- Joined
- Sep 16, 2003
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- 12212
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Here are my complete notes including shallow spots, no/minimum wake zones, and list of anchorages I used on this trip.
Overall, i found the ICW to be in better than average shape and most boas drawing up to around 5' should have no problem transiting the entire waterway although in some areas it is obviously very nice to have a safety margin. Luckily, in most places you can play the tides and get a lot more water under your keel or props. In georgia for example, with up to 8' tides, if leave 2 hours past low tide, you can run for 6 to 8' and have at least extra feet of water under your boat.
we often hear how slow travel is on the ICW due to all the no wake zones: this is an complete myth until you reach Jupiter in South Florida. This year, i noted the no or minimum wake zones encountered and it totals a whopping 36NM or of almost 1000NM!! In addition to these, there are many sections where boats along the waterway are kept on lift and not subject to wakes where you dont' need to run slow although among those, they are sometimes a handful of boats kept in water for which you should slow down. this amounts to 5 to 10 minutes a day at the most...
I found traffic to be way down this fall compared to previous years. On average I passed or was passed 10 to 15 times a day. I saw a lot of empty Tee Heads at popular marinas and also many empty slips where you'd usually find local boats.
Shallow spots, all depths are converter to LOW tide.
MM45, North Landing River, 7' or less shoal across from G115, just green of centerline. favor red of centerline.
MM80, Alligator River entrance. No an issue, but many run aground there. dont' miss the G3 (missing on OLD charts) then after splitting R8/G7 aim straight for R10 to avoid the shoal on the red side, south of R8
MM224, Bogue Sound, favor center or green of centerline between R40 and R40A
MM 233, Bear Inlet, 8' MLW shoal 100/150' North of G55 on green side.
MM 239, Browns Inlet. No issues, 10' MLW splitting R60/G61 and then splitting G63 and shoreline
MM245, New river Inlet. No issues except for brief 9'MLW hump on south side of inlet crossing
MM288, Masonboro Inlet South, 7' MLW shoal 100' north of G135, favor red of centerline
MM330, Shallotte Inlet, all good except a short 9' MLW hump 200' North of R82
MM430, McClelanville, 9'MLW between G35 and G37, 8' to 9' MLW between G37 and R40
MM460, North of Ben Sawyer Bridge, numerous 7' MLW spots south a G117A all the way to G121
MM497, Dawhoo river. 7' MLW along the green floaties pat R110. 7' MLW between R116 and G117. 9' MLW off R132 just west of the bridge
MM 503 Watts cut. 8' MLW mostly between G139 and G143
MM510 Fenwick Cut, 9' MLW between 162 and R162A, 12' between R162A and R164
MM516 Ashepoo Coosaw South, 6' to 7' MLW most of the way (northern section of the cut off bet R166 and R172 is no problem, over 12' MLW)
MM570, Ramshorn Creek, deep except brief 9' MLW sounding at the south end, between R40/G39
MM575, Fields cut, 8' hump at the nothern end just south of point on east side.7'MLW at southern end, off the dock, mid channel
MM602, Hell Gate, 7' MLW in the southern part, south of R90
MM625, Johnson Creek, 8' MLW between G127 and R128
MM655, Little mud River, 6'MLW south of G193. at R194, aim for a point halfway between G195 and range marker, then turn precisely on range without cutting/overshooting
MM683, Jekyll Creek, 7' to 8'MLW south of G13. At G13, aim for R16 until about 200' before range marker, then aim for the range
MM704, Cumberland Dividings, favor the green side south of G59A for 12' MLW all the way thru. Stay away from the reds. Most plotters will show you on a "ghost" round island! some 9' MLW south of G63A, stay in channel
MM718, Amelia River, favor the green side north of the bend and G1. pass between the 11' sounding (actual depth there 7MLW) and shore line. pass about 20/30' of G1 then stay mid channel
MM725 south Amelia River, favor the green side south of R34 (8' MLW on center and red of center). south of the bend, between G37 and G39, favor the red side before returning to center by G41
MM726 south Amelia river, favor the green side around the 11' sounding just south of R42 and after the shoal charted on red side. Favor the Red near R44 to G45
MM792 Matanzas Inlet, follow the temporary markers. Stay about 50' from the reds then favor the red side around the series of floating greens for 8' MLW
MM843 Ponce Inlet, stay close to reds, about 20' away from R18 for 8' to 9' MLW. under 5' on the green side.
MM1080 Bakers Haulover. I try to avoid that section as the only half the channel is usable with anything over 5 1/2 draft and very narrow. Last year, I made a few pass with the tender and found that if you stick to the green side, almost touching the buyos you will have enough water to avoid a steep step up running along the center line of the marked channel
Anchorages used:
MM60 Buck Island south (exposed to the south)
MM160 Upper Bay River, about 2 miles from ICW
MM244 Hammock Mile. limited wind protection
MM295 Carolina Beach harbor.
MM420 South Santee River, jsut west of ICW. strong curent
MM487 Church Creek. note, creek shoals up rigth before New Cut Landing. strong current
MM544 Port Royal, Cowen Creek (exposed to SSE). strong current
MM635 Sutherland Bluff, good protection, strong current. follow the markers coming in, for 8' MLW then 15 to 20' in the anchorage
MM710 Cumberland, current but good protection. worth spending a full day to spend time ashore to see the ruins, beach, etc...
MM765 Pine Island, Tolomato River, some current, good protection but limited swinging room
MM832 Daytona Beach, suoth of Municipal Marina. limited protection, 8' to 9' MLW, wakes, crowded, but not many options
MM995 Jensen Beach, south of bridge. limited protection, 8' to 9', wakes. Hooke Cove just 1NM off the ICW in St Lucie river is a much better option now that the river entrance has been dredged
all have good holding and enough swing room unless noted. Due to draft (6+') and swinging room needed for a 70 footer, I find most of the anchorages listed in many sites/guides to be useless. Despite these requirements and the need to time the tides in some areas, I was able to anchor out every night except just nigth, at Osprey Marina in south Myrtle Beach since i stopped for fuel. The total dockage costs on the trip totaled a whopping $70!
Every time i anchored, the 110lbs Bruce/Claw set on the first attempt and even in those anchorages subject to strong currents, it always reset. Obviously using all chain and generous scope is critical to a good night sleep as on current shift, the drag of the chain on the bottom as the boat moves back and forth allows the anchor to reset gently and not be yanked off the bottom.
Marina/Fuel:
Tidewater Yacht Agency, Porstmouth, $2.77
Osprey Marina (south Myrtle Beach), $2.66 and $1 a ft dockage! very freindly stafh, my favorite stop on the ICW
ICW NWZ:
MM0, Portsmouth, 4
MM15, Canal, 1
MM50 Coinjock, 1
MM195 Adams Creek, 2
MM205 Moorehead, 1
MM225, Swanboro, 2
MM246, New River, 1/2
MM305 Carolina Beach, 1/2
MM310, Southport, 1
MM325, Holden Beach, 1/2
MM342, Little River, 1/2
MM345, North Myrtle, 1
MM350, Barefoot Landing, 1
MM380, Waccamaw marinas, 1
MM412, Ferry, 1/2
MM435, Awendaw, 1/2
MM465, Isle of Palm, 2
MM470, Wapoo, 1
MM540, Beaufort, 2
MM580, Thunderbolt, 1
MM590, Isle of Hope, 1
MM685, Jekyl, 1/2
MM715, Fernandina, 1
MM735, Sisters Creek, 1/2
MM740, Jax Beach, 1/2
MM810, Flagler Beach 1/2
MM830, Daytona 1
MM840, New Smyrna, 1
MM855, Trailer Parks 2
MM860, Haulover Canal 1
MM935, Sebastian 1
MM952, Vero Beach 1
MM965, Ft Pierce, 1
Total 36NM out of 1000NM
there are many areas not listed above where boats are kept on lifts and safe from most wakes but you may need to briefly slow down for a handful of boats which are kept in water.
Bridges:
Almost all bridges are easy to time if you take the time to look up the schedules each day and slightly adjust your speed and departure time accordingly. The only timing issue north bound is when leaving the Great Bridge Lock usually 15' past the hour and you have to wait to the Steel Bridge, only 2NM way, to open on the next hour.
construction is progressing quickly on the replacements for Sunset Beach Pontoon bridge and Titusville swing bridge. Both may be history by the spring of 2011.
Overall, i found the ICW to be in better than average shape and most boas drawing up to around 5' should have no problem transiting the entire waterway although in some areas it is obviously very nice to have a safety margin. Luckily, in most places you can play the tides and get a lot more water under your keel or props. In georgia for example, with up to 8' tides, if leave 2 hours past low tide, you can run for 6 to 8' and have at least extra feet of water under your boat.
we often hear how slow travel is on the ICW due to all the no wake zones: this is an complete myth until you reach Jupiter in South Florida. This year, i noted the no or minimum wake zones encountered and it totals a whopping 36NM or of almost 1000NM!! In addition to these, there are many sections where boats along the waterway are kept on lift and not subject to wakes where you dont' need to run slow although among those, they are sometimes a handful of boats kept in water for which you should slow down. this amounts to 5 to 10 minutes a day at the most...
I found traffic to be way down this fall compared to previous years. On average I passed or was passed 10 to 15 times a day. I saw a lot of empty Tee Heads at popular marinas and also many empty slips where you'd usually find local boats.
Shallow spots, all depths are converter to LOW tide.
MM45, North Landing River, 7' or less shoal across from G115, just green of centerline. favor red of centerline.
MM80, Alligator River entrance. No an issue, but many run aground there. dont' miss the G3 (missing on OLD charts) then after splitting R8/G7 aim straight for R10 to avoid the shoal on the red side, south of R8
MM224, Bogue Sound, favor center or green of centerline between R40 and R40A
MM 233, Bear Inlet, 8' MLW shoal 100/150' North of G55 on green side.
MM 239, Browns Inlet. No issues, 10' MLW splitting R60/G61 and then splitting G63 and shoreline
MM245, New river Inlet. No issues except for brief 9'MLW hump on south side of inlet crossing
MM288, Masonboro Inlet South, 7' MLW shoal 100' north of G135, favor red of centerline
MM330, Shallotte Inlet, all good except a short 9' MLW hump 200' North of R82
MM430, McClelanville, 9'MLW between G35 and G37, 8' to 9' MLW between G37 and R40
MM460, North of Ben Sawyer Bridge, numerous 7' MLW spots south a G117A all the way to G121
MM497, Dawhoo river. 7' MLW along the green floaties pat R110. 7' MLW between R116 and G117. 9' MLW off R132 just west of the bridge
MM 503 Watts cut. 8' MLW mostly between G139 and G143
MM510 Fenwick Cut, 9' MLW between 162 and R162A, 12' between R162A and R164
MM516 Ashepoo Coosaw South, 6' to 7' MLW most of the way (northern section of the cut off bet R166 and R172 is no problem, over 12' MLW)
MM570, Ramshorn Creek, deep except brief 9' MLW sounding at the south end, between R40/G39
MM575, Fields cut, 8' hump at the nothern end just south of point on east side.7'MLW at southern end, off the dock, mid channel
MM602, Hell Gate, 7' MLW in the southern part, south of R90
MM625, Johnson Creek, 8' MLW between G127 and R128
MM655, Little mud River, 6'MLW south of G193. at R194, aim for a point halfway between G195 and range marker, then turn precisely on range without cutting/overshooting
MM683, Jekyll Creek, 7' to 8'MLW south of G13. At G13, aim for R16 until about 200' before range marker, then aim for the range
MM704, Cumberland Dividings, favor the green side south of G59A for 12' MLW all the way thru. Stay away from the reds. Most plotters will show you on a "ghost" round island! some 9' MLW south of G63A, stay in channel
MM718, Amelia River, favor the green side north of the bend and G1. pass between the 11' sounding (actual depth there 7MLW) and shore line. pass about 20/30' of G1 then stay mid channel
MM725 south Amelia River, favor the green side south of R34 (8' MLW on center and red of center). south of the bend, between G37 and G39, favor the red side before returning to center by G41
MM726 south Amelia river, favor the green side around the 11' sounding just south of R42 and after the shoal charted on red side. Favor the Red near R44 to G45
MM792 Matanzas Inlet, follow the temporary markers. Stay about 50' from the reds then favor the red side around the series of floating greens for 8' MLW
MM843 Ponce Inlet, stay close to reds, about 20' away from R18 for 8' to 9' MLW. under 5' on the green side.
MM1080 Bakers Haulover. I try to avoid that section as the only half the channel is usable with anything over 5 1/2 draft and very narrow. Last year, I made a few pass with the tender and found that if you stick to the green side, almost touching the buyos you will have enough water to avoid a steep step up running along the center line of the marked channel
Anchorages used:
MM60 Buck Island south (exposed to the south)
MM160 Upper Bay River, about 2 miles from ICW
MM244 Hammock Mile. limited wind protection
MM295 Carolina Beach harbor.
MM420 South Santee River, jsut west of ICW. strong curent
MM487 Church Creek. note, creek shoals up rigth before New Cut Landing. strong current
MM544 Port Royal, Cowen Creek (exposed to SSE). strong current
MM635 Sutherland Bluff, good protection, strong current. follow the markers coming in, for 8' MLW then 15 to 20' in the anchorage
MM710 Cumberland, current but good protection. worth spending a full day to spend time ashore to see the ruins, beach, etc...
MM765 Pine Island, Tolomato River, some current, good protection but limited swinging room
MM832 Daytona Beach, suoth of Municipal Marina. limited protection, 8' to 9' MLW, wakes, crowded, but not many options
MM995 Jensen Beach, south of bridge. limited protection, 8' to 9', wakes. Hooke Cove just 1NM off the ICW in St Lucie river is a much better option now that the river entrance has been dredged
all have good holding and enough swing room unless noted. Due to draft (6+') and swinging room needed for a 70 footer, I find most of the anchorages listed in many sites/guides to be useless. Despite these requirements and the need to time the tides in some areas, I was able to anchor out every night except just nigth, at Osprey Marina in south Myrtle Beach since i stopped for fuel. The total dockage costs on the trip totaled a whopping $70!
Every time i anchored, the 110lbs Bruce/Claw set on the first attempt and even in those anchorages subject to strong currents, it always reset. Obviously using all chain and generous scope is critical to a good night sleep as on current shift, the drag of the chain on the bottom as the boat moves back and forth allows the anchor to reset gently and not be yanked off the bottom.
Marina/Fuel:
Tidewater Yacht Agency, Porstmouth, $2.77
Osprey Marina (south Myrtle Beach), $2.66 and $1 a ft dockage! very freindly stafh, my favorite stop on the ICW
ICW NWZ:
MM0, Portsmouth, 4
MM15, Canal, 1
MM50 Coinjock, 1
MM195 Adams Creek, 2
MM205 Moorehead, 1
MM225, Swanboro, 2
MM246, New River, 1/2
MM305 Carolina Beach, 1/2
MM310, Southport, 1
MM325, Holden Beach, 1/2
MM342, Little River, 1/2
MM345, North Myrtle, 1
MM350, Barefoot Landing, 1
MM380, Waccamaw marinas, 1
MM412, Ferry, 1/2
MM435, Awendaw, 1/2
MM465, Isle of Palm, 2
MM470, Wapoo, 1
MM540, Beaufort, 2
MM580, Thunderbolt, 1
MM590, Isle of Hope, 1
MM685, Jekyl, 1/2
MM715, Fernandina, 1
MM735, Sisters Creek, 1/2
MM740, Jax Beach, 1/2
MM810, Flagler Beach 1/2
MM830, Daytona 1
MM840, New Smyrna, 1
MM855, Trailer Parks 2
MM860, Haulover Canal 1
MM935, Sebastian 1
MM952, Vero Beach 1
MM965, Ft Pierce, 1
Total 36NM out of 1000NM
there are many areas not listed above where boats are kept on lifts and safe from most wakes but you may need to briefly slow down for a handful of boats which are kept in water.
Bridges:
Almost all bridges are easy to time if you take the time to look up the schedules each day and slightly adjust your speed and departure time accordingly. The only timing issue north bound is when leaving the Great Bridge Lock usually 15' past the hour and you have to wait to the Steel Bridge, only 2NM way, to open on the next hour.
construction is progressing quickly on the replacements for Sunset Beach Pontoon bridge and Titusville swing bridge. Both may be history by the spring of 2011.
