Cruise from VA to NY through ocean? Anyone do it?

[mnm99]

May be buying a boat in Hampton VA. I live near Port Jefferson on Long Island. Has anyone ever taken a trip like this? I'm going to be in a 2003 340.. How long would it take and how do i calculate miles? I will be going with a captain if I venture to try this. I would have to go through liberty Island.

Thanks

 

[Ididntdoit]

why not - up the chesapeake, through the C&D, down delaware bay into cape may, then up the jersey shore and your practically home......what a great ride - do it in stages renting slips along the way.....not sure i would do the (shorter) outside route from VA to cape may - not as many places to duck in, range may be i problem if conditions deteriorate. I don't know why you would need a captain for the whole trip......maybe just the first leg until you get comfortable. It will cost way more (even without a captain) to move it on its own bottom then via truck....

 

[JVM225]

Never did it, but it sounds like a great trip. Looking at bigger boats myself now too, and may go as far as Maryland to check a couple out if a deal I'm working on here doesn't go through. If I do wind up with something down there, my intention is to run it back. I'd probably look to do it in a few legs. Starting through the C&D Canal with an overnight in Cape May, then maybe run up to Liberty Landing in Jersey City for a night there, then home to the south shore of Long Island.
Longest trip I've taken on my current boat in one leg was about 6 hours. It was a great trip with fantastic weather, but once I backed in to a slip, I appreciated getting to my destination and being able to relax.
Your 340 is bigger and more comfortable than my 300, but I think 6 hours is more than enough to run in a day. Especially if most of it is up on plane.
No need for a Captain if you are comfortable with the boat, and have an up to date chartplotter backed up by paper charts, a towing policy, and a list of marinas that provide fuel and service along the way.

 

[vandal]

Truck boat from Va to liberty landing nj then drive it the rest of way. The price to go over bridges on hudson is a lot of money and can only be done at night in early morning.

 

[dpmulvey]

May be buying a boat in Hampton VA. I live near Port Jefferson on Long Island. Has anyone ever taken a trip like this? I'm going to be in a 2003 340.. How long would it take and how do i calculate miles? I will be going with a captain if I venture to try this. I would have to go through liberty Island.

Thanks

I did something similar albeit shorter. IMO....you can look at it in two ways. You can take a trip or you can take the trip of a lifetime. I went from Wilmington, NC to Richmond, VA. I did it with friends who knew the route well. All I had to do was break out the AMEX. We got lost... We misread a chart or two. We did some swimming and some fishing. We ate and drank well. We did guy stuff (traded lies). We took our time and most important to me..... I got to know my new to me boat. Since then, two of the friends have made their final voyage over the horizon. To the end they both said it was the time of a lifetime.

Food for thought.

Best st money I ever spent.

 

[FootballFan]

Has the possibility of being a great trip.

Let me start off by saying I have never made this trip - so take my input with a grain of salt. A lot of people on this site have made the trip - so their input is much more insightful than mine.

I have looked at the trip fairly extensively since it is just a matter of time before I take the trek to the NE.

Question that I would suggest you get input on is range. What kind of range does the boat have and what is the leg in open water without fuel options from Cape May up to northern NJ?

Your best friend here is Active Captain. You can lay out the route, see where the fuel options are.

Alex, cod, Rusty - these are guys that I know of who have made this trip more times than they can count. Maybe they have some input on options.

What time of year are you thinking?

I have been bottom to top on the Chesapeake. Your idea of running up to the C&D, then back down the Delaware sounds good. Chesapeake will get choppy - but very doable. Have been told the Delaware side can get a bit rough at times. Depending on time of year - I think the roughest part will be Cape May north.

dpmulvey summed it up well - what better way to relish the experience of a new boat than to take a trip.

Just a couple of thoughts,

Mark

 

[dpmulvey]

Range depends on engines and tabs. I believe 8.1's will burn close to 34 GPH at a 22 knot cruise. Lots of low end torque. 6.2's will be close to 38 GPH at 22 knots? The torque is flat, but the real power is at the high end of the RPM range. That's true of many newer engines. Enlarge the tabs on the 340 and the consumption goes to 22 gph @ 22 knots. Those are my figures from 6.2's. I can only speak to the 8.1's installed in a friends 360. I deducted 4 GPH as a SWAG for size differential.

 

[Alex F]

May be buying a boat in Hampton VA. I live near Port Jefferson on Long Island. Has anyone ever taken a trip like this? I'm going to be in a 2003 340.. How long would it take and how do i calculate miles? I will be going with a captain if I venture to try this. I would have to go through liberty Island.

Thanks

Good luck on the purchase.

I've done the trip many times and can probably answer any specific questions you might have. If you want you can PM me, otherwise posting here works as well. In the nutshell, you're looking at around 360-365NM. To make the trip more comfortable you can break it up in 3 legs. For example:

Day 1: VA to Ocean City, MD (~130NM), spend the night at Sunset Marina. Refuel upon the arrival and enjoy the area and dinner.
Day 2: OC, MD to Brielle, NJ (~125NM) or run another 35NM to Jersey City (stay at Liberty Landing, they have 24hrs fuel pump).
Day 3: NJ to Port Jeff (~65NM).

In regards to timing, I'd say you're looking at 6hrs for 130NM run.

The level of enjoyment for the trip will mostly depend on you and the crew. Chances are it'll be the trip you'll never forget (in a good way, I hope). If your experience level is not there yet and you feel you need a captain, it's a good call, don't be shy, safety comes first.

The trick in this trip is that it's pretty much 2/3rd of the run is done on the outside (open ocean run). So, it's very important to track the weather and pick a good day to start the trip. NE winds 20mph or greater is something you need to avoid. The good part is that there are decent amount of bail out points along the way. If things get really uncomfortable, there's always an ICW. But, you have to study the charts and learn the trouble (shallow) spots. Since you're running 340DA, there are few to none of the bridges to worry about. Scan the charts and double check. The ICW between VA and NJ is least favorable, but it's doable.

In any event, you have tons of options, so just ask away.

Good luck.

 

[PlayDate]

Done it back and forth from DC.

We broke it up into three days and two nights. First leg was from DC to Annapolis (great place to overnight). Second leg from Annapolis across the C&D canal to Cape May (another great place to stay). Third leg around Sandy Hook to Monmouth Beach.

We had great weather and all the crossings were uneventful. Well, almost...we broke an alternator bracket and I had to convince a shop in Annapolis to let me use their arc welder.

Keep an eye on the weather......no reason to rush the trip or make the crossings if the weather is bad. It was a beautiful, memorable trip. The only part on the ocean was between Cape May and Monmouth Beach. The water was glass and we had dolphins racing us for a few miles......perfect.

Yeah....the gas was expensive but who talks about dolphins playing chase with truck hauling a boat?

I will caution you that a lot of Captains who bill by the day will just push the boat and that will make it unpleasant since they are on the clock. Find someone who wants to enjoy the trip with you and understands that you want to enjoy it as well.

Keep in mind that they probably will be sleeping on the boat with you so it becomes really important you like their company.

JD

 

[Alex F]

...Yeah....the gas was expensive but who talks about dolphins playing chase with truck hauling a boat?...

Don't freak out if you see a whale breatching...Very cool site. Dolphins are very common in this area as well.

 

[Alex F]

why not - up the chesapeake, through the C&D, down delaware bay .....

I've always avoided C&D canal. A simple reason is saving close to 100 miles, which is pretty much a day worth of run for some, not to mention the fuel savings. If you sit for 1 day waiting for weather (let's say in OCean City MD), you're still ahead of the game.

When I go to Chesapeak area on a family cruise trip, not a delivery south or north, then I'll be happy to do a canal, in the interest of exploring.

 

[rcknecht]

I would add as stop or two in what Alex suggested... VA to OC, MD; OC MD (through the Cape May cannel and stop for gas and lunch) then stop for the night at AC (Golden Nugget)... Anchor at Barnegat (Fuel up) and then to Liberty Landing...