New Orleans to Jacksonville by boat questions
03-27-2019, 10:36 AM
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New Orleans to Jacksonville by boat questions
Looking at possibly doing a boat trip from New Orleans to Jacksonville or vice versa in a 35' go fast. What is the best time of year for the best water? We would want to do a few hundred miles each day & get hotel rooms each night. The truck & trailer would always be within a few hours. We would stay within sight of shore. Bounce around the Keys for a few days. Total trip is roughly 1050 miles. Thanks for any help.
03-27-2019, 12:26 PM
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Sweet trip, probably goes without saying, but early summer likely better than late summer due to hurricane season.
03-27-2019, 01:07 PM
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Looking at possibly doing a boat trip from New Orleans to Jacksonville or vice versa in a 35' go fast. What is the best time of year for the best water? We would want to do a few hundred miles each day & get hotel rooms each night. The truck & trailer would always be within a few hours. We would stay within sight of shore. Bounce around the Keys for a few days. Total trip is roughly 1050 miles. Thanks for any help.
03-27-2019, 01:29 PM
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Fuel would be the hardest part. If you’re planning on running the gulf over the icw you’ll have to keep running into port for fuel. It would take a lot of planning. Get coastal explorer for your computer and sit down and plot your entire course out. Use your gps to determine marina locations. Some will be listed on the program but you’ll have to verify they have the fuel capability for you. Very possible and would be fun but do your due diligence early and have everything figured out. Know what ports you can run into if bad weather arises. It happens fast out here. One summer squall can easily have 40-50 knot winds. The entire time you’ll have to pay close attention to weather. Mid summer is best for lack of fronts and good calm days minus a squall.
03-27-2019, 02:10 PM
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The one hop you want to lose sight of land is Carrabelle -ish to Tampa. It's probably 200 miles straight shot... there is not much to see or do between St. Marks and the whole 'armpit' of florida anyway so you aren't losing anything in that regard... if anything it's likely safer because the ports in the 'armpit' tend to be local knowledge type places.
I'd probably go New Orleans to Pensacola or Destin, then on to Apalachacola or Carrabelle, then to Tampa, then Naples, then Key West, Key largo, up to Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, on to JAX. I'd plan on several bad weather days too...
I'd probably go New Orleans to Pensacola or Destin, then on to Apalachacola or Carrabelle, then to Tampa, then Naples, then Key West, Key largo, up to Lauderdale, Port Canaveral, on to JAX. I'd plan on several bad weather days too...
03-27-2019, 03:19 PM
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Hope you can make 200 miles without fuel. If not Cedar Key or Crystal River will have to be a gas stop. Homosassa is not a place you want to go into without knowing where you are going. Over on the Atlantic side just remember when running the outside you normally have to go 40 miles or so in between inlets, so if it gets nasty can't duck into a close inlet.
Not that 40 miles is that long.
Not that 40 miles is that long.
03-27-2019, 04:28 PM
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Thanks guys, this is the exact info I'm looking for. We would have a 400+ mile range and would hope to cruise between 50-80mph when water & weather permits with the occasional runs up past 100. I'm a HUGE believer in planning & you can't be over prepared, especially on a trip like this. I did a solo boat run from the Mississippi river to Pittsburgh, PA in a 25' Eliminator Daytona big block in 2016.
03-27-2019, 05:16 PM
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03-27-2019, 06:54 PM
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That will be a great trip in early summer as suggested. I ran my Top Gun from Marco Island to New Orleans back in the mid 90's. Day 1 was Marco to St Pete's ( started late ); day 2 was St Pete's to Apalachacola with a fuel stop at Cedar Key before straight shotting the 135 miles across to Apalachacola; day 3 was Apalacha.... to Panama Beach and final leg was Panama Beach to New Orleans. Stayed in hotels every night as you are planning on doing. Plan it well as Crude intentions said. Enjoy and be safe.
Bob
Bob
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