In which Doris tries to understand why sailing in New England is so different from sailing in Old England.
It is very difficult to put in words quite how different the East coast of America is to the coast of England.
Mainly I think it is that here there are many, many towns and harbours all the way along the seaboard. The tides are much lower than in the UK (around 4 feet compared to 4 metres in the Solent) and a lot of the coastline is sheltered from the main ocean by chains of islands. So although the sea should never be taken lightly, it is easier to interact with the sea on this coast. A harbour is nice, but once you get up the many inlets there is enough shelter that every house can build its own jetty.
Without the tidal rise and fall to worry about (many of the very experienced sailors I talked to looked at me rather oddly when I asked if it was springs or neaps) the current along the coast becomes very important for passage making. On the South coast of the UK there are a few tidal “gates” round key headlands where you could find it difficult to make progress against a foul tide in a small boat; on the NE US coast you always need to consider the current. Unless, of course, you are in a biggish motor boat.
There is a view that the reason the tides are so much smaller is due to how close the coast is to the continental shelf, but I tried to get some pictures to illustrate this and it’s not easy to see.
Basically the eastern coast of the US is just a fantastic sailing playground. Do consider visiting. Unless you are allergic to seafood.