ICW to Florida

[bradf]

Hi all!

My wife and I will be taking delivery of our 2001 R-31 CB later this summer. We're trading in our sailboat (which is currently based in Maine) for the R-31 from Winter Island Yacht Yard in Salem, MA. After our boat orientation we will be cruising the R-31 down the ICW to our home in Sarasota, FL.

We're anxious to get our new boat down to Sarasota and excited about our trip down the ICW. We've never done this trip before and my concern is the timing. We would like to depart Salem as early as August, but that puts us in hurricane alley during peak storm season. The alternative is to wait until late Sept/early Oct which seems to be when most of the snowbirds begin their migration south.

The boat has good speed and I'm thinking we may be able to time our passages to avoid the worst of oncoming storms, or duck in to protected waters. We'll bring extra dock lines and chafe gear. Bad idea?

Thanks in advance. We're super excited about our new R-31 and looking forward to joining all you Tugnuts! 🙂

Brad & Cheryl Freeman
R-31 CB - Ramblin' Rose - Sarasota, FL

 

[Bruce Moore]

Bumping post delayed in moderation queue.

 

[gsc3]

We have done the ICW from NY to FL several times, always leaving NY in mid-October, just as the marinas on the Hudson were closing for the season. We took our time, in our 8 kns DeFever trawler, about 6 weeks travel time. It was a wonderful trip. In May we would usually start back from FL to NY, before things got too hot in FL! We're now Cutwater 24 owners, keeping the boat here on Longboat Key, and looking forward to week-long cruises when COVID is behind us. Good luck with you new boat! We would like to see you here in Sarasota.

Slade and Susan Cargill
2016 Cutwater 24 "Sojourner"
Longboat Key, FL (and Athens, NY)

 

[knotflying]

I would wait until mid-October. Take a look at your insurance as well. I believe most have a restriction going further south than Hilton Head and Demopolis prior to November 1st. Unfortunately schedule and weather don't go together.

 

[bradf]

Thanks for the advice. I think we will postpone our departure until early October. Weather up north is beautiful that time of year, and we should be well south before it get too cold. Can hardly wait!!

GSC3 hope to see you in Sarasota. We're on Siesta Key.

Brad & Cheryl Freeman
R-31 CB - Ramblin' Rose - Sarasota, FL