sailing from texas to florida?

[chip50]

hi, i was wondering, since i have never sailed before...would my ericson 25 sail from texas to florida , just thinking about it,... thats a long way to go with a small boat of this size,,,,can anyone shed light on this subject....i dont know yet how to sail but am very much wanting to do as seth told me and take a sailing course such as the anapolis one....thanks,,,,chip n angela.

 

[Morgan Stinemetz]

Chip,
Of course you can sail from Texas to Florida. But I would put about 10 years in gertting to know the boat, the weather and your own limitations before you try it. I've sailed to Cuba and back (to Tampa Bay) in my own Ericson 27 and it was rough enough so that I wouldn't do it again except when I had a great weather window...guaranteed. We had a time table last time. Big mistake. Get some salt on you before you go. I write about sailing for a living and every year I write about dead people whose ambitions exceeeded their experience.
Morgan Stinemetz

 

[Chris Miller]

small doses of big water...

Hey Chip,
Morgan's got it right on (as usual ). Also, if you really want blue water experience, get it in small doses with other people. Try to find some people with lots of experience who are doing small amounts of blue water and go with them. Our club on the Chesapeake sponsors an informal fun race around the light at the entrance to the bay (a few miles ofshore) led by a guy who does the transpac, annapolis-bermuda, and other such races... and the cruising side of the club usually does a sail around the Delmarva peninsula (lots more offshore, but not too far out to sea) led by a guy with lots of offshore experience. There are also schools that specialize in teaching about blue water. We had a friend do www.bwss.com and had a great offshore experience.
The other thing to think about is the boat. Yes, AN Ericson 25 could make that trip, but could yours? Our E-38 would require lots of upgrades/refits of things like seacocks on through-hulls, new standing rig, life raft rental, epirb rental, etc... before we could make a trip like that.
But, with all that said- Dude, good goals!

One other question for the Salties: could this trip be done in the Intra Coastal?

 

[Gary Schroeder]

Chip
Chris has made a good suggestion. Take a course so that you understand what's happening on the boat. Then try crewing on something like the Harvest Moon Regatta from Galveston to Port Aransas each fall. That's a good place to try an overight coastal race ~150 n.m. Look at http://www.lakewoodyachtclub.com/ under "Racing" for information. You can get on the "crew available" list and find a ride with someone who is not a "dead-serious" racer. Some HMR's have 200+ boats, and many go just for the beer blast at the finish line!

The best to you & your new boat.

 

[jkm]

Chip

Go for it. Hug the coast and plan where you'll stop each day. Make sure you have a good motor (outboard), a stout anchor, and the best life jackets you can find.

I wouldn't go out to sea at all-way too dangerous out there.

When I was a teen a buddy and I sailed a beater Rhoades 19 from Portland, Maine to New York City with no clue what a clew was. Took most of the summer and was the best sail I've ever had. All we had to navigate with were charts, compass and a ruler. By the end of the summer we knew how to sail.

John

 

[Sven]

Go for it. Hug the coast and plan where you'll stop each day.

I agree with John.

Nobody survives life, that's not the point of it.

As long as you don't ever expect others to risk their lives to save yours.

I'm a safety fanatic, system engineering everything on the assumption that everything will go wrong, but I do so under the premise that I should do everything I can for safety, not that lack of 100% safety will keep me from going. Disneyland lifestyles are utterly boring and pointless as far as I'm concerned.

Good thing that I'm not opinionated



-Sven