Cruising from NJ to NC in September

With your size, I would run into the Chesapeake at Cape May and then into the Intracoastal Waterway south at least to as far as Beaufort, NC. I would spend a little time in St. Michael's MD, and possibly Baltimore Inner Harbor as both stops are very nice. The trip is not that difficult as long as you look at your charts and study them.

Welcome to YF RedSugar630. Easy trip. Only question mark is whether to go up the Delaware to the C&D and down the Ches. or take the ocean down to the Ches. Sea conditions, range and personal desire will determine that. I've always enjoyed Tidewater in Norfolk. Good mechanic there as well. From there Coinjock. You didn't say how far into NC you're going, but I generally enjoy Beaufort as my next stop if you're going that far. My last stop at Oriental will be my last.
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September is a little early for most boats heading south although a more enjoyable time to cruise. Traveling with other boats is always safer and generally more fun. I recommend re-posting about a week before your planned departure.
BTW, if you haven't made the run before be aware that courtesy and radio communication between passing boats begins at Norfolk. (In NY & NJ people pretty much just take what they get (wakes) and suck it up. South of Norfolk your radio will crackle with B-ing & M-ing if you throw a 3" wake on someone.
Also, it doesn't pay to race between Norfolk and North Landing. You'll just be waiting at the next bridge for everyone else who has been conserving their fuel.

Each bridge from Norfolk to North Landing is once an hour on the hour, at 6 knots (or less) you'll make all of them.

Which makes the run to Coinjock the longest 50 miles of the trip unless you're in a snailboat. Which reminds me, anybody here ever take the Dismal Swamp route. I haven't done it in about 20 years. Curious what it's like these days.

I did it in 2005, it's still dismal and not all that deep. I did it in a 35' Carolina Classic. A lot of it is slow, through idle speed zones with all kinds of crap tied up on the bank...... and there was a bridge or two that took forever to open. Once was more than enough for me........

Thanks Capt.J. That's about what I've heard. The 'new adventure' side of me is always tempted, but the good sense side has always prevailed. Maybe if I move a small trawler or sailboat someday (like they'd pay my rate ) I'll try it again.

Well, even though you're moving you could make it the trip of your lifetime. When else would you get the opportunity to take your yacht to these places. You could also leave it at a marina for a week and come back to it. Needless to say, if doing the trip is out of your skill set, hire a daily captain to run the boat.

Real easy 3 to 4 day trip. No reason for it not to be pleasure. The only wild card is your start date. For the run down the NJ coast you want to pick your weather window which shouldn't be hard in September, especially if winds are out of the west. Flat seas forecast for 2 days, run down to Ocean City, Md. Then down to Norfolk. Not so great seas, have a liesurly run down to Cape May, then to Annapolis or the Solomon Is., then to Norfolk. Get out of Norfolk at day break before the bridges lock down for rush hour and it will be a nice cruise down to Coinjock. Take it slow out of Norfolk and time the bridges down to North Landing. Then get up and go the rest of the way to Coinjock. Just north of Coinjock where the channel cuts between 2 islands it can look like the wrong way to go, but it's well marked. It's possible to lose a day coming out of Coinjock to fog or if Albemerle Sound is kicking up, but unlikely in September. Go down the Aligator River and you'll be in Wilmington by nightfall. Between now and then get a handle on your range. With gas you might want to stop at that marina by the Aligator River bridge to top off. Any place else will take you 1 1/2 hours out of your way. It should be a fun trip. Between Tidewater's restaurant, Annapolis and Coinjock you should gain about 3 lbs.

Happy to do a September run. If I can help, send me a PM.

Your range may be an issue with going from Ocean City MD, to Norfolk. How much fuel do you carry? Gas or Diesel? Its a long run south from OC to the mouth of the Chesapeake. Conservatively you'd want about 180nm range. West winds are fine for the run south but if there's any strength to them the waves will kick up at the mouth of the Chesapeake. Make sure you have the appropriate safety equipment for offshore. In September your biggest weather worry will be hurricanes. It's been over 1000 days since one hit the US but .... You could get stuck in OC due to rough surf at the inlet. Also the lock at Great Bridge is sometimes closed to limit water flow during strong storms.

In that style of boat with your experience level I'd recommend you use the C&D canal and Chesapeake bay if you are going solo. It won't add more than a day and there are plenty of places to stop that aren't out of the way at all.

You can pull in Little River inlet on the South side of Chesapeke Bay and right inside the mouth of the Chesapeke if you need fuel. It's easy to get in and out of and they have plenty of fuel. It's really a neat stop for a night if you like Navy Landing craft, as the Navy's base for them is in there.......I've pulled in there with a 103' MY with 7' draft and didn't have an issue with fuel/dockage/depth or anything.......

Better than 'listening' is using Dial-A-Bouy. You can call in to your local buoy or go to http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/maps/Northeast.shtml for a full detailed report for your area. That way you don't wait through x# of reports waiting for your area, miss it, and have to wait for it to come around again.