Sailing from New York to Beaufort.

[Mjames]

Greetings. ICW is not an option for us. We are a Hunter 430 with solar, radar, AIS, etc. We are just finishing the Erie Canal eastbound. Looking for advice, tips on near shore travel from NYC to Beaufort. Have years sailing on the Great Lakes but will be first ocean sailing for us. So greatly appreciate tips. I’m not finding many resources like Waterway Guides etc. also are interested in exploring having a captain come aboard. Thanks in advance!!

[Sailorman97]

Originally Posted by Mjames

Greetings. ICW is not an option for us. We are a Hunter 430 with solar, radar, AIS, etc. We are just finishing the Erie Canal eastbound. Looking for advice, tips on near shore travel from NYC to Beaufort. Have years sailing on the Great Lakes but will be first ocean sailing for us. So greatly appreciate tips. I’m not finding many resources like Waterway Guides etc. also are interested in exploring having a captain come aboard. Thanks in advance!!

You might want to read this. https://improvesailing.com/destinations/cape-hatteras


You will be sailing past Cape Hatteras. Not for the weak of skill nor the faint of heart. You will want to be well offshore and prepared for anything at all.

[Lodesman]

Don't know why you say ICW is not an option? Even if it's not the preferred route, you should keep all options on the table.

Pilot charts can give you an idea of expected winds/currents: https://msi.nga.mil/Publications/APC

Activecaptain might help finding ports and providing local info: https://activecaptain.garmin.com/en-US/Map

Fair winds.

[Tin Tin]

Sandy Hook - Atlantic City - Cape May/Lewes - Reedy Island - C&D Canal - Sassafras River - Annapolis - Solomons Is - Norfolk/Little Creek - wait for right weather window then round Hatteras to Beaufort.

[Sailor Sailor]

Originally Posted by Tin Tin

Sandy Hook - Atlantic City - Cape May/Lewes - Reedy Island - C&D Canal - Sassafras River - Annapolis - Solomons Is - Norfolk/Little Creek - wait for right weather window then round Hatteras to Beaufort.

For the Delaware Bay/Chesapeake Bay portion, you could also ride the current all the way from Cape May to Bohemia River or Still Pond in the upper Chesapeake, both nice anchorages with your draft. Enter the mouth of Delaware Bay an hour before flood and you will enjoy an up to 2 or 3 knot favorable current for 80 or so n.m. - 12 to 14 hrs. It really picks up in the Delaware River, propels you West through the canal, and South down the upper Chesapeake Bay. It is an amazing thing. We have made our best daylight runs doing it.

I also recommend Annapolis and Solomons Island. From Solomons Island, you might stop at Great Wicomico, Deltaville, or Piankatank River, depending on how many miles you can make, before heading to Norfolk area. At the mouth of the Chesapeake, you could also try Cape Charles, Willoughby Bay, or Bluewater Marina in Hampton for your wait.

[Ded reckoner]

Are you talking about Beaufort, SC or Beaufort, NC?

Coming down from Maine to FL, we made some short passages last year around this time like you're planning. All passages were offshore.

Just off the City, we anchored overnight behind Lady Liberty's right hip. The nighttime view of Jersey City & Manhattan is even more spectacular than daytime.

In Sandy Hook Bay, we anchored behind the breakwater at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor. There's a dinghy dock you'll find about in the middle of the marina just before you get to the fuel dock.

We anchored before the Coast Guard facility in Cape May Harbor, just SW of Mark 8. Utsch's Marina will let you tie up your dinghy under their walkway; play fair and buy some things in their chandlery or store.

There aren't any anchorages I know of just at the mouth of the Chesapeake. We chose a small protected anchorage at Fort Monroe off Old Point Comfort on Hampton Roads SE of the mouth of the Hampton River. There's a dinghy dock all the way in and to the right. Otherwise, the little marina there might work, but we never tried it. This is a good place to wait for a weather window to get around Cape Hatteras.

We have never actually been to Beaufort, NC but have anchored a couple of times south of Sugar Loaf Island off the adjacent Morehead City. There are several well marked municipal dinghy docks. You will need a bike to get to the very good Lowe's grocery store. Otherwise, the tiny Morehead City municipal marina, with spartan facilities, can accommodate your sailboat for length, beam, and draft.

[TiPegleg]

You might want to clarify why the ICW isn't an option. Going around Hatteras is no joke and if you're nervous about going in the "open ocean" (this is pretty much coastal sailing...) you may want to re-consider writing that off that route unless you have a super deep draft or a non-functional engine.

[gonesail]

just think of all the happy hours and local pubs you will miss if you don't do the ICW to Florida