How long? Seattle to East Coast US

[labatt]

Is the following doable?

July 2009 - August 2010

Month 1 - Prep for trip
Note: We'd buy the boat in Nov 2008-Jan 2009, it would be in good shape and require minimal refit and we'd do a few sea trials between the time we bought it and July. Let's assume that's OK, not focus on whether we'll be prepared enough, and just talk about the actual trip time frame

August 2009 - August 2010

Seattle to California to Mexico to Panama to VI's to East Coast US to Maine

Is that itinerary absolutely pushing it?

Thanks! Chris

[sailboy21]

What size boat? How much fuel? How many crew?

[artbyjody]

The Panama Canal has been a bit tricky lately... on other forums - downright that boats have been stalled for 6 months or more... if you are trying to get over it may actually be cheaper to transport over land if a time schedule is important.

[Faster]

Would this be a delivery, or a fast cruise? It'd be a shame to have to "blast" past some gems like Belize if the main objective is to move the boat.

If a delivery then you'll probably be better off long run to truck the boat. If a cruise then perhaps you'll want a less rigid time frame. It's a long uphill slog for east Panama to anywhere. I'd think you could do it in a year, and your timing is probably good for the Caribbean/Gulf Hurricane season.

A friend recently did the reverse, from the Islands to Vancouver via Hawaii in less time, but that's mostly the downhill way. We didn't hear of any problems at the canal. (Last year)

Hate to get hung up at Panama, though, if Jody's on the money......

[labatt]

Sailboy - family cruise, 52'-58' boat, large tankage but hoping to sail as much as possible, not motorsail.

Jody - I wonder if your waiting time can be made a function of how much you pay to get through. We're not looking for this to be a delivery, but an interesting and educational cruise for myself, my wife and our two kids. I'd rather go through the canal than around it, but 6 months of waiting wouldn't fit well in our timeframe.

Faster - I would think 12 months would be more than just a delivery . I would consider it a fast cruise, but I'm trying to figure out if it's too fast.

[labatt]

For those who have been following my questions and are wondering where this "out of left field" question is from... we have found a few boats in WA state that may meet our requirements. Because of their location, our original thought of the St. Lawrence Seaway, around Nova Scotia and down the east coast wouldn't work, so we're wondering if this other itinerary would just be pushing it too much. We know it's accelerated, but we're wondering how accelerated. I haven't done any trip planning for this route so I don't know the distances and stops involved.

[artbyjody]

Originally Posted by labatt

Sailboy - family cruise, 52'-58' boat, large tankage but hoping to sail as much as possible, not motorsail.

Jody - I wonder if your waiting time can be made a function of how much you pay to get through. We're not looking for this to be a delivery, but an interesting and educational cruise for myself, my wife and our two kids. I'd rather go through the canal than around it, but 6 months of waiting wouldn't fit well in our timeframe.

Faster - I would think 12 months would be more than just a delivery . I would consider it a fast cruise, but I'm trying to figure out if it's too fast.

Nah there was a deal on one of the Piracy forums (not meant to scare you btw)... that there are segments on the western end of Panama canal that the government / policia are going to a bit of extremes of handling passages (esp Americans)... Mind you I read this two months ago - and if it would be something you should research on your own... Myself was alarmed because normally Panama canal is one of the safest routes but the US no longer owns the rights and it should be expected that the rights of passage change as well...

[camaraderie]

labatt...how would you plan on getting to the VI's from Panama? You can't sail there directly (trade winds in your face!) so me-things you'd have to prep for a South America leg then to Trinidad and up the island chain to the VI's. Not sure I'd want to visit some of the places along that path with kids on board. Consider Dockwise also.

[Robby Barlow]

For the planned trip, in theory the schedule after departing from Seattle in Aug, would be to reach southern Cal by November, which doesn't seem too difficult. Then south to Panama, favored by northerly winds along Mexico. The direct route from Panama to VI's is just over 1000 nm and at the beginning of summer SE winds are not uncommon, so you could probably head round the west side of Puerto Rico and then on to VI. From there offshore (via Bahamas) up north to your destination will probably be the toughest stage.
So IMHO possible yes, but unfortunately the hurricane season doesn't give you a lot of room, or time, in the more interesting places you might want to visit on route. Then again given the choice I'd go for it, sounds like a fun trip.

[sailingdog]

Labatt's looking for his mythical next bigger boat with a bad case of 12-foot-itis. That trip sounds a bit rushed, and if you run into any delays might get seriously borked for it.