Sailing St. Augustine to Chesapeake Bay in October

[MicHughV]

The weather will likely dictate your course of action. Late October, the odds of contrary wind increase.
The ICW has it's proponents and detractors. Each day's run needs to allow for where the next stop will be, be it an anchorage or marina and off course, fuel stops. Some days, you might make a lot of distance, other day's not so much.
It's almost impossible to sail the ICW, so you will be chugging the whole way, this will require a lot of attention. Keep looking behind you to make sure you are in the channel, as the wind can blow you off course, without you being aware of it..
Georgia has some very big tidal ranges, so you will have a 50/50 chance of contrary tides, plus a lot of dipsy doodles.
Best plan is to have no plan. Go when the weather suits you. Some stops are very interesting, worthy of an overnighter or two, etc..
The Chesapeake is worthy of an extended cruise !!

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by SVGraceMD

We will be sailing from St. Augustine to Chesapeake Bay in October. Any advice on places to stop along the way for fuel would be appreciated. We will be taking the Ocean route in our 41' Morgan Out Ketch. Thanks

Some folks would leave the boat in St. Augustine for the winter... and then bring her up here early next year.



Can't add much to advice already given... other than perhaps to wait out weather on your last leg(s) when Chesapeake wind is against waves.

Don't know your draft or mast height... but I can tell you ICW diesel prices are typically best at McClellanvile, Osprey Marina (near Myrtle Beach), MBYC in Little River, Coinjock, and Top Rack Marina just south of Portsmouth. There's another one on the New River just south of Camp LeJeune, but getting in/out is a bit dicey in current. Calvert Marina in Solomons is often decent, up near here.

OTOH, it might also be that your fuel needs may not mandate shopping for price all that much...

-Chris

[teneicm]

Most folks are doing exactly the opposite that time of year (leaving the Chesapeake for Florida)!


But if looking for places to enjoy as well as just stop, look at Cumberland Island, Charleston, Cape Fear River/ Wilmington, Cape Lookout to name just a few of the gems along the way....

[skipgundlach]

Are you in a hurry, or merely moving the boat from purchase to new-berth location?

If not in a hurry, you can do the entire trip offshore, coming in at many places to explore.

The OI41s are forgiving, and hell for stout. If you didn't know, and are ON Facebook, there's a very active page there; folks will know everything there is to know about the type.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Morgan41OIOwnersGroup/

My practice (albeit with lots of sea time; I know you don't have it) was to head offshore from FL (wherever we were at the time), aim at the Gulf Stream (right offshore = straight out, some ways out = a calculated angle to maximize the stream without any more than needed travel outside it, to get in it), and turn left whenever you got close to where you wanted to come in (which for us was usually Portland or that general area).

Once there, cruise the local spots, and dilly-dally your way south as the butter gets harder. SO many interesting spots to visit with only a few hours worth of in/out (or if relatively close, ICW hopping, such as in the Beaufort SC area).

If you don't have it, get the unlimited TBUS subscription; a single tow will pay for years' worth of subscription. Likewise, subscribe to Chris Parker (mwxc.com); we kept our scrip for 2 years in a yard, cuz he was so valuable. If you're not HF radio equipped, but have a satphone, he'll keep up with you via text or calls. Again, a single aversion to unneeded excitement will pay you psychically for years. Cell, text, HF radio, and, in WiFi range, web connectivity to cruisers.

Have fun!

[SV Confianza]

Both Beaufort, SC and Beaufort, NC are very nice places to stop! And if you don't have one of these already, pick up an Embassy guide. Amazing reference to pick your stops! We pick it up every morning on passage.