Sailing from Florida To Philadelphia during summer on the outside

[natraps116]

Hi all,

I just got back from visiting SeaWolf and was thinking about taking the boat north for the summer so i can work on her myself.

I am thinking of doing a straight shot from Jacksonville to Cape May, then a short jump up the Delaware to Anchorage Marina south of Philly.

Anyone who has done this journey i would appreciate any advice. Time is a factor for me so i will not be doing any stretches in the icw, unless emergency shelter is needed. Our autopilot works well and i trust my vessel off shore.

Any pointers are appreciated, or tips or warnings from those who have ACTUALLY done this trip.

I think i could make it in about 7 days with favorable conditions, Am i dreaming, or being unrealistic?

Thanks all

[skipmac]

If I did the trip and wanted to break it up I'd stop in NC. This is closer to a halfway point. Stop in Moorehead City and you can bypass Hatteras.

If you do go around Hatteras I would give it a wide berth.

When I made the trip south instead of Cape May I stopped on the south side in Lewes DE. Nice place.

Only other thought, lots of unlit buoys up to 40 miles offshore along parts of the coast, especially GA and SC as I recall.

[Captain Bill]

If you go out to the gulf stream i think a little over 5 days is reasonable assuming adequate crew for 24/7. I do Melbourne to Morehead City in about 72 hours and I have to get out of the stream near Cape Fear. I think you could get to Hatteras in 72 riding the stream. It's another 40 hours to the mouth of the Delaware. The Delaware depends on hitting it at incoming tide or it can be a long slog up to Philly.

[natraps116]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

If you go out to the gulf stream i think a little over 5 days is reasonable assuming adequate crew for 24/7. I do Melbourne to Morehead City in about 72 hours and I have to get out of the stream near Cape Fear. I think you could get to Hatteras in 72 riding the stream. It's another 40 hours to the mouth of the Delaware. The Delaware depends on hitting it at incoming tide or it can be a long slog up to Philly.

Thanks capt,

I was planning on doing the gulf stream the whole way, and definitely giving Hatteras a wide a wide berth. Thanks as long as I'm not missing something sailing in the summer I don't know about

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[natraps116]

Originally Posted by skipmac

If I did the trip and wanted to break it up I'd stop in NC. This is closer to a halfway point. Stop in Moorehead City and you can bypass Hatteras.

If you do go around Hatteras I would give it a wide berth.

When I made the trip south instead of Cape May I stopped on the south side in Lewes DE. Nice place.

Only other thought, lots of unlit buoys up to 40 miles offshore along parts of the coast, especially GA and SC as I recall.

I was planning on staying a few hundred miles off shore, so hopefully not too many bouys

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[Bill whitmore]

I have done this trip almost a dozen times. 5 days should be plenty. Pick settled weather with southerly quadrants winds and stay in the axis of the stream as long as you can. No need to give Hatteras a "wide berth". Should be really smooth and will cool down nicely at night once you are out of the stream north of Hatteras.

[Kaptain Ken]

You haven't mentioned your electronics portfolio. That far offshore and crossing many shipping lanes, I would seriously recommend the latest version of AIS. I don't know how far offshore Sirrius Weather can be received, but weather will be a major concern. The longest offshore trip I've done on our boat was from Ft. Lauderdale to Hilton Head, SC - 390 nautical miles in exactly 39 hours. We stayed in the "stream" until due east of Brunswick, GA, then angle in toward the coast. We had a crew of three, the minimum I would recommend. You might also want to invest in one of the lesser expensive Flir night vision handheld units.


Bon Voyage!!!

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by Kaptain Ken

We had a crew of three, the minimum I would recommend. You might also want to invest in one of the lesser expensive Flir night vision handheld units.

===

Before investing money in a night vision device I'd recommend a top notch radar, preferably with ARPA tracking capability. That will give you course, speed and intercept time/distance of any target you can see. Additionally I'd recommend a good AIS display. One way to get first rate AIS capability is to invest in an inexpensive AIS receiver and send the output to a laptop computer running OpenCPN. Of course that will give you a backup chart plotter as well. Electronic charts for OpenCPN are free from NOAA.

Last but not least, carefully assess your crew situation. You need at least two people, preferably three to make that trip safely. There is a great deal of commercial fishing and freight traffic all along that route. Don't even think about sleeping unless you have someone competent on watch who understands the electronics and how to use them.

[zstine]

Hey Natraps116, aka Dom, I can't help on the route, but we know you from the vlog and we'll be sailing to Cape May the last week of June. Would be great to meet you & BearBear if you are there. Congratulations to you and Sarah on the baby!
zach
s/v diablo

[captmikem]

I have made that trip many times (most of the boats I sail are too tall for the intracoastal). It is pretty straightforward.

A few suggestions: Head out of JAX at about 070 until you get to about 31N, (about 100 miles), then about 045 until abeam Cape Hatteras, (about 350 miles). That will put you right in the stream and give you good speed. Then North and a little west for 200 miles to the entrance. Keeps you out of most traffic as well except for about 50 miles around Hatteras (always seems to be traffic there).

I have done that trip at least a dozen or more times with two of us, and unless it gets nasty it is an easy run for two people, although three would make easier.

If it is light, (or anything out of the south) you can come in much closer to Diamond shoals and you won’t lose too much current. I have often come north between #2 and #12 buoys on a good day and still had a knot with me. Couple of towers north of there that are well lit.

In an Alden 54 I would average about 6.5 through the water and about 8.5 to 9 over the bottom all the way from Jax to Diamond Shoals light. After that you lose most of your push.

If you hear it is going to go northerly, you can always head northwest before the shift and find plenty of places to wait it out, or tuck in around Cape Charles to Kipopeke, good anchorage there in about 2 fathoms.

Have a good trip,

Michael

[SV Bacchus]

Hey Dom,

Subscriber here (to your VLog) and love the videos. From your travels I don't see a couple hundred miles off shore a problem for you. Good pointers from the folks here re the Gulf Stream and the unlit fishing ground buoys.

I'm in Tampa and the whole family (here) knows the Geckos. If you find out you are short of crew for the passage give me a shout. Not an experienced sailor, have done power boats my whole life, but eager to learn so I work for free!. CG Master (expired) and lots of water experience but only once did an overnighter. Helped a friend deliver a 48' sailboat from Tampa to Key West, 2 nights on the Gulf of Mexico.

PM me if you need help!

[bobnlesley]

Been there, done that. Check the NOAA hurricane-warning site immediately before departing - you don't want one sneaking-up on you - otherwise just follow the advice of captmikem.
You could ahead of time also review your 'electronics portfolio' with a view to perhaps spending a squillion dollars fitting AIS, Radar, Night-vision glasses, etc. especially valid if you watch/enjoy a lot of television. If not, there is a more cost effective and to my mind, more enjoyable alternative: Go outside into the cockpit and keep watch for real.

[natraps116]

Thanks guys for the good advice, it seems it's pretty straight forward like our other passages

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