East Coast America/canada

[cnh]

I have vague [very vague, at the moment!] plans to sail to the Azores, and then west to America [retirement is looming]. However, I don't seem to able to find much info on the eastern seaboard in the way of pilots and so on. Anyone any recommendations?

Nicholas Hill

[www.channelpilot.info]

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[PaulS]

You might want to check
http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/nsd/coastpilot.htm

They even have some downloadable. FREE!!!1

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[RPC]

There is a list of pilot books and cruising guides for the whole world on the cruisers website on this link

Have you visited the Blue Water Cruising Site <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.onpassage.com>http://www.onpassage.com ?

 

[Twister_Ken]

Intracoastal Waterway

One reason might be you're looking under the wrong heading.

Most people sailing the E coast tend to do it well offshore (coz there are plenty of shoals, etc, inshore), treating it like an ocean passage, or use something called the intracoastal waterway which is a combination of rivers, lakes, leads through swamps, canalised bits, etc and which runs inland of the coast from Florida to New Jersey.

Any google of 'intracoastal waterway' will turn up thousands and thousands of references.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[jimboaw]

Re: Intracoastal Waterway

Right. Have done the E Coast Fl to Maine twice. The Intra coastal guides are aimed at power boaters are are not much use. Much better to break it up into chunks and go offshore.

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[snowleopard]

as a starting point, Reeds do an almanac for the east coast.

at your stage of planning the best guide is the Atlantic Crossing Guide. there are also lots of books by people who have done it.

fwiw, most people go the long way via the tradewinds to the caribbean, virgin islands & bahamas ending up in florida before going north for the summer.

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[cnh]

Thank you for alll your help. I know the usual route is the 'downhill' trade wind one, but I think I'd like to try heading west from Horta and seeing where I ended up - which is why I need to get a good idea of what the eastern seaboard is like. But this is still very provisional - can't be done before 2007!

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[Sea Devil]

Have a look at www.tidesend.com/ - they do photocopy charts and original pilot books and cover the US East Coast.

I have sailed up and down the East Coast a couple of times and it is not the most friendly of places - Between the Chesapeake and Miami there are probably only a dozen or so ports you can enter in any dodgy conditions and not that many more in good conditions and its a long bit of coast. The good news is the intracostal waterway which runs from Biscayn bay to New York. Brilliant system of rivers, esturies, a few canals joining them all up. Wonderful way to see the US of A east coast - on a par with the French canals for Aaaa factor...

The Waterway chart books which you really need if you do go that way have all the charts (subject to annual change) that you need to get into any of the ports on the coast. Most people go offshore between the Chesapeake and West Indies or use the ICW and dodge in and out to get between the Chesapeake and Miami - much easier

<hr width=100% size=1>If you have time please visit my web site -
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.michaelbriant.com/sailing>http://www.michaelbriant.com/sailing</A>

 

[AndrewB]

ICW

The ICW is brilliant. I did almost the whole length a few years back with the aid of John Kettlewell's pilot guide (he was a poster here some years ago). That was after discovering how inhospitable the outside route is.

The bad news is that since the beginning of 2004, the US Army Engineers seem to have found better things to do than maintain it, and it has shoaled rapidly in the canalised sections so that keel-boats may not be able to get through in certain places. Before committing yourself to this route, it would be advisable to get up-to-date information.

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[bruce]

any good mapping gps will get you into miami, then purchase your guide books then. am sure that there are people here that would copy a chart of your arrival area and email it to you when you are ready to go.

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[Bejasus]

See <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.cruisingworld.com/article.jsp?ID=34398&typeID=419&catID=0>here</A> for an article on passage making on the intracoastal waterway in sailboats.

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