Heading South?

[Blackwalnut1]

We have taken our 37'' sailboat out of the Hudson River for the winter. It has occured to me that there must be a better way. Can someone tell me how far south on the Atlantic seaboard must I go to leave my boat in the water, and enjoy some winter sailing? If anyone knows of a marina where I could leave the boat from October to April I would appreciate a response. Thank you.

[RobHoman]

I would think that you would have to travel quite a way south.... Ice storms and other bad weather happens even as far south as Georgia. Winter weather on the east coast isn''t the nicest and far from the warmest even in north Florida in the winter.

[Blackwalnut1]

Thank you. I did hear from someone in the Carolinas that sails most all year. He said that it was like sailing in the fall in NE. We havn''t made up our minds yet, but would like to get more than 5 months sailing in each year.
Thanks again.

I sail out of Annapolis, Maryland and most years can sail almost year round. Some years it never freezes, others will freeze in early January and thaw in early Feb. The worst years it freezes in late Dec. and thaws in late Feb or first of March. My boat stays in year round and I use it almost all year. You can also often get cheap rates at marinas over the winter as well.

Jeff

[Blackwalnut1]

Jeff,
Thanks. In fact I was in Annapolis just two weeks ago and had agreat sail on the bay. We were there to prepare a boat for shipping back to NY. We sailed out of the Holiday Marina, and found both the facilities and management very positive.
I talked with many locals about spending the winter in the water. The big drawback seemed to be that you needed to continuously winterize and un-winterize since the temps get down low at times. What do you do?
The rates did seem very good.
Where do you keep your boat? Do they bubble your marina? Can you get me a webpage or email for your marina?
What I liked about Annapolis was that it was aout a 5-6 hour drive for me. That isn''t too bad if you want to spend 3 or 4 days on the water. Do most facilities around the bay stay open all year?
Talk with you soon. Have a good day,
Rick s/v Torquay

[joseph53p]

I keep my boat in the water year round in Hampton, VA. It''s a piece of cake. I keep a little space heater with a thermostat down below, and a light bulb in the engine compartment, and the engine starts right away. Went sailing yesterday, in fact. A lot less trouble and expense than winterizing. I do make a point of running the engine in gear at operating temperature on a regular basis just to keep it healthy.

[behappy]

Need some local knowledge. want to talk to someone who has sailed say from destin fl. to key west an then up towards Maine. I,v e sailed to destin,several times from home in huntsville al. My sailboat is an S-2 ,30ft,1986,18hp well equipped,bought it new.
I have taken a 42 ft morgan from jacksonville,fl. to new bern n.c.,along the icw thanks johnny