Finally Heading South

cardude01 said:

Are you staying in the ICW through GA? I've never been through that stretch but heard it was shallow.

Looks pretty however with all the marshes and twists and turns.

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It is pretty, but too much of it can be a challenge to appreciate. When just passing through and not exploring I think its a little different for everyone.

The Little Mud river just north of Brunswick, Ga is a pretty shallow stretch for quite a few miles I went through at dead low tide with 4 foot draft and no issues but 2 sailboats behind me came to a screeching halt. I cant say they were in the deepest part as sometimes you have to read the banks to figure where the best water is and even that's no guarantee.

A lot of people report shallow spots and I'll bet some weren't even in the channel. After ungrounding boats for 13 years you would be amazed at the number of guys who would say first thing when I showed up "but I'm in the hannel" and some would be at last 50 feet out of it. But to be fair, there are a few stretches where the deepest water to be found at low tide is less than the controlling depth.

Ski in NC said:

Timing the tides in the Wrightsville Beach to Georgetown SC is a challenge. I have done it where I most often had favorable currents, other trips it was 90% on the nose.

I think if you leave Osprey just after Gtown high tide, you can ride the ebb in the Waccamaw. That is if Osprey is where I think it is, behind Myrtle Beach somewhere well past Little River.

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Left this morning around 7am. Bucked the tide for about an hour before it tuned. Road the flow all the way to the ICW turnoff below Georgetown. Water speed was 7 knots. Peak ground speed hit 10 knots. Upper left corner.

BandB said:

Yes, Osprey is just to the south of Myrtle Beach so on the way to Georgetown. It is consistently the highest rated marina and lowest price fuel in the area. I've never actually stopped there as it's too close to our destination/departure location for us to stop, but heard nothing but good about it. Did you get a goodie bag?

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Got the goodie bag. Not sure about the food. I try to eat a healthy diet. The Honey Bun and the Pecan Twirls maybe be given away. Not sure what to do with Hot Pepper Jelly. I can send it to you if you like.

cardude01 said:

Are you staying in the ICW through GA? I've never been through that stretch but heard it was shallow.

Looks pretty however with all the marshes and twists and turns.

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Yes will be doing the ICW the whole way.

psneeld said:

It is pretty, but too much of it can be a challenge to appreciate. When just passing through and not exploring I think its a little different for everyone.

The Little Mud river just north of Brunswick, Ga is a pretty shallow stretch for quite a few miles I went through at dead low tide with 4 foot draft and no issues but 2 sailboats behind me came to a screeching halt. I cant say they were in the deepest part as sometimes you have to read the banks to figure where the best water is and even that's no guarantee.

A lot of people report shallow spots and I'll bet some weren't even in the channel. After ungrounding boats for 13 years you would be amazed at the number of guys who would say first thing when I showed up "but I'm in the hannel" and some would be at last 50 feet out of it. But to be fair, there are a few stretches where the deepest water to be found at low tide is less than the controlling depth.

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I haven't done it enough to be tired of it. Lots of interesting things to see.

Ted

If you were following yesterday's progress you know because of the current, I ended 10 miles short of my goal. What a difference a day makes. Left at around 7am and bucked the current for about an hour. Then it switched and road the flow all day. Normally aim to do 60 to 70 statute miles a day. Today I covered 90 miles in ten hours. That's average 8 knots ground speed, running 7 knots water speed. Ended up going further partly because of the weather forecast. Small craft advisory for tonight; gale warnings for tomorrow! Decided I wanted to be tied to a dock instead of Anchored in the marsh during 35 mph gusts.

For those who travel the ICW, some good news, dredging! There is a stretch in SC around McClellanville (MM 430) has a couple of miles of really skinny water. Good news, looks like they are getting ready to dredge it.



Also, the section East of Charleston harbor, and above Sullivan's Island has been dredged to 16'.

Ted

Looks like a nice little Ellicott. Nice dredge.

Awesome!!! I have heard GA can be a challenge due to low water in the ICW. Any issues yet? Any pucker moments?

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Awesome!!! I have heard GA can be a challenge due to low water in the ICW. Any issues yet? Any pucker moments?

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I don't like skinny water. Have the depth alarm set 2' below skeg depth. Listened to it on and off for a couple of miles today. That's what makes me pucker.

Ted

The good news is, the bottom is soft mud. If you hit, you can usually just back out and try a different way.

WesK said:

The good news is, the bottom is soft mud. If you hit, you can usually just back out and try a different way.

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Yup, already did that once trying to get by a dredging operation in NC.

"C'mon by on my port side captain, there should be enough water."



"Are you aground?"



"See if you can back off, and I'll get the push boat to move the dredge pipes."

"Thank you! Have a nice day."

Ted

Hello Ted,

I have a suggestion for that pepper jelly. Put a little cream cheese on a cracker and top with a dab of pepper jelly. Nice quick appetizer.

Thanks for all of your posts.

Gene

SlowsailNC said:

Hello Ted,

I have a suggestion for that pepper jelly. Put a little cream cheese on a cracker and top with a dab of pepper jelly. Nice quick appetizer.

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Yep! Delicious.

WesK said:

Yep! Delicious.

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Wifey B: I don't think so....

Instead of tuna fish sandwich try a smoked salmon. Same as a tuna sandwich, just salmon. Nice bridge snack! You will ask for another one guaranteed....


Good to see ya moving down the coast Ted. Having fun yet?

Ted that dredge incident was probably at Mason Inlet a few days ago. Just north of Wrightsville beach bridge. That is a pucker spot even without a dredge there, but I think they got it cleaned up as the dredge has moved on.

That spot is less than a mile from where I sit.

Be glad you are south now. We've got a nasty low sitting right on top of us, 35F, heavy rain, and lots of wind. Just checked the radar and that thing is not moving at all.

Nasty weather indeed.

Ski in NC said:

Ted that dredge incident was probably at Mason Inlet a few days ago. Just north of Wrightsville beach bridge. That is a pucker spot even without a dredge there, but I think they got it cleaned up as the dredge has moved on.

That spot is less than a mile from where I sit.

Be glad you are south now. We've got a nasty low sitting right on top of us, 35F, heavy rain, and lots of wind. Just checked the radar and that thing is not moving at all.

Nasty weather indeed.

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No this wasn't the spot at Mason Inlet (MM280). That section was already dredged to 14'.

This was just before channel marker G135 (MM288).

Glad they are dredging!

Sitting in Charleston watching the wind gust to 35 knots periodically. Cold and rainy here also. Good day to do maintenance. Time for the 100 hour oil change.

Ted

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Instead of tuna fish sandwich try a smoked salmon. Same as a tuna sandwich, just salmon. Nice bridge snack! You will ask for another one guaranteed....


Good to see ya moving down the coast Ted. Having fun yet?

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Always have fun on the boat when it's not in the boatyard. Will start moving again tomorrow.

Ted

Another long day yesterday, Charleston to South of Beaufort SC. Logged 78 nautical miles about 85 statute miles and spent the night in a protected anchorage up the Cowen river.

Not much fun so far today. Crossing Port Royal Sound in 25 to 30 knot winds and 2' very short chop. Waves build over 7 miles of open water. Not a great pic, but you get the idea. Love my fresh water outlet at the windlass station. Great for rinsing off all the pilothouse windows!



Thought my all in one PC plotter had become possessed, until I realized the batteries in the wireless keyboard were almost dead. All better now.

Ted

Well it was a very ugly day. Winds blew 20 to 30 with some gusts in the high thirties. Some days it's better to stay put. Ended up South of Savanah GA. As you near Savanah, the ICW goes through an S turn, before eventually crossing a narrow shipping lane from the ocean to Savanah. Being intent on navigation, you some times miss the horizon. Lousy pic, but that container ship is less than 1/8 of a mile away. Don't normally see them in the marshes.



This is an odd research vessel I saw today. Way to short for it's height.




Somewhere South of Hinkley's yard, I was boarded by the USCG from a DNR boat. Times must be tough when the Coasties need to ride share. They were doing recruit training, and I was the only fool out. Let's play boarding inspection. You bring your DNR boat along side in 20 knot winds to put 4 Coasties on my swim platform. No harm, no foul, no scratches to the paint. Needless to say, they were impressed with the engine room and the pilothouse. 45 minutes later when all the paperwork was done, I got a warning for not having mounted the oil discharge placard. This all occurred while I was still running the boat, never stopped. One of the recruits was quite cute. She really liked the master stateroom. I offered to let her stay. She declined. Something about a boyfriend.

For those who haven't done the ICW, there is a channel between two natural rivers called Hell's Gate. Notorious for shoaling problems. Once you're in, there's no turning back. South side is shallower; I entered from the North. Not a good sign when the buoys are sitting on the mud. Channel on the South side was 4'; I draw 4' 6".

At least there was a nice sunset in my private anchorage this evening.



Ted

Greetings,
Mr. OC. Your most recent narrative brings back memories. Thanks. I remember on our last trip south, noting the ships "in the marsh" and on approaching the ocean/Savannah shipping lane there was a "ship", of some sort, large in any case, running into Savannah at what seemed 20 knots. Even though I could actually see the ICW on the other side I waited for the speedster to pass in opposition to the Admirals "Go ahead, you can make it" urging.

Again, fond memories of the Hinkley yard. We had fairly extensive work done there about 10 years ago and the yard crew was excellent. VERY good work. I particularly remember Bob (can't recall last name) the mechanic. Heck of a guy and a real mechanic.

We always tried to time our Hell's Gate passage on a near to and rising high tide. So far, so good. I understood, that Claiborne Young reported that Hell's Gate had been dredged (I'm thinking 4 or 5 years ago) but I guess that area is prone to silting.

Safe travels...

Years ago (80's) in Thunderbolt (Thunderbolt Marina) they used to leave a USA Today and a box of Crispy Creme donuts on you boat each morning. That was a good thing and likely to be the freshest food I had on the boat.

Crossing St. John's is interesting. Looking straight into the south side it is real apparent. Looking across...not so--- especially when there is a lot of traffic.

Have fun!

" I got a warning for not having mounted the oil discharge placard."

Got to be kidding!!

My son bought a sailboat that had come to Canada from Seattle. It had one of those. I couldn't believe what Galaxy you would need to be from where such a placard would be necessary.

Then I came to California and see the Prop 65 warnings everywhere. "contains chemicals known to cause cancer in Californians".

Nobody gets any credit for an IQ over 2.0!

"Nobody gets any credit for an IQ over 2.0!"

Welcome to the Nanny States!

koliver-the first time I rented a car in LA with that sticker I wondered why it only caused in Californians.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. OC. Your most recent narrative brings back memories. Thanks. I remember on our last trip south, noting the ships "in the marsh" and on approaching the ocean/Savannah shipping lane there was a "ship", of some sort, large in any case, running into Savannah at what seemed 20 knots. Even though I could actually see the ICW on the other side I waited for the speedster to pass in opposition to the Admirals "Go ahead, you can make it" urging.

Again, fond memories of the Hinkley yard. We had fairly extensive work done there about 10 years ago and the yard crew was excellent. VERY good work. I particularly remember Bob (can't recall last name) the mechanic. Heck of a guy and a real mechanic.

We always tried to time our Hell's Gate passage on a near to and rising high tide. So far, so good. I understood, that Claiborne Young reported that Hell's Gate had been dredged (I'm thinking 4 or 5 years ago) but I guess that area is prone to silting.

Safe travels...

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Mr. RT, thinking it might have been your admiral telling you to hold position ar the intersection, kind of out of your avatar's character to resist a challenge.

Went to Hinkley's 4 years ago to look at a boat. Very nice people. Certainly a reputation for quality work.

Think I will be timing my next visit at Hell's Gate to correspond with a higher tide.

bilge53 said:

Years ago (80's) in Thunderbolt (Thunderbolt Marina) they used to leave a USA Today and a box of Crispy Creme donuts on you boat each morning. That was a good thing and likely to be the freshest food I had on the boat.

Crossing St. John's is interesting. Looking straight into the south side it is real apparent. Looking across...not so--- especially when there is a lot of traffic.

Have fun!

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That's just what I need, somebody leaving temptation every morning at my boat. I try to have a healthy diet, my defense to temptation isn't very good though.

Lots of water moving through there on the out going tide. I'm a firm believer in the law of gross tonnage, also known as the right of weight. I can be very patient when it comes to ships.

koliver said:

" I got a warning for not having mounted the oil discharge placard."

Got to be kidding!!

My son bought a sailboat that had come to Canada from Seattle. It had one of those. I couldn't believe what Galaxy you would need to be from where such a placard would be necessary.

Then I came to California and see the Prop 65 warnings everywhere. "contains chemicals known to cause cancer in Californians".

Nobody gets any credit for an IQ over 2.0!

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I'm good with the warning for the placard violation. It's something I forgot to do, knew the requirement, and have installed them on my other boats. Had it, just forgot to install it.

Ted

Did they say where they like to see it mounted? For boats with obvious engine room entrances, easy...but for others...I have seen them all over the place and no great description where to mount.

RT Firefly said:

.............We always tried to time our Hell's Gate passage on a near to and rising high tide. So far, so good. I understood, that Claiborne Young reported that Hell's Gate had been dredged (I'm thinking 4 or 5 years ago) but I guess that area is prone to silting.

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We were through there last spring and our experience was like the OP's. Buoys sitting in the mud.

psneeld said:

Did they say where they like to see it mounted? For boats with obvious engine room entrances, easy...but for others...I have seen them all over the place and no great description where to mount.

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On the way to the engine room or in it. Have a spot for it right next to the oil change pump.

Ted

Came through at dead low in early Jan this year.


Usually prefer dead high or low... one doesn't mater where you go and the other ....you usually can see where you HAVE to go...

But this year I was lucky and a Georgia Research Vessel (converted shrimper about 60 feet long) literally squeezed in front of me at the flashing green just on the North Side. He went flying through so I guessed that there's more water than what most people claim there is...sure enough...he may have pushed some mug but he zipped right through and I followed. His path was a normal passage based on the marks and the one I usually read also. Nothing unusual with a slight tendency to hug the green can side for the turn.

Not a lot of wiggle room...still enough.

O C Diver said:

On the way to the engine room or in it. Have a spot for it right next to the oil change pump.

Ted

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Thanks!

CG boarding experience

This summer while crossing Lake Ontario out of Oswego we were boarded by CG. It was for training just like Ted's experience. I stayed at the helm while the wife showed all the inspections items. We have a discharge plaque at the lower helm. The young CG fella said we needed a "waste management plan". He told her to get a pen and paper. He proceeded to dictate a plan while my wife wrote down what he said. It basically said we would segregate all trash and properly dispose when we were ashore. It sounded bogus to me but it was easier to get them off the boat as fast as possible. They were very friendly and the experience wasn't bad. The wife wasn't pleased that their big black boots marked up her wool rug in the salon.

Another pretty sunrise in my private anchorage!





Another ugly day on the water. 20 to 25 gusts to 30 knots with 2 to 3' seas on St. Catherines sound. Correction, just had a 40 knot gust. Seas are down to 1' as I'm just about out of the sound. Seas were higher as wind was opposing the incoming tide.

Ted