Getting your boat to Maine

Fortunately there are a variety of options, described below, for getting you, your crew and your boat to Maine. Our recommendations are based on departure from Western Long Island Sound.

A. Skipper your own boat

Straight-thru, Non-Stop Passage - Assuming an average of 6 knots VMG, this passage will require about 50 hours. [It is highly recommended that skippers time departures to hit the Race near the end of ebb tide and the Cape Cod Canal near the end of flood tide.]

Two three-day week-ends - A 36-40 hour sail (one overnight) should cover approximately 215-240 nautical miles (at 6 knots VMG) permitting skippers selecting this option to get to Marion or Onset in the course of a long week-end. Some skippers may prefer to get through the Cape Cod canal to at least the Sandwich Marina at the north end of the Canal or to go on to Plymouth, Marblehead, or Gloucester. The second long week-end could involve an overnight passage directly to Monhegan Island, just south of Penobscot Bay, or three day trips stopping at Gloucester, Portland, and Rockland.

Daylight only runs along the coast – Assuming daily runs of 60 nautical miles per day, boats selecting this option will need at least six days to complete the passage from Western LIS to Rockland.

B. Your Boat Delivered to Maine

Hired Delivery Crew - Delivery Services are available that will come aboard your boat and deliver it to to your chosen starting point in Maine. The estimated minimum cost is approximately $1,000 each way.

Over land via trailered transport - For some boats, especially smaller ones, this may be the best option. J105 owners, for example, can get trailers and hire a towing service. Estimated cost is approximately $1,600 round trip.

C.    Charter in Maine or more locally - Click here for a list of charter brokers and their website addresses. If chartering is an option you are considering, we urge you move quickly. While the charter companies do not yet know all of the boats that will be in their charter inventory next summer, you should, at a minimum become familiar with the companies themselves, the kinds of boats they charter, what is currently available, what they think might become available, etc. Finally, a charter operator located in Newport or somewhere else in the lower 47 may well have boats located in Maine or coming off charter in Maine in the time frame of interest to you.