East Coast to West Coast

[Captain]

We were thinking about going down the ICW, through the Carribean and the Panama canal, then up the West coast to Vancouver island in a 40 foot trawler. Has anybody here done this trip before or have any advice they would care to share?

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Advice? Take your time. Plan on 2 or 3 years...AWESOME trip!

 

[DavidM]

That trip will take more than your typical coastal trawler to do safely. What boat do you have or are you considering for that trip?

IMO it would need to be something blue water capable like a Nordhavn, Krogen or the bespoke steel trawlers like Diesel Ducks.

David

 

[Nightsky]

Richard on Dauntless just did that trip in a KK42.

 

[Larry M]

We've done the trip from the west coast to the east coast. There are seasonal considerations. The Christmas/Trade Winds in the winter will take some planning, waiting for the winds to ease. Hurricane season in the Caribbean and Mexico on the West Coast is an other consideration. If you take your time there's a lot to see and experience in between. We took 6 years to get from Alaska to Florida.

 

[Wxx3]

We were thinking about going down the ICW, through the Carribean and the Panama canal, then up the West coast to Vancouver island in a 40 foot trawler. Has anybody here done this trip before or have any advice they would care to share?

No. It's impossible

 

[Wxx3]

Richard on Dauntless just did that trip in a KK42.

Oh, i just saw this.
Ok it's possible.

 

[Wxx3]

Oh, i just saw this.
Ok it's possible.

Oh wait, I'm only half way there.
And want some first hand experience?

I'm looking for people to join me for July and August.

Email me if interested

 

[Bay Pelican]

Captain

Suggest you take Richard up on his offer to accompany him on Dauntless. Going up the West Coast even in a Krogen is something you should be aware of before you set off on your plans.The West Coast is not protected waters such as the East Coast or Gulf Coast.

 

[Recb]

We are planning on doing this and are leaning towards a Selene in the mid fifty foot size range.

 

[alfamike]

East to west.

I have done this trip Florida to Panama to California trip 7 times in last 40 years.

Happy to chat with you both.

Looks like there are two of you that want to do this trip.


"Captain" from Montreal
&
"Recb" from Southampton


There are a couple good books that you need to read.


Start with latest edition of: "Cruising Ports: Florida to California via the Panama Canal" written by Pat & John E. Rains. -- Buy that book first - Read it cover to cover -- worth every penny it costs you.


E-Mail them at: www.MexicoBoating.com


or Call @ 1-888-302-2628 to order

You need a good blue water boat as others have said.

Selene in the mid fifty foot size range is a very good selection.


Kadey-Krogen 42 or 48 or 54, etc. also great.


Diesel Duck 45 or 46 is good.


Nordhavn 40, 43, 46, 47, 50, 52 foot on up -- any of these are all good.

Needs to be properly equipped.

Don't be in a hurry.

Choose your weather timing carefully.

Take Richard's up on his generous offer & learn a lot by helping him crew his boat up the west coast.

That experience will help you a lot !

Have fun.

Alfa Mike

 

[Lepke]

I did the trip while the canal was still in US control. I was in a hurry and just went south from N. Carolina, thru the Bahamas, east side of Cuba, Montego Bay and Panama.
Watch the weather. I hit good weather all the way so it was a fast trip.

 

[Recb]

Thanks very much Alfa Mike, your tips are very much appreciated. You mentioned there are couple of books you recommend as must reads, however form your post I only see one reference. Did I miss something there?

Thanks again, Richard

 

[alfamike]

Read the Capt Rains Book first

Start with latest edition of:

"Cruising Ports: Florida to California via the Panama Canal" written by Pat & John E. Rains. -

- Buy that book first - Read it cover to cover - This book By Capt. Raines covers your entire route & is an excellent book loaded with info you can't get any where else in just one publication. -- Please, start here first.

- worth every penny it costs you.

There are actually several others.

I am not at my home base to reference the exact details. So here from memory are a couple more, plus I am sure if you research there are others out there as well.

"Passagemaking Handbook" - A guide for Delivery Skippers & Boat owners - By John Rains & Patricia Miller.

US Coast Pilot - Calif, Or, Wash & Pacific Islands.

Brian M. Fagen book - "Cruising Guide San Francisco to Ensenada, Mexico".

Don Douglass & Reanne Hemingway-Douglas book called "Exploring the Pacific Coast San Diego to Seattle"

Carolyn & Jack West - "Cruising the Pacific Coast Acapulco to Skagway".

Also a good couple route charts are " Pacific Coast Route Planning Maps - North Portion & South Portion" from Fine Edge.com publishing.

Good luck with your trip.

Alfa Mike

 

[sunchaser]

All sorts of motor vessels are capable of doing this trip, and have. The skill of the crew, soundness/condition of vessel, weather smarts, Habla Espanol, stabilizers and time are your allies. Sure a Selene would be fine.

I know of some folks who bought a DeFever on the US West Coast, got to the North East and carried on to England where they lived.

BTW, last month I met two guys going from Port Angeles WA to Ketchikan - on paddle boards!

 

[Captain]

Thanks to everybody who posted. This will give us plenty of information to research. We presently have no boat because we both work a lot in the summer and it would be a waste to have a boat that we would hardly use in our short summer. We have 3 years left to work and are working on our nest egg. We're Canadian so living full time in the US or Caribbean is out of the question because of health insurance, etc... We were planning on retiring to a boat on Vancouver Island and spending a month or two driving to Southern US during the winters. We've always wanted to do the ICW and Caribbean so we were thinking of doing ICW through the Panama Canal and up the West coast. After reading the posts above we're considering cruising down the East coast and Bahamas for a year then coming back up North and either selling our boat and buying another in BC or having our boat shipped out there if we really want to keep it. We have cruising experience but not sure if we want the adventure of a West coast trip. We'll see in three years. Thanks to all.

 

[nodestination]

I would just put on a truck across Texas.

 

[Wxx3]

It's good to think of possibilities before toy commit.
I took 5 years.
Good luck