Sailing South
When winter is on its way in the northeast, I make way south in my sailboat. The Florida Keys is a great destination if you have the time to sail there. I have found the Chesapeake area to be most convenient. The waters there don’t freeze up as they do further north in December, so sailing is pleasant in the wintertime. Every trip, I find a new cove to explore. Nearby, you’ll conveniently find the Norfolk International Airport. Frequently, my trip extends down into the North Carolina area where the gulfstream warms the waters in the winter. You can dock at marinas such as Dowry Creek in Belhaven to Oriental and Beaufort (Bow-Fort) where they found Black Beards’ ship by the inlet. In Beaufort, you’ll find an interesting museum. The slip rates are really reasonable at about 7 to 8 dollar/foot/month. If you calculate the rate for a 40 foot boat, it runs around $280.00 a month/6 months $1680.00. There are so many slips available there and the internet makes them easy to find. The trip is a pleasant one and you’ll be addicted once you give it a go.
If you travel from Montauk to the Chesapeake, the trip takes approximately 54 hours (2-2 1/2 days). If you stop at Cape May Harbor first, you can anchor near the coast guard station. It’s a thirty hour trip. From there, you can either go offshore to the Chesapeake, another 24 hours, or travel up the Delaware Bay to the C & D canal, an 8-10 hour trip with tides helping. You can spend the night at a marina on the C & D and then travel into the northern Chesapeake the next day. A longer journey would be heading south to Norfolk, VA. I prefer to do as much of my journey offshore as possible so I can avoid all the obstructions you find inland, i.e, tide changes, buoys, etc. In October, the winds assist you in your journey as they come off the land. They make the seas flatter and give you lots of speed. With a rumbline to the Chesapeake, that would be a beam reach all the way down. Even with that Cape May stop over, the next day would have the wind aft of the beam.
When you enter the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, just a few miles south you will find Little Creek, a protected harbor. “Little Creek Marina”, “Cobbs”, and “Cutty Sarks” are just a few of the many marinas offering slips at low daily, weekly, or monthly rates. The airport is located only a few minutes away. Norfolk is not that far north, where the ICW starts. Nothing beats southern hospitality – everyone is kind and helpful. In Norfolk, Tidewater Marina offers every amenity. You can dock up or anchor just outside the marina where there is plenty of room. It is a hard decision to make when you think of exploring the Chesapeake or exploring the ICW on the way to N. Carolinaboth have wonderful little towns and coves. Along your trip, you will boating buddies with other travelers who head south for the winter.
Depending on the weather, my trip south usually begins in October. The hurricane season is not over yet, so watching the Eastern Caribbean for new formations is prudent. It can take a few days to a few weeks for the hurricanes to arrive in area, so if one is coming, there’s time to duck in a harbor. Check out websites that provide a global look at the weather by satellite and wind and wave forecasts. It’s wise to have several sources of information to help you plan your trip. Also listen to your VHF radio to hear about formations or disturbances in the Atlantic and the Caribbean.
There’s so much to explore, whether your trip is just for a long weekend or over the winter. But, who says you have to go home for the summer. Another adventure always lies ahead.