ICW- Your Best Tips

Just sour of Pamlico Sound, I just spent two nights at River Dunes Marina. First class marina, highly recommend.

Leaving River Dunes for a side trip to Ocracoke. Supposed to be a pretty neat place.

Arch

yachtbrokerguy said:

Always look behind you when running a straight channel to make sure you are still in the middle of the channel. You may seem to be in the middle but when looking at the markers to the stern wind or current may have pushed you to the side.

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That is some great advice Tucker. I was just telling the owners of the boat I am currently doing the delivering with and for the same thing today.

Sadly many, like the sail boater I ran cross today, either don't know of it or don't follow it.

Day 6

Day 6, 17 September
Southport, NC. To Georgetown, SC
97 SM, 6 .5 hrs.
Trip totals: 556 SM, 38.5 hrs.

Another nice day. No drama at the infamous "rock pile". Called on VHS to check on potential commercial traffic. No response, no traffic. Stayed in the middle.

Pulled into Georgetown Landing Marina with good dock help. I failed to realize the strong current and scared the catamaran owner tied up behind me. Got away with a dumb mistake.

The marina is a bit dated but fine.
Nice meal at Land's End Restaurant just outside the marina.

Forgot to take any photos.

Day 7

Day 7, 18 September
Georgetown, SC. To Charleston, SC.
67 SM, 5 hrs.
Total trip from Annapolis: 623 SM, 43.5 hrs.

Nothing remarkable except there isn't much traffic. I guess it's because we're ahead of the crowd. Been told they wait till after the boat shows and avoid the hurricane season.

Charleston City Marina is great. They put on on the outside of the Megadock, where we had no issues. Met some nice folks from Oriental who we're traveling in a small group, sponsored by their dealer.

There were some huge yachts on the Megadock. Quite a site!

The marina had a courtesy shuttle into downtown. We used it and had nice late lunch at Gigi's Cafe. Very nice. We walked back as it was only a mile or two.

Are the free shuttles still running in Charleston?

First time we were there didn't know about them...ever since we have used them a lot.

The one we used was provided by the Charleston City Marina. We have no knowledge of any others.

rclarke246 said:

The one we used was provided by the Charleston City Marina. We have no knowledge of any others.

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Yes...they had several routes around downtown and near the battery...check it out next time you are there...hopefully someone else can chime in who has been there recently who has used it.

rclarke246 said:

The one we used was provided by the Charleston City Marina. We have no knowledge of any others.

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Charleston is one of our most favorite places. We've stayed a month or more at all of the facilities over the last 12 years.

I'd warn that the City Marina/Megadock is probably the worst facility from our personal experience (I've been there about 5 times including one month stay onboard). It really isn't in town unless you like huge walks or want to be shuttled around by their van. Without question, they advertise the most so traditional media tends to make it seem like you have to go there. You don't. And if you want to be able to walk into town, meander through the French quarter, and be able to have more freedom, there are fantastic alternatives. Most cost less too.

Day 8

Day 8
19 September,
Charleston to Hilton Head I.
95 SM, 7 hrs.
Total Trip: 718 SM, 50 hrs.

Weather getting into an unfavorable pattern. There was a strong storm cell just east of Charleston. Assuming (wrongly) that these cells move to the east or north we left the Megadock. Not 10 minutes later we hear a USCG "security- weather warning. Storm packing 35 kn. winds and heading southwest". Scurried back to the Megadock for safety. Thought the wind was more of a factor than the current, wrong again! Finally made correction in our direction and with the help of a former dock- neighbor got her in safely.
Waited about 1.5 hrs. and proceeded south.

In Skull Creek was wake-scolded from a marina to our east. Thought they were far enough to port- guess not.

Made Harbourtown Marina. Fueled up. Didn't understand high volume pump and it was never mentioned to me. Had a back-gush of 1-2 gallons shortly after starting pump. What an unpleasant surprise! Still not exactly sure what caused it but I fuel up way slower ever since. I was worried and embarrassed about the whole mess. Glad the boat was between the fill-necks and the dock, where many folks were having lunch. Attendant really helped in mop-up and easing my anxiety.

Dock master then led us to our dock location, helped us tie, and presented us with a gift bottle of wine!
No doubt, the place is 1st class. Not cheap, naturally.

Great eats- breakfast, lunch & dinner right there! Met very nice neighbors there, too.

Day 9

Day 9
20 September
Harbourtown Marina

Awoke to a rainy day. Whew! Staying put for a change.
After a nice breakfast at a nearby cafe, Diana rode her bike for errands while I performed some routine maintenance.

Great day off.

Day 9

Rainy Day.

My tip,

use your anchor , it gets really pretty after 4pm when the flock has tied up for another marina experience.

rclarke246 said:

Day 9
20 September
Harbourtown Marina

Awoke to a rainy day. Whew! Staying put for a change.
After a nice breakfast at a nearby cafe, Diana rode her bike for errands while I performed some routine maintenance.

Great day off.

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Harbourtown Marina is a nice place for a day or two. There's supposed to be a pool and fitness center but we never found it. I think it's in a hotel or something.

On the downside, I sent my wife up to pay the bill and when she came back with the receipt it was much more than I had expected. It turns out they charged us for the wrong boat, a 50 footer. We went back to the office and got it cleared up and a refund.

Day 10
21 September
Hilton Head to Jekyll I, GA.
120 SM, 8 hrs.
Total Voyage; 838 SM, 58 hrs.

Nothing eventful. Calm weather. Probably should have gone offshore.
Jekyll Harbor Marina was very easy and convenient.
Nice bike paths on this island. We'll return and stay for at least 2 days.
Good food and service in the restaurant here at the marina.

Day 11
22 September
Jekyll I to Palm Coast, FL.
117 SM, 7 hrs.
Total: 957 SM, 65 hrs.

Calm again. Went out at St. Mary's Inlet, south of Cumberland I, as locals advised against using the inlet just south of Jekyll- remember, we're not looking for trouble!

Very pretty and efficient 3 hr. leg to St. Augustine inlet. Consulted with towboat US for advice coming in. The captain couldn't have been better. Not only did he give us verbal instruction, he also sent and email with written and attached a photo!

Palm Coast Marina was another good choice. Met our close friends, who had just moved to Palm Coast, for dinner.

Day 12
23 September, 2014
Palm Coast to Satellite Beach, FL.
109 SM, 9 hrs.
Total: 1066 SM, 74 hrs.

Weather deteriorated with t-storms moving from Miami area to the north. About an hour out from Telemar Bay Marina, our destination, we hit a pretty strong storm. Hunkered down at the lower station and made our way in. Didn't want to fuel up with it raining so we did so in the AM. The marina is under new management but the folks there were very good.

Day 13
24 September
Satellite Beach to Stewart, FL.
91 SM, 7 hrs.
Total: 1,157 SM, 81 hrs.

Fueled up and set out. Storms coming from the south about 2 hrs. underway.
Ducked into Sebastian River Marina for about an hour until the storms passed. They were very nice about it and even helped us tie at their fuel dock. I guess we did the right thing. it certainly felt right! Not sure if this is standard operating procedure or not.

St. Lucie to Stewart is a bit skinny. Just past Roosevelt bridge we touched bottom. Found the deeper water after about 10 seconds. Shook us up. No damage done.

Made River Forest (east facility) at closing time, 1700. Manager met us. Great hurricane hole and facility but there is nothing around in the way of food or provisions.

Photo is St. Lucie Lock

How new on the management at Telemar? We were there in the Spring and made contacts with the management...so newer than last march???

Day 14
25 September
Stewart to Ft. Myers, FL via Okeechobee Waterway
120 SM, 8.5 hrs.
Total: 1,277 SM, 90 hrs.

Perfect weather until Ft. Myers. Made good time as we were lucky on all lockthru's. Especially at the Franklin Lock, our last one. We were nervous about storms that were building. Lockmaster had just closed the doors with another west-bound boat inside. i didn't ask him to but he opened it again for us! This saved us the 30 minutes that would have put us in a vicious storm cell.
Photo taken at City of Ft. Myers Yacht Basin 2 minutes after we tied up.

psneeld said:

How new on the management at Telemar? We were there in the Spring and made contacts with the management...so newer than last march???

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Pretty recent, the young fella said. There are a few details on ActiveCaptain.

Day 15
26 September, 2014
Ft. Myers to Marco Island, FL.
55 SM, 4 hrs.
Total Voyage: 1,332 Statute Miles, 94 running hours
1,167 gallons diesel fuel

The river out of Ft. Myers and the Gulf of Mexico had only light chop.

Very happy to arrive at Esplanade Marina where Lady Di will spend the winter and spring.

Quite a feeling of accomplishment for me and my navigator.

Learned tons of things. Trip back to Maryland in 2015 will be far different. We will have no deadline and we will stop and smell the roses.

It's good to have this trip under our belts.

I hope that you found some interest is a few of these posts

Nice trip! Congrats!

Yes, your write up and photos were interesting. Quite an accomplishment for your first AICW trip. No big incidents, and the boat proved to be reliable. Congratulations.

Now, you are in a great cruising area, and Key West is just 100 miles. Enjoy.

I liked the log style posts, very informative, maybe you could expand a bit on the boat, things that worked well, things that need to change (or not). Your fuel usage seems pretty good as well.

Going to be making a trip from Galveston bay Texas to Jacksonville FL/Jekyll Island GA in February before heading North in April.

My buddy who I've been boating with since we were kids is going to join but he cannot make the first few days. I am thinking of hiring a captain to help me navigate to New Orleans where my friend will meet me.

I am hoping to set out at the crack of dawn on Friday AM with a goal to make it to NOLA Saturday by sunset or Sunday by Noon. I don't know if that is realistic? What worries me is the limited fuel and dock options between Galveston and NOLA. Depending when we arrive in NOLA, we will either set out for Florida Sunday or crack of dawn Monday (I am thinking as long as we arrive Saturday PM or before noon Sunday we will press on-ward on Sunday).

I am hoping to be able to make it to Jacksonville by the following Sunday. Again, don't know if that is realistic? That would leave 10 days for the ~1,500 mile journey. We will cross Lake Okeechobee.

I am concerned about no wake zones along the way but hear they don't get bad until Florida and also concerned that some of the hurricanes may have moved the bottom around.

I am going to target a cruise of 20-23 mph where possible which is a fuel burn of 20-25gph.

Anyone have any thoughts on this trip?

Thank you!

Is there a reason you need to be over here by that Sunday. A week to get from NOLA to JAX is a helluva haul. Doable? If the conditions are right and everything runs well. But my initial reaction is that you would be pushing it, especially if you are planning on coming up the inside once on the east coast of FL.

Plus you will be pretty whooped with those days on top of one another, and tiredness is dangerous.

Also, how well do you know your boat - have you had her for a while or is she new to you?

Think about adding two or three additional days.

what kind of boat?

be careful when in Florida to read the sinage closely for slow speed zones. They come and go enough to drive you crazy.

You will need to cross part of the Gulf of Mexico. Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs is about 150 miles. I did Panama city to Tarpon Springs, which is 200 miles. You need a weather window (really good weather window if going on plane ) to make that crossing. It could take a week or more to get that window in February. While you can do shorter crossing such as Carrabelle to Steinhatchee or Cedar key, there's only a marina in Steinhatchee. Also understand that from Steinhatchee south, you will be in the land of crab pots. For this reason, almost all Great Loopers cross from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs.

Ted

menzies said:

Is there a reason you need to be over here by that Sunday. A week to get from NOLA to JAX is a helluva haul. Doable? If the conditions are right and everything runs well. But my initial reaction is that you would be pushing it, especially if you are planning on coming up the inside once on the east coast of FL.

Plus you will be pretty whooped with those days on top of one another, and tiredness is dangerous.

Also, how well do you know your boat - have you had her for a while or is she new to you?

Think about adding two or three additional days.

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Have a flight home from JAX Monday. So really have 11 days but not much bufferr. I will have 2-3 people with me on the trip from NOLA to JAX. Myself and one other are experienced boaters. The other two are not but should be able to serve as lookouts.

I have only been on the boat a few times but have combed through the systems and manuals. Planning to do another shake down cruise in a few weeks.

I wish I had an extra 2-3 days but pushing it with work.

psneeld said:

what kind of boat?

be careful when in Florida to read the sinage closely for slow speed zones. They come and go enough to drive you crazy.

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Beneteau Swift Trawler 44.

Is there any online resource that has the slow speed zones listed?

What about a resource for post-hurricane changes?

O C Diver said:

You will need to cross part of the Gulf of Mexico. Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs is about 150 miles. I did Panama city to Tarpon Springs, which is 200 miles. You need a weather window (really good weather window if going on plane ) to make that crossing. It could take a week or more to get that window in February. While you can do shorter crossing such as Carrabelle to Steinhatchee or Cedar key, there's only a marina in Steinhatchee. Also understand that from Steinhatchee south, you will be in the land of crab pots. For this reason, almost all Great Loopers cross from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs.

Ted

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Can you please elaborate on the weather. What would be safe limits? If weather is not good, how much of a setback is it going to be to stay on the intracoastal from from Carrabelle all the way to Tarpon Springs?

mystery said:

Can you please elaborate on the weather. What would be safe limits? If weather is not good, how much of a setback is it going to be to stay on the intracoastal from from Carrabelle all the way to Tarpon Springs?

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There is no intracoastal from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs. You can hug the coast but you will be dealing with skinny water, bars, and crabpots. Not sure what changes Irma has made but Steinhatchee, Cedar Key and Crystal River used to be places you could duck in and spend a night. It is a challenging trip at this time of year and waiting 2-3 weeks or more for a weather window is not uncommon.

Given your lack of knowledge of the route, it might be best to hire a delivery captain to do the whole trip.

I'm pretty sure you'll probably need close to two weeks to get through there. Irma made a big mess out of things. Spend some time on youtube watching videos about boating that area after Irma.

I agree with Donsan about hiring a local delivery captain to make that run since you're under a time crunch.

mystery said:

Have a flight home from JAX Monday. So really have 11 days but not much bufferr. I will have 2-3 people with me on the trip from NOLA to JAX. Myself and one other are experienced boaters. The other two are not but should be able to serve as lookouts.

I have only been on the boat a few times but have combed through the systems and manuals. Planning to do another shake down cruise in a few weeks.

I wish I had an extra 2-3 days but pushing it with work.

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A schedule adds a layer of complexity to almost all boat trips.

A tight schedule and a long distance adds another order of magnitude of complexity.

A tight schedule for a long-distance trip on a new-to-you boat, new-to-you route, whatever speed zones you might encounter... would be a bridge way too far, for me.

The delivery captain idea might be worth some additional exploring, even for parts of the trip you can make at a manageable pace. Cap'n could then carry on even when you have to leave.

Or... maybe break the delivery into separate legs. Take the boat part way, stop, go home, return for the later leg(s) later.

??

-Chris