USA to Spain

Claude L.-Auger · Sep 17, 2013

bootneck said:
Hi Guys.
l live in Spain, Europe and am planning to buy a boat on Lake Michigan and plan to sail it back home to Spain, via Florida and the Caribbean.
Anyone tell me is it possible to sail the boat direct to the Atlantic coast or would l have to sail it to somewhere like Cleveland, on Lake Erie, and have it over landed to some where south of Washington.
Happy sailing

If the boat is anywhere on one of the Grat Lakes, it can be sailed directly to the Atlantic via the St.Lawrence Seaway system. You would would come out of the Gulf of St-Lawrence, sail by Newfoundland and on to Europe. That would be the shortest route. From Lake Ontario, you could also unstep the mast and using the NY state barge canal, go to the Hudson River, re-step the mast and sail down the Hudson to New York City, then on to Europe or to Florida if so desired. Lastly, another option from Michigan would be to unstep the mast and take the boat down to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi river, then sail to Key West, Florida, and cross the Atlantic from there via Bermuda, & on to Europe. That would be the longuest route. Of course, trucking the boat from Michigan to the East Coast is way faster if time is a constraint. Good luck

MLampner · Sep 17, 2013

What you didn't say in your post is the season you will be doing this. If your plan is soon all three routes Claude described are open to you though the northern route through the St Lawrence could be unpleasantly cold even now. The NYS Barge Canal (sometimes called the Erie Canal, which it replaced) is beautiful but winter comes early there and usually after the first hard freeze the system is closed for the season. This is generally some time in November and it reopens in early May. The inland route more likely than not will be the warmest for much of the trip if the plan is to go soon, if in the spring I favor the Barge Canal route but that's because I grew up near it.

Joe Mullee · Sep 17, 2013

Do a search on this site for the author "Hunter Voyager" and send him an email. He did what you are thinking about in a 1984 Hunter 34 about six or seven years ago. He's an Englishman who came to the states and bought his boat in one of the Great Lakes in the month of August. He then did as Claude mentioned and brought it down the NY state barge canal system to the Hudson River. From there he sailed it to the Chesapeake Bay via the Delaware River and put it up on the hard in Solomon's Island, Maryland for the winter. He then returned to England. The next spring he came back, did two months of upgrades working full time, and if I recall correctly sailed for Europe around mid-May. He went from Solomon's Island to Norfolk in two days. From Norfolk he sailed to Bermuda in six days then on to the Azores in I think nineteen days. From the Azores he was in Portugal in nine more days and then eventually up to the NE part of England. He's since sailed it to mainland Europe and back to his home port on several occasions.

Look him up. He's a real nice guy who could offer lots of info to you.

Good luck.

Joe Mullee

artboas · Sep 17, 2013

Just wondering...

bootneck said:
Hi Guys.
l live in Spain, Europe and am planning to buy a boat on Lake Michigan and plan to sail it back home to Spain, via Florida and the Caribbean.
Anyone tell me is it possible to sail the boat direct to the Atlantic coast or would l have to sail it to somewhere like Cleveland, on Lake Erie, and have it over landed to some where south of Washington.
Happy sailing

Have you considered purchasing a Hunter either in Florida or on the East coast?

Bill Jones · Sep 18, 2013

Before using the canal system, make certain that all locks are open and operating. I have friends that are bringing their boat to the Great Lakes and were confronted by a lock repair that had an indefinite completion date. They were forced to turn around and head south.

ttac · Sep 18, 2013

I also have some friends that are on there way south and are stuck right now! They have been sitting and waiting for about a week now and just found out that it will be 2 to 3 weeks before they reopen the canal!!

OceanDriver · Sep 18, 2013

bootneck said:
Hi Guys.
l live in Spain, Europe and am planning to buy a boat on Lake Michigan and plan to sail it back home to Spain, via Florida and the Caribbean.
Anyone tell me is it possible to sail the boat direct to the Atlantic coast or would l have to sail it to somewhere like Cleveland, on Lake Erie, and have it over landed to some where south of Washington.
Happy sailing

I have a 1984 31 hunter completely refurbished, refrigeration, ac, sails , lines, interior, prop , many extras that I would love to sell. It's in Avalon nj at marina, have only sailed once this year. No time because of work. Have a complete photo portfolio if interested. Award31@yahoo.com, Art Ward 9547340361