Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for Inland Sailers.
 

If you have a 23 foot trailer sailer, come to Maine. Fantastic
scenery, cool enough to sit in the sun all day in Summer comfortably.
The many islands provide lots of protection if it blows. No crime to
speak of, no immigration hassles. If you start about Rockland and
head east, it will seem plenty exotic pretty quick.

Think about spending a week sitting in the hot Florida sun while
waiting to motor across a big expanse of open water when you could
spend the same week doing this:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/06Cruise.htm

which just got us to the beginning of the really good part.

I once met a couple who spent three months a year for 30 years
cruising in Maine and they said they still hadn't seen it all.

--

Roger Long

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for InlandSailers.
 

For those who are convinced that sailing a trailerable 23
footer to the Bahamas is suicidal, let me remind you that
there used to be a race in Sunfish from Lauderdale to
Bimini.


Wayne.B wrote:
All true but Bimini is just a fly speck compared to the rest of the
Bahamas and Carribean. People make the trip to Bimini in jet skis and
small center consoles also, and every year there are more than a few
who capsize out there.

Yep. I've seen tin skiffs out there somewhere between the
two. Now that's pushing one's luck IMHO

I wasn't trying to claim that a 23' trailerable was the best
pick for such a journey, only reminding the "Cap'n Salty"
types out there that smaller boats that that have
circumnavigated, and that the real deciding factor in
seaworthiness is not the LOA or trailerability of the boat.



.... There are lots of places on the gulf coast
more interesting than Bimini and without the hazards of the gulf
stream to contend with.


Agreed.

DSK

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for Inland Sailers.
 

"Roger Long" wrote

I once met a couple who spent three months a year for 30 years
cruising in Maine and they said they still hadn't seen it all.


Could this perhaps be due to the FOG? :)

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for Inland Sailers.
 

No, the fog is greatly over rated.

Unlike many sandy areas of the world, most of the shores in Maine are
very steep. You will often see sixty feet or so a couple of boat
lengths from shore. It's usually calm in the fog so you can creep
along close enough to see shore and it can be enchanting and
mysterious. Most fogs still leave enough visibility to see quite a
ways. The coast is so varied and interesting that fog often just
changes your route instead of trapping you at anchor. You motor up
the rivers where is scales up, tour harbors, or do other things.
Afternoon sea breezes blow the stuff away more often than not.

--

Roger Long



"Gm1234" wrote in message
...

"Roger Long" wrote

I once met a couple who spent three months a year for 30 years
cruising in Maine and they said they still hadn't seen it all.


Could this perhaps be due to the FOG? :)

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for InlandSailers.
 

Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:09:24 -0400, DSK wrote:


For those who are convinced that sailing a trailerable 23
footer to the Bahamas is suicidal, let me remind you that
there used to be a race in Sunfish from Lauderdale to
Bimini.


All true but Bimini is just a fly speck compared to the rest of the
Bahamas and Carribean. People make the trip to Bimini in jet skis and
small center consoles also, and every year there are more than a few
who capsize out there. There are lots of places on the gulf coast
more interesting than Bimini and without the hazards of the gulf
stream to contend with.


One of the participants of the 2006 Sandpiper rendezvous in the Thousand
Islands area wants to hold the next one in the Marquesa Keys off Key
West, FL. Since this guy lives in Denver Colorado, it's the same
distance to trailer there as it would be to come to Eastern Canada.
Our Sandpipers are 5.65 meter long mini-cruisers.

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for InlandSailers.
 

Don White wrote:


One of the participants of the 2006 Sandpiper rendezvous in the Thousand
Islands area wants to hold the next one in the Marquesa Keys off Key
West, FL. Since this guy lives in Denver Colorado, it's the same
distance to trailer there as it would be to come to Eastern Canada.
Our Sandpipers are 5.65 meter long mini-cruisers.


ooops... or was it the 'Dry Tortugas??

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for Inland Sailers.
 

Roger ,,, the reason that couple "hadn't seen it all" is because of the fog.

Heck,,, I once spent a week off the coast of Maine .. at least that is what
someone said ....... I couldn't swear to it in court ,,

I never saw the place.


======================
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
If you have a 23 foot trailer sailer, come to Maine. Fantastic scenery,
cool enough to sit in the sun all day in Summer comfortably. The many
islands provide lots of protection if it blows. No crime to speak of, no
immigration hassles. If you start about Rockland and head east, it will
seem plenty exotic pretty quick.

Think about spending a week sitting in the hot Florida sun while waiting
to motor across a big expanse of open water when you could spend the same
week doing this:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/06Cruise.htm

which just got us to the beginning of the really good part.

I once met a couple who spent three months a year for 30 years cruising in
Maine and they said they still hadn't seen it all.

--

Roger Long

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for Inland Sailers.
 

Brian Whatcott wrote:

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for Inland Sailers.

My son and I would like to take a baby step offshore from Florida to a
Caribbean destination, in fair weather, aboard a SouthCoast 23
(A trailerable centerboard sloop) as a first voyage, next Summer.

I hope that this is not a question of the kind that if you have to
ask, you shouldn't be doing it.....
I would appreciate any and all advice on the topic.

Thanks in advance.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

As people have said - it will be hard to get to the actual Caribbean
from Florida in the time frame you have in mind. You can go to some
semi-tropical destinations though.

What facilities do you have on the boat? Can you anchor for extended
periods (i.e. can you carry provisions and cook), or do you want to be
at a marina? Can you beach the boat or will you need some transport
to shore like a kayak? What kind of ground tackle do you carry?

If you can be self sufficient for a week or 10 days without having to
get additional water, buy gas, or food, and with a large enough
holding tank or portapot, then I'd recommend going to the Marquesas
and the Dry Tortugas. But there is no way to buy any kind of
provisions and it is a no-discharge zone.

This is the start of our 2001 trip (sections linked together)
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/315ec/#TL

The Bahamas are perfectly do-able, and it will be a trip to another
country. You should have a passport though because it makes getting
back into the US a bit easier. You don't have to wait for the weather
on the boat - you can wait in a motel someplace like Marathon.

2001 from Miami to Bimini to Lucaya and back to Miami
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2abf0/#TL (4 sections plus a part
of another page)

2002 from the Keys to Bimini to the Berry Islands (2 sections)
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2abfc/

2002 coming back to the US from Nassau to Chubb to Grand Bahama and
back to Ft. Pierce http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2d917/ (3
sections)
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2d917/

Depending on how much time you have, you can go to Bimini or Cat Cay
to check in, and then from there you can go across the banks (which
took us 2 days) to the Berry Islands (Chub Cay, Frazier, Great Harbor
etc), and from there up to Lucaya in Grand Bahama. The problem will
then be in getting back to your trailer, because leaving from Grand
Bahama, the Gulf Stream will carry you north and you will have to work
your way south either in the ICW or outside..

Or you could do it the other way - go north with the Gulf Stream from
Miami to Grand Bahama (maybe check in at West End), and then go across
to Lucaya and down along the Berry Islands, and come back to Bimini.

You will have to pay to check in, and Cat Cay is a private island so
you have to pay for dockage while you do it.

The Bahamas has facilities and you can purchase fuel and water (water
won't be free).

If that is too complicated for you (and I think it might be for the
first time), I think I would just gunkhole around in the Keys for the
time that you've got. There's plenty to see and do there, and you can
get a better handle on the weather and the area - do some anchoring
and some snorkeling.

Whichever thing you decide to do - Bring mosquito repellant

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for Inland Sailers.
 

Digression -- We had a South Coast 23 when I was a kid. It was a
rather heavy Alberg-style design with a full cruising keel and a sweet
sheer. A pretty boat and I remember it fondly, but it was only barely
launchable off a good ramp because of the draft. It would have been
quite suitable for what you plan, otherwise. We had a friend with a
South Coast 22 that was a lot more like what you describe, so I'm a
bit confused.--End of Digression

Just be aware that there is no such thing as reliably fair weather in
a Florida summer. On the coast, you should expect violent
thunderstorms in the area every day. A friend of ours blithely took
off for his first sail in florida on a beautiful day and got caught
out when the daily deluge boiled up seemingly out of nowhere. His
quote when he got back: "Gee, that might have been fun if I'd thought
I was going to live through it." When it's not storming, very light
to non-existent winds are common.

2 recommendations: First, consider shooting for spring or fall. Much
better chance of good sailing then. Second, consider island hopping
down the Keys instead. Try one of the cruising guides for an idea
what the area is like.


On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 01:01:24 GMT, Brian Whatcott
wrote:

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for Inland Sailers.

My son and I would like to take a baby step offshore from Florida to a
Caribbean destination, in fair weather, aboard a SouthCoast 23
(A trailerable centerboard sloop) as a first voyage, next Summer.

I hope that this is not a question of the kind that if you have to
ask, you shouldn't be doing it.....
I would appreciate any and all advice on the topic.

Thanks in advance.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

Wanted: A Sensible First landfall in the Caribbean for InlandSailers.
 

Roger Long wrote:
No, the fog is greatly over rated.

Unlike many sandy areas of the world, most of the shores in Maine are
very steep. You will often see sixty feet or so a couple of boat
lengths from shore. It's usually calm in the fog so you can creep
along close enough to see shore and it can be enchanting and
mysterious. Most fogs still leave enough visibility to see quite a
ways. The coast is so varied and interesting that fog often just
changes your route instead of trapping you at anchor. You motor up
the rivers where is scales up, tour harbors, or do other things.
Afternoon sea breezes blow the stuff away more often than not.

Quiet, Roger, we don't want the secret to get out. Half the beauty of
the Maine Coast is the absence of large crowds.