I figure it will take me a week. Any suggestions on anchorages or mooring fields on the way would be helpful and appreciated.
When are you planning on doing your trip?
We did the trip last spring/summer.
These are the places we anchored at either going or coming back:
Lake Boca Raton
Merritt Is. (across from Cocoa)
Jensen Beach (south of the bridge, west side)
Unnamed creek between Ormond – by - the Sea and Flagler Beach (mile 809). Behind the Sea Ray factory (surprisingly, very quiet).
Umbrella Creek (southwest of Jekyll Is.)
New Teakettle Creek (west of Sapelo Is.)
Upper Vernon River (south of Savannah)
Moored at: St Augustine
Marinas we stayed at: Titusville Muni
Arlington Marina, Jacksonville
We didn’t go outside at all as there were small craft warnings just about every day. The bridges were a pain in the butt, but you will gain valuable experience holding your new-to-you boat in place as well as navigating through some skinny water. I actually enjoyed the ICW quite a bit, more so on the way back (north) then on the trip down.
Also: 10 hour days would be very difficult to do solo. A long day even with two people, but very doable with enough daylight. We did several, covered about 100 miles on those days. Six hour days will give you more time to get settled in at your anchorage and give you time to move if you have to with daylight. An extra day or two allowance can make a big difference.
Before you leave in the morning, review your route for the day to identify areas that require extra attention. Also, plan your anchorages for that day before you leave in the morning. Give yourself at least one alternative in the event there is a problem with your first choice.
Use your ground tackle (solo) before you go.
Picking up a mooring ball solo could be very difficult in windy, choppy conditions.
Gotta have: Adequate ground tackle
Accurate depth sounder
Good chart plotter
Waterway guide
Towing insurance
Should have: Active Captain
I’d be glad to help (crew) for some of the legs. KJ