Hudson river/great lakes/around nova

[codmander]

not sure but heard of some people cruising up the hudson threw some locls to the great lakes out the st.lawerance around nova sc. back to nyc
sounds like a neat cruise at least in summer anyone done it?
found some free charts

http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/OnLineVi...iewerTable.htm

[killarney_sailor]

I have done most of this trip in various pieces and would very much recommend it - in particular if you have time to visit Newfoundland for a few weeks along the way (it is only an overnight from Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. All sorts of variety to be had. You really do need radar in Atlantic Canada and Newfoundland is pretty isolated (but fabulous cruising) so you need confidence to be self-sufficient there.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[labatt]

We're doing research on it. We'll be going on a 1.5-2 year cruise in a couple of years, and we originally thought about staging out of Albany (near our house), working our way up the Erie Canal (requires mast stepping), going to Lake Ontario, up the St. Lawrence, around Nova Scotia, down the Maine Coast, through the Cape Cod Canal, through the Long Island Sound and then continuing south along the US coast. The more research we do, the more we realize how "technical" the trip up the St. Lawrence will be. Between the incredibly heavy currents, the large tides and the shipping traffic, we're wondering how much we'd enjoy the trip up the St. Lawrence. We've already been to Montreal (we're only 3.25 hours away by land). Most of the river is fairly barren with activities to do. Our current thought is to perhaps do a run from Albany down the Hudson to the Cape Cod Canal to Nova Scotia and then back again, stopping at different places along the way.

[killarney_sailor]

Originally Posted by labatt

The more research we do, the more we realize how "technical" the trip up the St. Lawrence will be. Between the incredibly heavy currents, the large tides and the shipping traffic, we're wondering how much we'd enjoy the trip up the St. Lawrence.

Keep in mind you are going down the St Lawrence which is a much easier trip. Locking downward is very easy and currents in the river only serve to speed you on your way - they are not difficult to deal with at all. With the tide, current a boat speed there will be times you are going 12 knots plus.

I agree that there is not much interesting to see on the river from Montreal to Quebec City. From there eastward it is well worth the trip. Quebec City is wonderful and there is a lot to see in the lower river which quickly becomes very wide

You also could go through Lake Champlain and shorten the trip quite a bit - you would miss Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands but there are neater places to visit later

[orthomartin]

My wife and I are leaving Northern Lk Mi July for Hampton Va, then Caribbean. We keep going back and forth in terms of St Lawrence or unstep and head out the Erie (likely at Otswego). If anyone has done both we would love your input and of course any ideas from anyone that's been out either way

[killarney_sailor]

Originally Posted by orthomartin

My wife and I are leaving Northern Lk Mi July for Hampton Va, then Caribbean. We keep going back and forth in terms of St Lawrence or unstep and head out the Erie (likely at Otswego). If anyone has done both we would love your input and of course any ideas from anyone that's been out either way

The Erie Canal trip is quite pleasant and civilized and I don't think I would say anything bad about it. Watch crossing Lake Oneida, it can blow up and get nasty even with 2 foot waves - make sure your mast cannot move - especially fore and aft.

St Lawrence/Atlantic Canada is another kettle of fish entirely. Equally civilized until Quebec City (which is a lovely place to visit) and then small working ports. Illes de la Madelaine or lovely but Newfoundland is fabulous. Two examples:
1. We anchored at the head of one fiord with an 1100 foot cliff on one side and a 900 foot (heights from chart) on the other. There was also about a 900 foot waterfall with a pool at the bottom - one of the crew had a bath in it.
2. In one of the outports I asked a fellow how many cruising boats come through each year. His answer 'Oh, bye (boy)! We are getting a lot these days - five or six every year.

I think it would be one of the great cruising grounds in the world except that it is isolated and never gets very warm. Warmest we saw was about 18C, although nights were almost as warm. It is remote and help is not close so you need to be very careful and have confidence in yourself and your boat. Harbours are never far away - probably 5 to 7 miles apart on average. Most nights you tie up a town dock (popn of most is less than 200) because the water is very deep for anchoring.

If you could it would be nice to leave Lake Michigan earlier so you would have more time for the stretch from Quebec City through New England.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Bruce

[xort]

Ortho
Why go to Oswego to unstep instead of going through Buffalo/Tonawanda at the start of the Erie Canal?

[orthomartin]

If not the St Lawrence we would take the Erie at Oswego because we would like to spend a few days in Toronto and perhaps even visit Thousand Islands for a few days

[roadtotheisles]

Hello,

The cruise you are contemplating is wonderful (NYC, Hudson R., Erie Canal, St. Lawrence R. to Nova Scotia and Maine...and south) and actually has a name. It is called the Down East Circle Route. There is a cruising guide that describes the route in detail. "Cruising Guide to the Down East Circle Route" by Yacht Pilot Publishing.

I suggest getting this guide if you are doing any transiting of the St. Lawrence R. Among it many details, it has good information for playing the currents. It offers data that, when used with the tidal tables, will help you determine (based on your boat speed) the best time to depart any given port. This will help to get the currents in your favour or at least not strongly against. It is not recommended that small cruising boats or low powered ones do the loop route in the opposite direction as it is against the prevailing wind and uplocking is much more difficult in a seaway lock.

The Canadian Sailing Directions are written for large ships upbound (westbound). This means reading the guide backwards for a starts and pleasure craft information is short on details and no current information.

The Down East loop cruise can be done in a summer....say 3 months. Possibly a little longer if you go to southern Newfoundland which is truely amazing. There is a new cruising guide (also by Yacht Pilot Publishing) covering this coast. Cruising Guide to the Canadian Maritimes; 2007. It also has detailed coverage of the Bras d'Or Lakes. The original guide that covered the lakes has been out of print for about 15 years so it is great to have a new guide readily available. Pete Loveridge's guide to Nova Scotia is good but again, it is out of print. With one or both of the Yacht Pilot Guides you will be well covered with guide books.

If you have a little extra time, I can highly recommend the Rideau Canal from Kingston, ON to Montreal, PQ but of course it bypasses the mighty Seaway but is quite a lovely route and you get to see the capitol of the country (Ottawa) and you dont miss the historical cities of Montreal and Quebec--all of which are highlights.

I hope these tidbits of information are helpful.

Don