How long would it take to walk from Toronto to Montreal?
Since leaving Canada on our adventure, we have been asked over and over by friends/family/blog readers if we have any idea when we’ll be in a particular area. Some people even expect that we’ll be able to give them an exact date at which we’ll make landfall on an island hundreds and hundreds of miles away. As frustrating as it is for our friends to hear, we really have no idea. Part of the problem is that because we have never done this before, we really just have no idea how long it takes to travel these distances. It’s like asking us “How long would it take you to walk from Toronto to Montreal?” Yes, we could calculate it, based upon our boats typical cruising speed, but there are so many variables, not the least of which is the weather which controls everything. To add to that, when we get somewhere we like, we stay a while. If we find a place boring or an anchorage uncomfortable, we leave. As such, pretty much any estimate we make would be really out of whack.
One of the books that both Rebecca and I enjoyed (we have each read it several times) is An Embarrassment of Mangoes by Ann Vanderhoof. I was curious about their travel route so I got out the book and looked it up yesterday. A surprise to me was that they actually stayed in Georgetown for 3 months! They left here late March and ended up in Luperon, DR just 5 days after that. That’s quite a distance, and they obviously blew by a few places to do that, but it is possible to knock off a lot of miles should the stars all line up.
I hate it when people want me to tell them at what time I will be where. My kids always want me to tell them before I leave Ohio at what hour I will arrive at their homes in Florida. I travel with a dog and two cats. My legs swell and I get tired. I tell them I’ll call them on the way. The problem is that they get all bent if I don’t arrive exactly on the dot of a time they have set. So I don’t give them a time.
Forget time… we won’t even give months. 😉
“The sailor who has no schedule always has perfect weather.”
An old saying, but still true today.
bob
Agreed!
I’d stick to the plan you seem to have had since you left Key Biscayne. Do what you want when you want . . . Looks like a fair number of little islands to explore. Thanks for exploring and sharing with your wonderful pics.
More islands than could possibly be seen in one season (or one lifetime)!
Hi folks, glad to see I had loads to read after I have been away to the local river for a few days. Thank you Rebecca fro the “get fit” pages it’s a great help / info. for what i need to do in a few months time, I am also hoping our scuba diving gets me back on track as i have not long had a micro-disectamy on my spine/ disk. and need to loose some weight to help the injury heel. As for the length of time it takes to get from “A to BCDE…. we understand as there are so many variables that happen along the way & there are so many grit looking places to see, & sailing is not about rushing its “cursing” mode :-).
Glad to hear you are enjoying Rebecca’s blog!
http://www.strengthplus.ca
We’ve been back on the boat a week and we already have someone wanting to know exactly when we’ll be in Ft. Lauderdale so that a business meeting can be scheduled around our arrival! And this is after we told everyone that we have no schedule nor do we know where we’ll be at any given time. Grrrrr!
hehe… typical.
A great book……I read twice too…..They were number three on my reading list in 2008….
http://cruisingwetpaint.blogspot.com/2008/09/johns-book-of-summer-club.html
Thanks for that list John. I’ll keep my eyes open for the other ones.
No schedule is the key to true freedom, so we think you’re doing it just right. What’s the fun in keeping a tight schedule? Love the map showing all the places in between “here” and “there”. Looks like a lot of fun ahead!
LOTS!
What’s the rush? As long as you get a little more south by June, you probably have until September to get there, right? So many islands to see, so little time.
Are you guys leaving the Bahamas soon or planning to keep exploring there for a while? I’ve been enjoying the pictures, and getting ready to go. Going to look at a trawler (I know I’m selling out by doing so) Saturday.
I saw you referenced the Gentleman’s Guide, so I’m assuming you’re taking the path down to the DR and over to Puerto Rico, then down? Is that called the “thorny path” or the “thornless path”, I can’t remember which is which.
Hi JP
We need to be in Grenada or south during H-season. That is still 5+ months away though.
The trawler thing is OK. Our friends on Knot Tide Down have a very comfortable boat. Now, they were talking about selling it and buying a catamaran. Perhaps you should contact them and make them an offer? 🙂
Yes, we will basically be taking the Thornless path. Thorny if you bash into the wind; Thornless if you follow Van Sant’s method:)
Nice, that’s the route we hope to take when/if we get down there, though not familiar enough with it to know the ins and outs yet.
Seems like some nice islands to see, that would otherwise be skipped going the other way around. I’ve read it’s a tough trip either way.
Guessing their trawler is outside my small budget range if sailing and replacing with a Catamaran. Thanks for the idea though.