Heading North ICW

[Ken Keir]

Hi everyone, I’m new to this forum so this is my first post. My question is my wife and I are heading north from Punta Gorda to Maryland via the ICW and are planning on bypassing Georgia and weather permitting go out in the ocean. I am thinking about going out from the St. Mary’s in Florida and coming back in at Port Royal South Carolina. We are boating in a Cutwater C24 and was wondering if we should be concerned with these entrances and how far out in the ocean should we travel. We can safely travel about 147 nm. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Ken

 

[ranger58sb]

Both of those are large inlets, shouldn't be any trouble. St. Simons is another. Acquaintances told us they came back in -- to Savannah-- via the Wilmington River/Wassaw Sound, too.

Why go outside, though? The AICW through Georgia isn't all that difficult if you pay attention to tides, and you probably don't draw all that much anyway? Likely anchorages along the way, too, if you like.

-Chris

 

[psneeld]

Both inlets are big and easy to transit with St Mary's travelled by Navy subs that if present can cause delays while they pass. Many of the in between ones can get hairy in weather if you needed to come in for an emergency or weather.

True, there are some shallows in Georgia, the distance you have to travel offshore to transit the Georgia coast eats up a lot of time opposing the time people complain about the winding waterways.

For me, at 6.3 knots, it was never worth going outside. The only little time saver I found going north was the stretch between the St Mary's river and St Augustine. IF...and only if.... he tidal currents were in my favor.

 

[hytedin]

Georgia’s section of the ICW is quite enjoyable—twisty, but enjoyable.

 

[O C Diver]

I've done 17 trips in one direction or the other from Stuart FL to the Chesapeake with my 45' trawler. I've done a number of segments outside, instead of in the ditch. I did the section from St. Augustine to Port Royal in 2023. The weather turned on that trip and I took a beating as a result of not feeling comfortable going into any of the inlets between the St Mary's River and Port Royal (while I felt comfortable going into Savannah, the seabouy for Port Royal isn't that much further).

After looking at a picture of a Cutwater C24 and assuming you're going to be on plane, I would probably consider it on a flat calm day if you had more fuel. Between the seabouys looks to be about 92 nautical miles. From the seabouy at Port Royal to a fuel dock looks to be atleast another 20 miles if going over towards Hilton Head as opposed to Port Royal Island. Add 7 to 10 miles from the fuel dock at Amelia Island to where you can leave the channel to head north. Total, that looks like 120 nautical miles (138 statute miles).

If the weather turns bad, much of that coast has shoal water quite aways off shore. Most of the inlets require local knowledge for bad weather conditions.

Not sure how many engines on your boat, but if you loose one, can you still plane?

Based on the distance, if you have to wait a day or two for weather, you're probably arrive sooner going in the ditch.

Ted

 

[oguidry]

No issues with either entrance Check out this site:

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It looks like about 95 nm from St. Mary breakwater to Port Royal Sound entrance buoy. It is a straight shot between those two points in deep water. Google says the CT24 top end is 42 mph. Easy 3 hour trip in absolutely ideal conditions.

 

[Dennis C]

We Are leaving Punta Gorda on April 8 headed to the keys then up the coast to the Chesapeake. We plan to stay inside all up the east coast. We did a lot of ocean on a similar trip years ago on our sailboat.

 

[boomerang]

I'd be very,very surprised if y'all ended up going outside at all in a 24' boat. The chances of "weather permitting" are going to be slim. I do sincerely wish you the best but I'd bet once you stick your nose outside, you'll decide the ICW will be just fine!

 

[Don L]

Hi everyone, I’m new to this forum so this is my first post. My question is my wife and I are heading north from Punta Gorda to Maryland via the ICW and are planning on bypassing Georgia and weather permitting go out in the ocean. I am thinking about going out from the St. Mary’s in Florida and coming back in at Port Royal South Carolina. We are boating in a Cutwater C24 and was wondering if we should be concerned with these entrances and how far out in the ocean should we travel. We can safely travel about 147 nm. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Ken

I have done it that way. Other than the weather in general the only issue is beware of the inlet conditions when it is ebbing and wind is blowing from East.

And I have to add .................. watch out for the freighters and the fishing boats!

 

[psneeld]

Regularly clocking 42 mph in the ocean except for ocean racers, large center console types where the ride is still marginal and large, fast sportfishers and some yachts is a pretty rare occurrence. Sure, exceptions but ask around on that topic.

I have flown over large stretches of the Atlantic coast and have seen where one area outside an inlet is nearly flat and just miles away is whitecaps.

In a 24 foot boat, I would not bet on making 42 knots most days for any continuous run, as any chop will slow your speed and increase your fuel consumption pretty dramatically.

Believing many manufacturer websites/brochures has led many a boater astray.

 

[psneeld]

I have done it that way. Other than the weather in general the only issue is beware of the inlet conditions when it is ebbing and wind is blowing from East.

And I have to add .................. watch out for the freighters and the fishing boats!

Sailboat or small powerboat?

 

[O C Diver]

No issues with either entrance Check out this site:

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It looks like about 95 nm from St. Mary breakwater to Port Royal Sound entrance buoy. It is a straight shot between those two points in deep water. Google says the CT24 top end is 42 mph. Easy 3 hour trip in absolutely ideal conditions.

If you reread post #1 and #5, the OP indicates a 147 mile range for a trip from fuel dock to fuel dock of atleast 120 miles. Further, it's unlikely that the fuel range is based on a top end speed.

Ted

 

[oguidry]

The original poster posed two questions - safety of the entrances and how far offshore to travel. I gave him the answer to those two questions. I did not suggest that it was a prudent plan. He did not ask if it was wise to travel a relatively long distance in the open ocean in a 24 foot boat nor if it was wise to plan a trip with a length that is close to his maximum safe range. I hope that he heeds all the cautionary comments that have been posted.

 

[psneeld]

Found this for one Cutwater 24C for sale....250hp Yammie

" On her most recent trip, this vessel burned only 17 Gal/hr at 28kts! "

 

[Hyperion]

We did that trip on a GB 36 and unless you are in a hurry I would greatly suggest you not skip it. We drew 4'.

 

[Ken Keir]

First I would like to thank everyone for the great information. My 147 nm range is based on 2 miles per gallon at 30 to 32 mph. If I’m not saving ample time I will probably stay inside. How long does it take to get through Georgia on the inside?

 

[Hyperion]

I don't remember the time but depending on your draft I would advise calling the local Tow US station and asking for any spots to watch out in the channel. They were invaluable to me as some places were tight with my 4'. I was a member but you don't have to be.

 

[O C Diver]

First I would like to thank everyone for the great information. My 147 nm range is based on 2 miles per gallon at 30 to 32 mph. If I’m not saving ample time I will probably stay inside. How long does it take to get through Georgia on the inside?

Ok, so where you leave the AICW at the St. Mary's River is MM 715. Where you meet the AICW at Port Royal Sound is MM 550. So the difference is 165 statute miles. My estimate going outside would be about 130 statute miles. So you save about 35 miles. In reality, there will be some areas where you may go slower or have to slow down to pass other boats. But unless you arrive at the the St Mary's River inlet with flat calm water, it will be a far nicer ride up the AICW.

From a time standpoint, I would plan less than that 8 hours and not be surprised if you did it in 6 hours.

My recommendation would be to lay this out on a plotter. At the speed you will be moving, it's easy to make mistakes between other channels and intersecting waterways. I've called more than one captain to tell him he missed a marker and is about to run aground.

I would also plan a fuel stop, maybe Jenkins Island.

Where will you be stopping above Port Royal Sound?

Ted

 

[Ken Keir]

Ok, so where you leave the AICW at the St. Mary's River is MM 715. Where you meet the AICW at Port Royal Sound is MM 550. So the difference is 165 statute miles. My estimate going outside would be about 130 statute miles. So you save about 35 miles. In reality, there will be some areas where you may go slower or have to slow down to pass other boats. But unless you arrive at the the St Mary's River inlet with flat calm water, it will be a far nicer ride up the AICW.

From a time standpoint, I would plan less than that 8 hours and not be surprised if you did it in 6 hours.

My recommendation would be to lay this out on a plotter. At the speed you will be moving, it's easy to make mistakes between other channels and intersecting waterways. I've called more than one captain to tell him he missed a marker and is about to run aground.

I would also plan a fuel stop, maybe Jenkins Island.

Where will you be stopping above Port Royal Sound?

Ted

We would like to end up in Beaufort SC.

 

[O C Diver]

We would like to end up in Beaufort SC.

That's a nice small city to visit. If this is your first trip by Beaufort, make sure to stay near the markers. The river going up to Beaufort looks wide and deep, but there are some shallow areas. Also, there's a reduced speed zone before you go under the first bridge, up past the second bridge (past Beaufort).

Ted

 

[ranger58sb]

First I would like to thank everyone for the great information. My 147 nm range is based on 2 miles per gallon at 30 to 32 mph. If I’m not saving ample time I will probably stay inside. How long does it take to get through Georgia on the inside?

We've travelled from the marina on St. Simons Island to Savannah in a long-ish day, 8 or 9 hours IIRC...

But that's been at trawler speed, and Savannah (Thunderbolt) was our target for the day.

Useful to check Waterway Guide and ActiveCaptain entries (as in apps like AquaMap) in advance to get a sense of alerts for shallow areas. Also review USACE survey data, ditto in AquaMap. Then check tide tables specifically for those low areas... and finally plan your whole end-to-end run so you pass through those areas at mid-tide or better -- ideally rising. (We had to leave Golden Isle at something like 0430 once to do that...)

Ditto the segment from Thunderbolt to Port Royal; there are a couple potentially shallow areas along there, too.

The swing is fairly huge, though, so it's not like you'll have any trouble at mid-tide. Assuming you honor the markers.

-Chris