What is the best month for weather to cruise the northeast coast of the US?

[islands50]

Planning a cruise up the coast. Would like to go when the weather is the best. Leaving from the Chesapeake. Favorite destinations? Best Month?

[Tempest]

I might leave late may or early june and work my way north.

Great Destinations are endless! Block Island, Martha's Vinyard, Newport, Cape Cod, Provincetown etc. Maine is worth a book on it's own...

IF you only have a month...Getting to Block island..Newport and Martha's Vinyard would suffice. There are interesting stops along the way NYC and The Long Island Sound.....if you take an inside route...or you could head offshore and head right for Block Is. Giving you more time up north.

September is a great month too..providing there are no hurricanes in the neighborhood. Warm days cool nights...

[sailingdog]

Early September is one of the best times IMHO, since most of the tourists are gone... and a lot of the places are still open. However, if you really want to do all the touristy stuff, go in June...

[nolatom]

Yeah, late summer and into Sept and even early Oct. Barring hurricanes or a good old noreaster, you'll have less fog on the Maine coast by Sept.

Favorite places? Buzzards Bay anywhere, Vineyard or Nantucket, then Marblehead (my home town), Annisquam canal is fun and scenic, between Cape Ann to Cape Elizabeth skip it and sail north to Portland, then Harpswell, then east to "God's country" around Rockland, Camden, Somes Sound, Eggemoggin Reach, Boothbay, SW Harbor, Burnt I. Thouroughfare, and points east.

I'm prejudiced, my wife and I sailed out of Sorrento Maine on a borrowed (wedding gift from friend of my father and mine) 30' wooden cutter, on our honeymoon, 37 (count em!) years ago from today.

[WanderingStar]

Happy Anniversary. Sounds like a great honeymoon.

[rockDAWG]

Originally Posted by nolatom

you'll have less fog on the Maine coast by Sept.

Let me understand this since we're very interested in moving to New England to grow old.

1. Does summer have more fog to deal with than late summer and early fall? Does this apply to whole day?
2. Does this only apply to lower New England and not include Maine coast and Fundy Bay?

BTW, congrats for 37 year Anniversary. We are pretty far behind you, next year will be our 30 year anniversary.

[nolatom]

Sure was W.S., thanks.

[tommays]

Without radar you will be sitting still a lot

This year even on Long Island we got foged out a bunch of days off the south shore more rare on the sound but i have spent plenty of time in 35' visabilty

[nolatom]

Originally Posted by rockDAWG

Let me understand this since we're very interested in moving to New England to grow old.

1. Does summer have more fog to deal with than late summer and early fall? Does this apply to whole day?
2. Does this only apply to lower New England and not include Maine coast and Fundy Bay?

BTW, congrats for 37 year Anniversary. We are pretty far behind you, next year will be our 30 year anniversary.

I think early and midsummer there's more fog, since the ocean (and especially the cold Gulf of Maine) hasn't warmed up much, but the air (mostly blowing from SW over the cold water and onto the south-facing Maine shore) is warm and moist=fog. Sometimes it's just the morning stuff that burns off by 9am, but can be all day, and right chilly too. Later in the season, water's warmer, and air temps a bit cooler, so less temp spread means less fog.

I don't have any Fundy experience, but would think the thermal factors would be similar, plus more current and much more tide range.

Southern New England, particularly south shore of Cape, Buzzards, RI, etc, has warmer water to start with, since closer to Gulf Stream and not so much affected by the Labrador Current. So there's fog all right, but less than "down east".

hope this of help, best of luck to you, and thanks for the anniversary wishes, it was indeed a wonderful way to start out married life (I met my wife sailing, so go figure). Now, down here we have the 5-year anniversary of Katrina this Sunday, an event of a whole different color....