Dockage Destinations

[Contest 31]

Greetings - just joined, thought I'd say hi.  I am currently near Chattanooga, TN and have my 31' sloop on a big lake here, but after some refit chores in a year or two I'm moving her to the coast.  I'm undecided about where to go, thought maybe I could get some advice.

Currently I'm thinking either the FL panhandle area of Appalachicola to St. Marks, or alternately the big mooring field in Beaufort, SC.  Both are basically the same distance from me.  I'm leaning toward Carrabelle or St. Marks as there just seems to be more cruising opportunities around the Gulf coast, especially when you throw in the Keys.  Beaufort is a great town, and Charleston and Savannah are too, and the coast is less developed.  St. Marks is something of a hurricane hole it seems.

Any ideas or advice?  I've also thought about St. Mary's GA as well as a couple of other possibles.  I'll be driving down every couple of weeks to sail for several days until I retire in which case it will be longer trips abroad.

[Tim]

Welcome Aboard!  Cannot really help with your question though as I am on the opposite coast.

[Auspicious]

I'm a huge fan of estuaries, especially for small boats. Lots of shoreline in a small area, usually lots of places to go. Long Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay, maybe the Gulf Coast bayous, maybe San Fransisco Bay, Puget Sound.

Chesapeake Bay is 200 miles from top to bottom and has over 11,000 miles of shoreline. Further than your alternatives, but I'd like at Hampton VA, Cape Charles VA, and Galesville MD.

Spend some time with charts and take your time. Read Waterway Guide books. Buying charts and guides is cheap insurance against going somewhere you aren't happy.

I've sailed much of the world and Chesapeake Bay is my favorite place to sail (second is the Solent, third is Skagerrak, fourth is Puget Sound). I live here because it's my favorite, not the other way around.

[CapnK]

As much as I have enjoyed my visits to the Panhandle, and can see it as having value being "close to" places like the Big Bend, 'glades, and Keys as 'easy' destinations to reach in a few days from there, I think I have to say - Georgia. :)

Because: hurricane strike probability (lowest of E Coast and Gulf, I think...?) and places to hide from such, the Keys aren't *that* much farther than they would be from Panhandle, whereas Bahamas are that much closer, as is the possibility of a summer headed N to see the OBX, Chessie, or even Down East... And being just N of Fl east coast - easy to mosey down that way via auto when looking for parts and such, if/when needed.

[Contest 31]

Thanks very much - excellent advice.  I was looking at hurricane history maps and it seems that the St. Marks area seems to be as low incidence as Brunswick, GA, if I'm looking at the data correctly.  At this point Carabelle seems to be checking a lot of the boxes.  And I can always move in 2-3 years to GA/SC region.