GreatLakes to Florida
 

Have any of you guys made the trip? I think it would be a great Mid-life crisis trip....O.K I'm only 38 but you cant start planning to soon right?are ther any good books on the trip? I thought that lakeland boating had a website at one time but I cant find it.....

Are you talking about driving?

well ya.....swimming sucks...

Lets clarify this one step more.
Are you going by boat?
Do you plan on using the Mississippi or going the long way around?
Long way is taking the Great Lakes to Erie Canal System to Hudson River then the Intercostal Waterway.
If you're using the Mississippi there are several books on cruising the river. Try www.seafaring.com or www.nauticalmind.com/index.html . One of these two should have all the infromation you need to go either rout.
My wife and I want to try taking ours up the Intercoastal from Florida to New Jersey. I think it would be a hell of an adventure.

well yes I want to go by boat....well maybe not my Sonic but by the time I can go(10-15 years) I'll probibly have something a little more comfy. Iggy thanks for the links I also think it would be a great adventure....one I'd love to take. If anyone makes the trip each year and needs a line boy let me know, I'd pay to ride along...

Here I was thinking of something along the lines of a car! Silly me! Actually this is a trip that I'd like to make...someday...

I was reading a recent article about a guy who boated from new york to down to the gulf. Took him something like 10 years and two boats. He was buying these ratty old things and would just leave them at a marina after his 2 week vacation. Next year he'd fly out to the marinia and move the boat onto it's next point. Yea, it's a waste of a boat, but it would make for interesting summer vacations.

There are a few books out there about taking a boat down south. Look for books on The Great Circle route, Also look for info on the Ten Tom waterway.

Quimby's river guide is one of them.

Been Milwaukee on Lake Michigan to Mobile Bay .ICW Tarpon To Weat Palm by water,looooooooooooong trip. You get a taste of it all. Doug :)

My parents just did that. Holland, MI to Italy. They crossed the atlantic in 14 days with just the two of them. They hit a whale, had many flying fish on the deck and almost hit a container from a ship. They are on a 42ft sailboat and beat some powerboats that left three days before them. They have been there for 2 years with no plans to return yet. It is possible but takes about a year of planning and riging the boat for the cross and the screwy power over there. My dad says the boat (which was new) has aged by years from the salt and sun. Farthest I have gone is Holland to Isle Royal in Lake Superior. That took a month of easy cruising with lots of stay overs.