not ideal. I will have to look at the Ontario health insurance fine print, to see exactly how losing this could affect me. Any other opinions you may have, I would be happy to read. Thank you and have a nice day.

[DeValency]

Originally Posted by vivelibre

Hey, I have this dream, I would like to buy a Catalina 34 and sail from Montreal to Miami and I would like to leave in November and come back to Montreal in April or May. I would like to do this several times. Is this realistic? I know there are two ways, the de-mast canal way and the long way around, how long does each way take (from Montreal to New York). Any other information pertaining to this question would be much appreciated. Thank you and have a nice day.

*****
Well, I’m a sailor... so can only suggest sailing - I mean with sails up as much as possible. And if you have a dream on sailing - sail. If you prefer motoring through the inland canals you may be happy just driving....

Sailing is almost always the longer way, unless racing on my Farr 40.... 😱 but that’s brutal even for me... So with a Cat 34 and alike, plan on at least two weeks, stop overnight at great spots, coves, marinas, harbors.... and enjoy the passage - not just getting there (and BTW, there are nicer spots in the south you might want to check...)

But first get your skipper’s certification, a good boat, practice around with daysailing, have a first mate,... is that too much for fulfilling your dream?

[CaptFigmo]

I used to do that in my Trawler until diesel fuel went from $1 to North of $3. Now I stay below the frost line year round.