The Route

UPDATE: OUR NEW PLAN!

Here is a map for our newly adapted route, which takes us from Lake Ontario north-east along the St. Lawrence seaway to the Atlantic provinces of Canada. Beyond Nova Scotia we will follow the east coast past Maine, Massachusetts, to New York City. See our plans for beyond New York below in the original route.

http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?vps=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=218349119436886188548.0004abfba4d9396e3da0d
 
“The (ORIGINAL) Plan”

Leaving Collin’s Bay Yacht Club in Kingston, Canada, our journey will eventually lead us to the Caribbean, beginning with the British Virgin Islands.

     As seems to be true to the cruising lifestyle we have a very basic “plan” that we are following on the trip south. This plan should allow us to make decisions as we go and take our time exploring a variety of places along the way. As Jim Trefethen suggests in The Cruising Life, “plans” should replace “schedules.” This is largely because “schedules…tend to become rigid and dictatorial” and can be dangerous if they force you to rush into poor weather. Our plan includes some important dates in it, but at the core it is very flexible, because in the end keeping safe and sane are the most important things in our minds! So remaining true to this advice, here is our preliminary plan for the journey:
  • Depart Kingston around September 7th, 2011 with our friends aboard Raftan. Sail to Oswego, NY.
  • Have the mast taken down in Oswego.
  • Motor along the Oswego Canal and Erie Canal to the Hudson River.
  • Get the mast back up in Catskill, NY.
  • Travel the Hudson River to New York City.
  • Test our sea legs for the first time, sailing down to Chesapeake Bay and Annapolis, Maryland. 
  • Be in Annapolis, Maryland for the United States Sailboat Show, which runs from October 6th to the 10th, 2011: http://www.usboat.com/us-sailboat-show/home
  • Sail to Norfolk, VA
  • Rent a car and drive to Waves, NC to do some kiteboarding in our usual vacation spot in the Outer Banks!
  • Ocean Passage: Leave for the BVIs around November 7, 2011 (departure date for the Caribbean 1500 rally http://www.carib1500.com/
  • Hang in the BVIs and US Virgin Islands until Christmas when Brooke, Jamie and Granny H. visit.
  • With our new crew member (Jamie) cruise the leeward Islands as we please (Anguilla, St. Martin and St. Maarten, Saba, Statia, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, and on and on and on).
  • Return home sometime in June 2012…we haven’t worked out this part of the plan yet!
Our Route to the Caribbean
Kingston, ON to the Oswego and Erie Canals
The Hudson River to NYC and Chesapeake Bay
Ocean Passage: Norfolk to the BVIs