I've been doing a review of passenger manifests into New Orleans 1820-1860. Before the Civil War, New Orleans was the second busiest port for immigrant arrivals after New York. This was due in large part to the inexpensive transportation by river into the interior of the United States.
I can say that many ship manifests show that it was not uncommon for sailing voyages to take 2 months or more, even without heavy storms. For example, the Agnes left Bremen, Germany on October 26, 1845, and arrived in New Orleans January 1, 1846. The Constitution left Bremen September 5, 1846, and arrived in New Orleans November 12, 1846. And, the Lapland left Liverpool, England on September 26, 1846, and arrived in New Orleans November 12, 1846. Source: NARA Series M259, Roll 25.
