I grew up in the Great Lakes; near Lake Michigan to be exact. I thought it would be a great adventure to sail a catamaran through the Great Lakes. The summer is short so I would want to go back south to Florida for the winter.
So I was wondering, if you have a boat in Florida and want to sail to the Great Lakes or if you have a boat in the Great Lakes and want to go to south for the winter, Can You Sail a Boat From the Great Lakes to Florida without Demasting? In order to sail to the Great Lakes from Florida without demasting, requires traveling the St. Lawrence Seaway, but the inland canals are much shorter (and faster) so many boaters choose to demast and motor through the Erie, NY and/or Mississippi canal systems.
How Long Does it Take to Travel from Great Lakes to Florida?
If you take the St Lawrence Seaway, it will certainly take longer than the inland canals. The entire St. Lawrence Seaway is approximately 2,000 miles long, but that is from the farthest port (Duluth via Lake Superior) to the Atlantic. You can cut in and go south in Michigan and cut off around 1/3 of the distance. Keep in mind, you must sail north past New York and Maine and Nova Scotia in order to enter the St. Lawrence VS entering the canal system through the Hudson River in New York. This will add several more days to your trip.
If you take the Erie Canal it will be shorter and faster, but you will need to take down your mast. There are some short bridge clearances (around 19 feet) on this route. It will take approximately 90 travel days to reach Chicago via the Erie canal or through Canada (not the St. Lawrence Seaway) from the tip of Florida (the Florida Keys) traveling 40 miles per day on average, with some rest days factored in. Keep in mind, this is cruising speed. You can get there much faster without taking your time and enjoying the sites and stops along the way.
What Does it Cost?
The costs of sailing from Florida to the Great Lakes will vary based on each individual boater (of course). It all depends on the size of your boat, how many days in a marina, your cost of fuel (go faster, burn more fuel), restaurants visited, etc. In general, I read about one group of cruisers that had average costs of approximately $11,000 ($3,790 for fuel and $7,300 for marina fees) for a 26 ft boat to sail the entire loop in approximately 308 nights to $33,000 ($14,412 for fuel and $10,200 for marina fees) for a 48 ft twin engine boat in 308 nights to sail the entire 5,420 mile loop. You can do the averages to calculate per day amounts and extrapolate to figure only the Florida to Great Lakes passage costs. By the way, check out this link for more information about the group of cruisers I reference. Costs are rounded and are approximate, but give you an ideal for costs.
When to Go?
Moving north from Florida, you will want to go in the Springtime. If you leave Florida in April and take your time, it will take you about a month to travel up the Intercoastal Waterway to Virginia (May) and about another month (June) to get into the Great Lakes. One more month at cruisers speed (think of the tortoise not the hare) and you will make it through Lake Michigan to Chicago (July). If you time it just right, you can be watching fireworks in Chicago on the 4th of July.
Best Months in the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are best enjoyed in June, July and August. September weather can be nice or turn cold quickly. If you are a warm blooded Florida Sailor, make sure to pack warm weather gear as even in the summer months, the weather on the Great Lakes can be cool – especially at night.
You May Want to Continue on the Great Loop?
The Great Loop is a series of canal passages, Gulf and Atlantic routes that travel around (or through) Florida, up the East Coast; Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) to New York and inland to the Great Lakes (both in the US and Canada), then down through Chicago via Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico and back to Florida. Of course, you don’t need to do the entire loop, you could go in one way and come back out the same way, but many cruisers take a year and voyage the Great Loop.
Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway (ICW)
If you start in Florida and travel up the East Coast, you will spend a great deal of time on the ICW. The ICW or the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway is a 1,200 mile route of mostly protected waterway of canals and inland waterways from Florida’s Key West (the southernmost point in the United States), up the East Coast to Norfolk, Virginia (or vice versa). It is well charted, though check your draft and beware of shoaling areas which change from season to season.
ICW Has a Variety of Scenery and Waterways
I traveled on the ICW from Charleston, South Carolina to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on several years ago and was impressed by the many different types of scenery along the way from the swamps to sounds and bays to Florida’s unpopulated Northern canals to its very populated southern canals as we approached Ft. Lauderdale.
DIY Demasting?
So if you decide an inside passage is for you, then you will need to take down your mast. Demasting may be something that you can do yourself or may be something that you need to hire a professional to do for you. It all depends upon the size of your boat, your abilities and your crew (helpers). In general, if your mast is 30 feet and below, you may be able to do it yourself. If your boat is larger than 30 feet, then most likely your mast is too great for a do it yourself (DIY) project. Taking this on can be dangerous so make sure you know how to do it ahead of time if this is something you plan on doing yourself. There are numerous marinas and boatyards along the way. With a little research, you can call around and find a favorable location for the demasting.
Ship the Mast or Carry it Onboard
Once your mast is down, you need to consider how you are going to carry it. Many cruisers build a wooden rack for the mast to fit into on the deck of the boat. You must think about choppy seas and the wakes of fellow boaters – especially speed boats. Remember, not everyone is courteous on the water or even aware of what discomfort their wake can mean to a fellow boater.
Are you able to move around on deck with the mast stored on deck? Can you see around the mast or does it block your visibility for safe boating. For larger boats, it may be better just to have the mast shipped ahead or kept at the marina or boatyard until your return (if you are returning via the same route).
Restepping Your Mast (reinstalling the mast)
If you are planning substantial time within the Great Lakes, you may want to restep your mast once you pass through the locks so you can enjoy the wind power within the lakes. If you haven’t experienced the Great Lakes, they are like small oceans, but with fresh water! Of course, this may mean demasting again if you are going to choose a canal route with low bridge clearance on the way back out. Perhaps you enter through the Erie Canal, but then decide to depart through the St. Lawrence Seaway. Your options are abundant are only limited by time and weather.
Is it Worth the Trip?
This voyage is definitely about the journey and not the destination. There is so much to do and see that you can’t possibly experience all that there is in one season. If you are just about taking your boat from one point to the other, you may be able do this much faster than outlined in the above paragraphs. But from the many quaint cities and towns along the canals to the awesome Great Lakes to the Canadian 1,000 lakes and historic villages and architecture from the 1600’s and beyond, not to mention all of the maritime history. Those that have sailed from Florida to the Great Lakes and back, say it is well worth doing and many do it more than once to experience more than time allowed on the first trip.