How Far South?

[Citroen/Dave]

Tmorgan,

Where are you? I live in Lynchburg too! We need to support Tim with his next SML festival.  Give me a call 237-5142.  Maybe we can get a fleet of ComPacs sailing nearby, sometime soon.

I like central VA living, just wish the coast was a little nearer.

Dave

[Sterling]

Florida is your best option for the reasons already listed.  I've lived in other states too, but this is the only place I've lived where I can comfortably sail year round in swim shorts and t-shirt.  Sure, it's hot in the mid-day sun in the summertime.  I avoid mid-day and I seek shade, such as a bimini.  In the shade on the water, it's great! 

[atrometer]

Wow!   There is a lot of great input on this subject, folks.  I am feverishly taking notes.
Thanks for all your opinions.

Atrometer... I have a cousin that has lived near Ft. Myers for over 20 years.  She is moving back to upstate NY but for family reasons.

-Allen

We got our family members from up there to move down here.  Would only go back for a visit and to sail on Lake Champlain!!

[brackish]

Yeah I think Jon898 is on to something.  You have to expand the criteria somewhat to include the other things you plan to do with your life.  Most folks will not be sailing all the time.  Thing is, I've lived in Key West, Charleston, Jacksonville NC, Annapolis, Bainbridge and Severna Park, MD, Philadelphia, Newport RI, Tulsa OK, Biloxi, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, and Tupelo, MS and have had extended stays in other places including Spain.  I've never been anywhere that I didn't like for some reasons and never left a place and said, boy I'll never come back here.  Guess it comes down to seeing what is offered and adaptability.

My sister lived in NJ in farm country for a number of years, and she loved it.  It is a completely different image than what the uninformed perception of the state might be.

For me the sailing has to have destinations within a few hours.  It has to have some destinations that are pristine and isolated and also some where I can sail up, dock, and have a meal or drinks at a nice dock side establishment.  It has to be an area where both the fresh and salt water fishing is great.  When I'm not sailing, it cannot be an area that has crowds and traffic.  It has to have a laid back atmosphere.  It has to be an area where I can engage in my woodworking addiction and be able to get the things I need for that.  It has to be an area that my sons and their families will want to come to and be reasonably accessible from the air for that purpose.  It helps if other friends and family are there.  It has to be an area that is in need of the kind of volunteer work my wife is passionate about.

Add back the original post criteria and for me, the upper Gulf of Mexico still wins by a landslide.

[crazycarl]

Snowing again today.

6 -10" predicted.

20+mph winds.

I spent the morning searching realestate sites in Florida.

There aren't many affordable homes close to the water.

I did find some lots I liked, just don't know if I want to go through having a house built again.

CC

[BruceW]

I'm in a situation where I'm the only one who would go; I am a bit farther from the coast than I like, but it's do-able.

I sure like the idea of the Punta Gorda area; maybe a little bit inland. I think an hour's drive to a boat that is right near the sailing area would be ideal.

Heck, I would actually go to the tropics if I could.

However, NC is definitely a good place to be; Richmond, VA would also be a good locale.

[Eagleye]

Florida is your best option for the reasons already listed.  I've lived in other states too, but this is the only place I've lived where I can comfortably sail year round in swim shorts and t-shirt.  Sure, it's hot in the mid-day sun in the summertime.  I avoid mid-day and I seek shade, such as a bimini.  In the shade on the water, it's great! 

Thanks for that Sterling.   Coming from the NE, dealing with the FL summer heat seems daunting but sailing when it is a little cool is ok.  My final sail last season was in November and the temps started out at 38 and rose up to a high of 42 for the day.  That is what I would like to avoid.





-Allen

[Eagleye]

Snowing again today.

6 -10" predicted.
20+mph winds.

CC

I’m sorry to hear that Carl, especially since the same storm is heading our way next!!

-Allen

[Bob23]

Yes, Carl you DO want a house built in Florida and you want me to build it! See how easy it is?
When do I start?
Bob23

[Citroen/Dave]

Might I add that Appalachian Power Company heats Smith Mountain Lake?  

Water is drawn from the lake for hydroelectric power in the peak daytime hours.  Off hours when there is less demand, water is pumped back into the lake from the thin water downstream; the Staunton River/Leesville Lake impoundment.  Water from that reservoir is solar heated during the day, thus it heats some of the lower SML the next night.  Spring sailing comes a little earlier near the dam.
 
Sorry to slip off topic, just waiting for Spring . . .

[JBC]

I see no one has given much thought to sailing west of the Mississippi.  I've only lived in Texas and Colorado (the latter for so long my Texas friends don't recognize my English "no more").  And as a retiree, I'm sticking to CO even though the sailing season is generally only from late spring through early fall.  I have sailed here, though, in every month except February...but, wait:  yesterday was 73...hummm.

I have kept a sailboat, at one time or another, in the Galveston Bay area, Corpus Christi, Newport Beach and Redwood City, in addition to several trailer sailboats I keep in CO (currently one is a CP 16/III...you can find a story and pictures of that one in the Jan/Feb issue of Small Craft Advisor). 

Summer sailing on high mountain lakes in CO is simply superb, though mountain weather can be testy at times.  It's certainly scenic, not hot and generally dry except for summer showers.  I sailed out of Key Largo one week in July and really loved the area, except for the heat and humidity.  I'm certain it's wonderful other times of the year.  When I kept a boat in the TX gulf coast area, I generally flew down to sail only in the fall, winter and spring, and avoided the worst of the heat and humidity.  I loved sailing in the fall out of Annapolis several times, too, but not sure I'd like it there in the summer.

Anyway, back to the West...Redwood City, CA is a wonderful year-round sailing area.  Much drier and more pleasant weather than San Francisco just up the road to the north (though sailing there near the Golden Gate was certainly memorable).  Of all the places I've kept a boat, I found the weather in Redwood City to be great, which the city promotes with a big sign advertising the best weather in the country....

But, Skip, I'm a liberal, so I find CA welcoming and very friendly. Moreover, I like salt water just about as much as fresh water, so long as I'm not too far from shore. As to taxes and such, I've decided long ago to not worry too much about that stuff.  Colorado is not cheap place to retire, but I figure I can still pull a sailboat to just about anywhere else whenever I want, especially with a small enough boat I can easily rig and camp in some along the way.  That's exactly why I like my CP 16.  And when summer comes, man oh man, those mountain lakes....

Jett

[Eagleye]

Might I add that Appalachian Power Company heats Smith Mountain Lake? 

Water is drawn off from the lake for hydroelectric power in the peak daytime hours.  Off hours when there is less demand, water is pumped back into the lake from the Staunton River/Leesville Lake impoundment down stream.  Water from that reservoir is solar heated during the day, thus it heats some of the lower SML the next night.  Spring sailing comes a little earlier near the dam.
 
Sorry to slip off topic, just waiting for Spring . . .

Not off topic at all, Dave.   SML has  caught our interest for a while now so any info is appreciated and interesting.
Thanks,
-Allen

[reedtg3]

Interesting thread.  Don't forget to include the mosquito/black fly/green head/no see 'em quotient as a point of comparison.  Some things are worse than heat and humidity.
Tom
Cattail
Lake Harris, FL   

[MacGyver]

Sailing...... what is that? I think when spring comes in I might have to relearn...... and I work on boats at a marina all winter.

I think someday when my wife and I retire, we should go to somewhere where you can see atleast 10 feet into the water, that would be nice. I have several years to figure out where to go though... I am just 32

I think I am going to go out and get out my 155, and wrap up in it in the house while playing sounds of the ocean...................

Mac 

[Tim Gardner]

Oh Yeah!!  Did I not mention the ABSENCE of mosquitoes at SML?   

TG