Hi Guys,
l live in Spain, Europe and am planning to buy a Catalina on Lake Michigan. Then sail back to my home in Spain, via the Caribbean. What would be the best way to get it to the Atlantic coast, say below Washington.
Do l sail it through the Lakes to Cleveland and have it over landed to the coast, and what would be the cost, or can l sail to the coast direct. Also what would be the best time of year for the trip.
l would appreciate any info.
Happy sailing.
HI,
Wouldn't be a lot easier and cheaper to find one on your side of the water .... :?
If you really want it, yes you can sail it thru the lakes and St-Lawrence seaway to the atlantic water.
You could go via water the entire way. It would require going north on Lake Michigan and going through the Straight of Mackinaw then south in Lake Huron to Port Huron/Sarinia. You would then enter the St Clair River go across Lake St Clair to the Detroit River to Lake Erie. You would go across Lake Erie to the Erie Canal. The mast would have to come down. Take the Erie Canal to the Hudson River. The Hudson river then flows to New York City. You could then Put the mast back up and go down the coast to the DC area and begin you crossing. I would think Summer would be best for the Great Lakes part of the trip but you would not want to start out across the Atlantic in the hurricane season. I don't have a good timeline but I believe you could get to DC from Lake Michigan in a month or less of hard core sailing/motoring. There are lock at contend with and they can slow things down.
I am sure others will chime in. I would not feel comfortable sailing a C34 across open ocean. It is a great coastal cruiser.
I talk to people doing the Erie Canal every year. While I was cruising Lake Erie in August, met 2 separate boats doing just that. One was going to use the Welland Canal and enter the Erie Canal from Lake Ontario, they wanted to visit Toronto. The other has made the trip a few times before was going to enter from Buffalo. Both thought entering the Erie Canal in mid August was about right for a leisurely trip, even with some expected delays.
Jim
Not quite sure you have the tankage to make it across the atlantic. Planning on buying a water maker? Also hope for good winds so you don't have to run the engine much.
The Erie Canal is supposed to be beautiful but you do have to contend with taking the mast down and storing it on sawhorses. Trucking the boat from the east end of Lake Erie to the coast probably would not be that expensive. It is about 350 miles so I would guess it would cost about $2,000?
As much as I support the Catalina brand, I would be reluctant to expose a C34 to ocean conditions without some substantial modifications.
We all love our C-34's, but agree with others...it's not a blue water boat built to cross oceans.
Or depending how much time/experience you have, you could sail up the coast from New York or the Intercoastal Waterway to South Carolina or Florida, then a short hop over to Bimini to start your trip to the Carabean.
Mike
Still don't get it why would come buy a both here to sail back to spain ?
There should be plenty of both for sail in your area.
FWIW- I talked with a ship captain that regularly sails the great lakes. It takes a lake freighter six days to get to Quebec City. Keep in mind that he is making 13 knots 24 hours and day when not going through locks.
Big dreams, way bigger than mine. :abd:
You've missed a major point in this post, he wants to cruise the Caribbean first. From the Caribbean, he should start up Florida coast and used both trade winds and the Gulf Stream to Eeeeeengland. Far more fragile boats than ours have done it. It would depend upon experience level.
Google "The Great Loop" - there's an association that has members who do that trip. There's also a great writeup of an Erie Canal trip by a C34 skipper:
Sorry, can't find the link right now, I'll keep looking, it used to be on the CLR page for Catalina Fleet 21 in Chicago.
"C34 Erie Canal" Google search finds this:
https://www.google.com/search?q=C34+erie+canal&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a (https://www.google.com/search?q=C34+erie+canal&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a)
There's also this:
http://www.pcmarinesurveys.com/ICW%20A%20index.htm (http://www.pcmarinesurveys.com/ICW%20A%20index.htm)
Thanks for all your info guys. l will try to answer one or two questions.
We want to visit the USA so what better way than by boat. We plan to buy a one-way ticket, buy a boat, do some trials to make sure it is sea-worthy and basically just chill out. 8) Lance jones hit the nail on the head!
My wife and l have had a lot of experience, my wife has already done the ARC and raced in the Fastnet, and we both have RYA skipper certs. Some of you will have gathered by my name that l have some experience with the sea. Believe me, gale force 10 in the North Sea is no joke, great fun though!
Buying a boat in Europe is expensive and we want the best we can afford being pensioners. l have seen boats in NY , Florida, but depends which one is right for us.
l understand some of your misgivings about sailing the Atlantic and some of you suggest modifications, what would be these, don't say a long warp.
Don't fancy going via the St Lawrence Seaway, bit to far north. The lntercoastal Highway sounds just the ticket. then head for the Caribbean and hom :thumb:e.
Sounds like a great trip. If you do go ahead with the C-34, keep us posted on your travels.
Quote from: bootneck on September 19, 2013, 01:39:29 AM...and some of you suggest modifications, what would be these, don't say a long warp.
OK, no long warp. :clap
But how about a watermaker? :D
Here's Steve Dolling's report on a trip to Mexico, with very useful observations.
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5270.0.html
Happy hunting.
For what it's worth, the Great Loop mariners usually go counterclockwise by heading south in Lake Michigan to the Chicago River, which connects to the Illinois River and then to the Mississippi and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. They then follow the Intracoastal Waterway north up the East Coast and come back through the Erie Canal. I have heard not good things about this trip from people who have done it by sailboat, at least the Mississippi part. The Mississippi is very congested with barge traffic and there are depth issues along the way. I think the far more scenic trip from Lake Michigan would be through the Great Lakes to the Erie Canal and then down the Intracoastal Waterway.
You might want to check out the "Distant Shores" television program by Paul and Cheryl Shard. They are Canadians who have cruised all over the world in a number of different sailboats. They have episodes that cover most of your intended territory from the Erie Canal to the Intracoastal Waterway, the Carribean as well as Atlantic crossings. They have a website and you can buy DVDs of their shows online.
Clay's right, of course no one in their right mind would try to go UP the Mississippi! :shock:
The point of mentioning the Great Loop was to show that there are waterway courses if one wants to get out of the Great Lakes to the east coast.
I still haven't found Weal Seas' blog, I'll look some more.
bootneck,
Here it is:
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,1511.0.html (http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,1511.0.html)
Click on the link in reply #3 from Dan Harrington.
Sorry, the link no longer works. Why not send Dan a pm?
Stu. Thanks for the link to Steve Dollings trip to Mexico. http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5270.0.html
A must for every sailor who is thinking of an extended cruise.
We will certainly take note of his observations and the modifications he made.
l have been a fan of Solar Panels. My house here in Spain is powered by them. l would also get a small (300/400w) wind turbine on my boat to keep the batt toped up on cloudy days.
l have also been in touch with 'Hunter Voyager' ( yes l know he has a Hunter 34 but we can forgive him for one miscalculation of judgment). He did what we are going to do in 2005 so we should get plenty of good advice.
Talking of other boats. We might have a look at a Catalina 36. anyone got any thoughts? l know l am on the wrong forum! just wondering!!
Bob.
Quote from: bootneck on September 20, 2013, 08:38:48 AM
1. l would also get a small (300/400w) wind turbine on my boat to keep the batt toped up on cloudy days.
2. l have also been in touch with 'Hunter Voyager' ( yes l know he has a Hunter 34 but we can forgive him for one miscalculation of judgment). He did what we are going to do in 2005 so we should get plenty of good advice.
Talking of other boats. We might have a look at a Catalina 36. anyone got any thoughts? l know l am on the wrong forum! just wondering!!
Bob,
1. In all of the many sailing forums I've read, a majority of folks who have purchased wind turbines have eventually ditched them in favor of more solar. FYI. Noise and moving parts are the usual causes.
2. Hunter 34 is a nice boat, a little pointy in the bow for feet to sleep and somewhat more tender than our boats. Get a lot of them over on co.com. C36? What's that? Oh! Yes, great boats, too, much like ours except for the layout down below. I've always been concerned about the steep companionway and the galley "right there" at the bottom, and we love our aft head, but they're great boats with a great bunch of skippers. Their forum is good, too.
Of the three "production" boats, Catalina, Hunter and Beneteau.... The Hunters and Beneteaus are lighter (disp, ballast) as compared to a similar size Catalina. Check out the D/L and SA/D numbers. Catalina will be able to be more seakindly in higher winds with a higher level of security (IMHO).
I think there was a book/movie about 20 years ago about a young man that went around the world in a C22 or 25. It can be done. There are so many other options for getting a boat to the Med.....but if you want the adventure, it can be done. You may want to look at the ARC or one of the other groups that organize mass crossings. At least you will have some company and the security it brings.
The ARC goes from east to west on the trade winds that got Mr. Columbus to the islands. IIRC, there aren't any "rallies" going west to east across The Pond.
Guys : The young man that Ken mentioned sailed around the world, did it in a Catalina 27. This spring the guest speaker at our fleet 12 meeting was another young man (25 had is 26th birthday at sea) transited around the Americas in a 26ft sailboat in just less than year
So this stuff can be done, but it takes tenacity and a bunch of luck!!
Sorry to contradict you Stu but the Word Cruising Club goes from Portsmouth VA to Bermuda and the Azores to Portugal in May/June 2014. l think you can join in your own boat or buy a berth in another.
Only 3 production boats Roc! what about a Moody probably the best of the lot 36ft Centre Cockpits my favourite but cant afford one.( got to say that cos l'm a brit ). Don't forget the German Bavaria. One built every 2hrs. Saw a promo video of the Bavaria some years ago. 40ft sailed head long onto a man-made break water. With Kevlar woven into the bows there was only scratches on the paintwork. So they are strong production boats.
Still prefer a Cat though.
Bob