# USA's best cruising areas (esp the East Coast)?



## jakmedic (Aug 28, 2006)

If you could spend a month or two living in any state in the US, and you wanted to structure a 1 year journey mostly around great US sailing/cruising destinations, where would you go? (I just quit my FT job to take my family and do just that...)

What about if you focused on any areas between Maine to Florida? (Boat is in Connecticut and can sail it up or down the coast as we go)

What about, specifically, the Outer Banks NC, Rockport Maine (Penobscot Bay) or Sarasota Florida? (I've already expect to spend a month or two in each). How's the sailing there?...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...


----------



## JohnnyReb (Mar 9, 2008)

Interesting that I am doing the same thing. Leaving FL in May and plan to cruise up the coast for 3 months. We are going to spend alot of time in the Chesapeake Bay area and visit DC. Hope to spend several days in the museums, etc. Will also go to NYC for a couple of weeks. Sailing will constitute about 50-60% of the trip with the remainder doing daytrips onshore, etc. 

The difference in our trips may be that a southern boy is exploring the NE.

You will probably be more interested in southern waters. A person could spend months exploring FL and Keys.


----------



## billyruffn (Sep 21, 2004)

I've been sailing in a lot of places and very few (in northern latitudes) compare with Maine. It is a great cruising ground that can only be improved if Al Gore comes through with the Global Warming and we get another 5 deg. F added to the summer temps. Another suggested improvement would be the removal of 1/2 of the lobster pots, but aside from these two things, it's hard to beat it. If I could spend a summer anywhere on the east coast it would be in Maine.

Chesapeake is nice, but shallow, muddy and hot in summer. 

Have fun.


----------



## jakmedic (Aug 28, 2006)

Nice! Sounds like we'll be waving hello as we pass by...If you make it to Baltimore, don't miss the aquarium (outstanding). NYC (where I live) is of course the center of the world, but I don't believe there are too many places to leave the boat. Long Island Sound is easy, protected cruising with lots of places to drop the hook (but wind can be light mid summer). 

I don't know much about cruising the coast of FLa. I imagine there isn't much going on on the gulf side (ie Sarasota), but I could be wrong...


----------



## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Depending on when you left, you could do the whole East Coast in a year.
Plenty of sailing, and plenty to see on Chesapeake Bay. The Outer Banks themselves don't have much sailing, too shallow, but there is plenty of sailing to found in Carolina, as well as many places to visit. Florida is mostly ocean sailing. Going outside between inlets.


----------



## JohnnyReb (Mar 9, 2008)

Thanks for the recommendation. Totally contrary to my normal operating procedure, this trip is open-ended. We will spend time in Chesty Bay and NYC but that will probably account for 1/2 of the time. We may very well venture farther north (will go to CG Academy in New London where my daughter plans to attend) and see this Maine Country for ourselves...


----------



## jakmedic (Aug 28, 2006)

Thanks Billyruffn...how late in the season is reasonable for Maine? Would Rockport in say, October be out of the question? October in CT is still warm enough with a sweater, but my crew (wife and 14 month old daughter) might scoff at anything bordering on icy...


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

The New England coast has a lot to offer...especially after dealing with Long Island Sound and New Jersey's coast. 

There's Newport and Block Island in Rhode Island. 

Then there is the beauty of Buzzards Bay, the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod, with many good destinations like Hadley Harbor, Cuttyhunk, Tarpaulin Cove, Menemsha, and more.

Cutting through the Cape Cod Canal, which can be very interesting to try and transit with a southwest wind... brings you to Massachusetts Bay and Boston Harbor. Boston's outer harbor has about a dozen islands to explore. 

Heading north, you'll come up to Marblehead, Great Misery Island and then Gloucester, on the southern side of Cape Ann, Massachusetts's often overlooked Cape. 

Rounding Cape Ann you'll come to Rockport, with Motif #1, version 2., which may be one of the most popular subjects of painters and photographers. Be aware, there's a big sea break northeast of Rockport Harbor, and you need to go AROUND the buoys, not between them. 

Then you head up in to the Gulf of Maine and Casco Bay, which is beautiful, but can be somewhat unforgiving, given the dense fog, dense swath of lobster pot buoys, and rocky coastline. 

 Hope that helps.  You could spend years exploring New England and all it has to offer, and the winds here are far better than the flaky, fluky winds you'll find on the Chesapeake. 

We also have far better seafood than anywhere else in the world.


----------



## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

sailingdog said:


> The New England coast has a lot to offer...There's Newport and Block Island in Rhode Island.


Heck, many sailors are content with sailing and exploring the deep waters of Narragansett Bay alone.


----------



## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

Depending on how far north you want to go. I highly recommend Halifax.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Just be aware, the further north you go...the more important the tide tables become... the tidal currents and tides up in Maine and points further north can be truly hellacious.


----------



## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

I second, third and fourth cruising New England (CT, RI, MA, ME). It's one of the most beautiful areas I've visited, and is rich in history, great cruising grounds and excellent food. If you are going to be there in late fall make sure you have a diesel heater or some other form of good heating. I hear Nova Scotia is also supposed to be incredible and we plan on visiting there in the next couple of years.


----------



## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

All the various areas have something different to offer. The main thing is to decide what it is that interests you and your family the most.


----------



## kwaltersmi (Aug 14, 2006)

I'll cast a vote for Maine. I've been from Portland to Pemaquid Point and agree that it's some of the most beautiful coastline anywhere. I'm sure it's more of the same, if not better the further north and east you go.

I'll throw out another possibility too, even though it's not quite the U.S., but is still highly excessible from the east coast: the Abacos in the Bahamas. 

And lastly, though it's definately not the east coast, it may well be "USA's best cruising area" (per your thread title): Pacific Northwest


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

I'm not telling!!


----------



## norsearayder (Dec 19, 2006)

the maine coast ,portland north is mecca fr de blow boats


----------



## lbdavis (Apr 23, 2007)

Cruising in Maine would be great for your family if you like mosquitoes, granite ledges, fog, black flies, rippin' tides, cold weathah, and lobstah pots you can walk across. 

I'd stick with the Chesapeake.


----------



## kwaltersmi (Aug 14, 2006)

lbdavis said:


> Cruising in Maine would be great for your family if you like mosquitoes, granite ledges, fog, black flies, rippin' tides, cold weathah, and lobstah pots you can walk across.
> 
> I'd stick with the Chesapeake.


Spoken like a true Maine resident with hopes of keeping the rest of us wannabe cruisers out of his beautiful local waters!


----------



## billyruffn (Sep 21, 2004)

jakmedic said:


> Thanks Billyruffn...how late in the season is reasonable for Maine? Would Rockport in say, October be out of the question? October in CT is still warm enough with a sweater, but my crew (wife and 14 month old daughter) might scoff at anything bordering on icy...


Depends on your definition of "icy", but for my sensibilities October is probably the tail end of the season in Maine. Late September and early October are normally nice times to be sailing around the Cape Cod and further south, but Maine is probably getting a tad frosty. Perhaps others will comment.

Make sure you keep the little girl on a tether and have fun.


----------



## soulesailor (Nov 18, 2007)

jakmedic said:


> how late in the season is reasonable for Maine? Would Rockport in say, October be out of the question?


There can be days in October when the sailing is great. There can also be days that are legitimate nor'easters. That means butt cold and blowin' stink. If you can wait at anchor for these days to pass October can really be rewarding, and far less crowded. You'll still be wearing plenty of clothes though, even on the nice days.

Hopefully nothing on your hull catches lobster pots. If it does you may not want to sail at night. The mosquitos and black flies never go away. Either do the rocks. Come to think of it, the Chesapeake does sound...


----------



## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

Delaware Bay!


----------



## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hello,

You should read this book:

*The Coast of Summer: Sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod.

*That should help.

Barry


----------



## sgkuhner (May 5, 2002)

After two circumnavigations, we think that the coast of Maine is one of the very best cruising grounds in the world. However, relative to the lobster pots, I would recommend putting a cutter on you prop shaft before you go. The best part of Maine is Penobscot Bay and down east from there. (down east derives from the fact that the wind blows mostly from the south west and therefore when you are sailing east it is mostly downwind.) Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy s also a special place. As for sailing in Maine in October, the real problem with that is if you want to be heading south to Florida and the Bahamas for the winter, leaving Maine at the end of October is a little late for going south. I would leave Maine by mid September, at the latest. Also sailing the Chesapeake is best in the fall. The ICW is more powering than sailing; but if you take it as a leisurely adventure and explore all the interesting places rather than think of it as a delivery, it is a really fun trip. 

If you want to do the outer banks in NC, when you come out of Broad Sound and into the Albemarle Sound you can head east to Roanoke Island and go to the neat little marina on its east side in the town of Manteo and explore that cute little village. From there you can keep gong south in the channel to Pamlico sound. But the channel is narrow and you will not be sailing. Also if you go down the ICW you should definitely get a copy of Skipper Bob's Guide to Anchorages on the ICW.

I will also second the advice of doing the Bahamas, at least the Abacos if not all the way down the Exumas to Georgetown.


----------



## petmac (Feb 27, 2007)

Maine is indeed great cruising ground. Should head east to Grand Manan,St. Andrews and then onto the St.John River system.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

An excellent suggestion, believe the book is by Anthony Bailey, about his voyages in a Tartan 27. 


BarryL said:


> Hello,
> 
> You should read this book:
> 
> ...


----------



## soulesailor (Nov 18, 2007)

*Notice for Maine Sailing*

Please DO NOT put a cutter blade on your boat to protect it from lobster pots!!! All this accomplishes is pissing off the local, hardworking, over-taxed fishermen of the great state you travelled all that way to visit. This also costs them money to replace the buoy you cut off and if someone else comes by, or they have only one float per line, they'll lose a whole string of traps. Sailing in Maine involves coexisting with the lobstermen and offering them the respect they have earned. Please, let them work and retrieve their gear. Plenty of rigging options exist to allow the warp to slip harmlessly by the keel.


----------



## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

Soulesailor - I think this has been discussed ad nauseum in the past, but IMHO when pots are heavily set in marked channels or similar locations (like mooring fields, drawbridge channels, etc.) creating a hazard to navigation, I feel less obligated to be so courteous. At times, they are laid so thick you could walk shore to shore. There's only so many times you can go diving into frigid water before you tire.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Soulesailor-

I'd have to agree with Labatt. It is better for you to cut the buoy off than it is for you to snag the buoy and drag the string of pots a mile away from where they laid it. Most of the lobsterman have the positions of the pots marked via GPS, and if you move them, they're far less likely to recover them.


----------



## lbdavis (Apr 23, 2007)

labatt - I do understand the apparent absurdity of eight gazillion pots in channels, but it's not the lobsterman's fault. Those men and women are only putting pots where the lobsters are. So blame those tasty succulent lobsters.

Plus, if every water craft in Maine had a cutter on it's prop shaft, there'd be a lot more abandoned gear on the ocean floor, a lot more pissed off lobstermen (and they can kick most our A#@$'s) and the most disastrous of all consequences: those tasty succulent lobsters will get even more expensive. 

The freemarket rules us all.


----------



## AlanBrown (Dec 20, 2007)

The biggest problem with planning long trips is getting so stuck on a schedule that you don't have enough time to spend getting to experience and savour the places you are traveling through. 

For example, I could spend a whole season just exploring the nooks and crannies of Chesapeake Bay. The same holds true for Long Island Sound, the Hudson River, Narraganset Bay, Block Island, etc. A season-long exploration of Cape Cod, Boston, Rockport, etc. would also be a blast. Done properly, Maine and New Hampshire require a season of exploration, not just a couple weeks.

The point I'm trying to make is to take your time and plan your trip in segments that allow you enough time to "smell the roses". Trying to do everything in one trip will only cause you to miss many of the things that convinced you to make the trip in the first place.


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Excellent point Alan. Some cruise like they are on a 2 week Euro tour with 15 countries in 14 days! The real beauty of cruising is being able to sail to a place and stay long enough to get to know it well before moving on.


----------



## lbdavis (Apr 23, 2007)

*an understatement*



AlanBrown said:


> Done properly, Maine and New Hampshire require a season of exploration, not just a couple weeks.


I'm not sure one season is really going to do it, either.


----------



## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

The magic of any particular place is not in the flora and fauna, the sights, sounds or smells, but in our appreciation of what we find. Go without expectation, and enjoy the moment, for all the moment is.


----------



## jakmedic (Aug 28, 2006)

Wow, just got back to check the forum, and really appreciate everyone’s thoughtful replies. You all have been a great source of info (and inspiration!). Based on what I’m reading here, it seems staying up north is the ticket (save Lbdavis), certainly in the summer months…I’ll focus on Maine. Of course, that leaves a lot of time between October and May to be wondering where to be on the water…I figure the Chesapeake would keep me happy enough ‘till November (true? people seem to love it there, though I hear it can be real shallow), and I understand the Charleston area to be a big draw for cruisers, though I’ve never been there and don’t really know much about the place. I’ll need to be in Sarasota Florida January-march, and I suspect that sailing in the Gulf isn’t great (and it's real far), so I’d figure on leaving the boat in the Mid Atlantic region for that time (unless I discover I’m wrong about Gulf Coast sailing)...I realize this may be too much area to cover in one season, and I'll allow myself the option of just leaving the boat in the NE until spring to take things up again, but if I can reasonably extend the season by heading south without pushing it too much, I'd like to try...

And yes, I'm a little (a lot) anxious about doing this with a toddler. She's gonna be tethered in tight, that's for sure...but I know lots of others have done it, so why not us?...


----------



## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

lbdavis said:


> I'm not sure one season is really going to do it, either.


Under statement at it's finest. I've been sailing Maine my entire life and have not seen it all! While I've seen about 80% of it that last 20% takes a long time!! 3000+/- miles of coastline!!

The lobster pot issue is OVER RATED. Just pay attention and you'll be fine! Never sail up tide/stream or up wind of a pot and always duck bellow it..

I've sailed in lots of locals, all over, and have yet to find anywhere other than the inside passage and Alaska that can even touch the Maine Coast..

Don't let them scare you off!!

Photos ©1998-2008 Hale Kai Inc.









































It doesn't get much better than Maine ....


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Halekai-

You're missing the year in your copyright statement.  Nice pix though.


----------



## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

jakmedic - you'll probably want to be out of the Chesapeake by the end of October, so as to get out of Carolina by mid November at the latest. It can get quite chilly that time of year, and this past season, I was quite uncomfortable until I reached Charleston, SC, close to Thanksgiving.

Sailing the West Coast of Florida can be quite enjoyable. Come down through the Keys at least as far as Marathon, and then head north to Sarasota.


----------



## sgkuhner (May 5, 2002)

If you don't use a cutter on your prop shaft, at least bring a shorty wet suit, a weight belt and a mask and snorkel with you so that you can dive on your prop if you do pick up a lobster pot. The water is cold.

By the way, I usually write some newsletters of our trips an post them on a website for our friends to read. If you want to read about our trip down the ICW in the fall of 2005 just go to:

Yahoo! Groups

Then if you want to read about our time in the Bahamas that winter you can navigate your way back to the messages and scroll down o message 18 to read about that winter in the Abacos.

As I used to tell our friends on Rondo before they left for the Bahamas, "you don't have any idea about what it will be like! It will be much better and more fun that you can even imagine now!"


----------



## soulesailor (Nov 18, 2007)

sgkuhner said:


> As I used to tell our friends on Rondo before they left for the Bahamas, "you don't have any idea about what it will be like! It will be much better and more fun that you can even imagine now!"


Hey, I know a couple who sails on a triton named Rondo that sailed to the Bahamas.


----------



## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Chapter 18 was the best! But words do not do justice to Scot's description of his singing in the Karaoke bar. The applause was because he stopped...but it died off quickly lest he think someone wanted an encore! Miss Kitty remains a saint among women.


----------



## JiffyLube (Jan 25, 2008)

The California coast would be a greater place to cruise, if the government would build us some islands.


----------



## sgkuhner (May 5, 2002)

That would be the very same Rondo. Bill and Susan Henderson from St Georges Maine. We had more fun with them that winter. I hate to admit this; but, we would leave an anchorage 15 minutes behind them on our trip down the ICW together and would pass them as they were sailing and we were powering. Then at the end of the day we would find an anchorage and damn if they didn't *sail* in only 20 minutes after we had put our anchor down.


----------



## soulesailor (Nov 18, 2007)

We met Bill and Susan last summer at Frenchboro, Long Island, a gorgeous gem along the coast of Maine. We met for cocktails aboard Rondo and gabbed it up good. They are awesome. They loved the Bahamas.


----------



## Rondo124 (Mar 24, 2008)

*Rondo*

We had a great time that night - it felt like cruising to pull into a harbor and meet interesting people. Also, its always a treat for us to have guests! Frenchboro is one of our favorite places, beautiful scenery, nice people, and great hiking trails.


----------



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

From someone who has cruised the Maine coast for over 10 years and running, you will not regret the trip. Be prepared for extensive fog, especially prior to September, and don't even think about making the trip without *"A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast"* by Hank and Jan Taft and Curtis Rindlaub. This is one of the better guides I have seen from any region and will significantly improve your planning. Maine alone has more coastline than the entire USA west coast. In a couple of months you will be able to visit all of the major regions, but will not come close to exploring everything there is to offer. Don't bother with anything south of Casco Bay, but do consider venturing east of Mt Desert, a boundry often self-imposed by most cruisers. Enjoy!!!

Dave E

(Also, don't travel all that way to just freeze your ---es off in October!)


----------



## sgkuhner (May 5, 2002)

Kitty and I have sailed around the world twice and we still consider Maine to be THE BEST cruising grounds anywhere in the world. It is best to go to Maine in August as the seems to be less fog then. In 2006 there was almost no fog for the last half of July and all of August. I put together a few of our favorite places to visit and have posted them at the URL below. Then if you are heading south for the winter, do not rule out crossing over to the Bahamas. From that URL you can click on messages and read about our fun n the Bahamas and going down the ICW.


----------



## sgkuhner (May 5, 2002)

The URL didn't post on the last message so here it is:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tamure/files/


----------

