ICW Question Re: going offshore...

[Stretch]

Thanks for all the replays. I've rebuilt a 1976 tartan 34, a grampian 34 and also have a swing keel catalina 22. I still own all three. I sail out of Bay City, Mi, Lake Huron primarily. Seeing as my good wife would probably not accompany me for much of the ICW I could do this with the Grampian or even the trail able Catalina.... Not a speed trip, more a lolly gag along cruise....

[Tia Bu]

Great Dismal Swamp is also beautiful. Buy a screen tent at Walmart that you can quickly drape over the bimini and main hatch when bugs attack in an anchorage. They are usually only active for an hour or so. Take your time and enjoy.

[svseachange]

I would not want to go outside on the Catalina 22. The Catalina 22 would be a great boat to take ICW from the Chesapeake to Southport via the Dismal Swamp, That would be a fun trip in a small, swing keel boat. After Southport, NC the ICW can become deathly boring.

While I share MarkJ's enthusiasm for going outside, I think the ICW is safer in one section. Taking the ICW to avoid Capes Hatteras, Lookout and Fear seems like a good idea to me.

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[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Stretch.

[KNoel]

Here ya go:

Cruiser's Net

It's a great guide to the ICW with input from those who on it! Sounds like a great trip!

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by shanedennis

I would not want to go outside on the Catalina 22. The Catalina 22 would be a great boat to take ICW from the Chesapeake to Southport via the Dismal Swamp, That would be a fun trip in a small, swing keel boat. After Southport, NC the ICW can become deathly boring.

While I share MarkJ's enthusiasm for going outside, I think the ICW is safer in one section. Taking the ICW to avoid Capes Hatteras, Lookout and Fear seems like a good idea to me

Oh, sorry, I didnt realise it was a 22 foot boat.

Yes, inside the ICW
Especially bypassing cape Hatteras.

I didnt go via Dismal Swamp because my boats too big but I would have loved to have! Othes who did said it was just terrific. But one boat had branches in the rigging so watch out above as well as below.

The thing that surprised me about the ICW, and why I would go outside next time, is that I was expecting numerous small towns dotted along the way with their main street part of the waterfront... Like Beaufort North Carolina, or savanna, Georgia etc, like the canals in Europe. But the ICW is an adjunct to transport, not the sole reasons why towns grew up, so there are very few towns as such, on the ICW. Lots of houses built down to the water by their boat docks, but thems aint towns.


Mark

[svseachange]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

The thing that surprised me about the ICW, and why I would go outside next time, is that I was expecting numerous small towns dotted along the way with their main street part of the waterfront... Like Beaufort North Carolina, or savanna, Georgia etc, like the canals in Europe.

For that experience in the USA I think the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to St Louis or Buffallo to Brewerton section on the Erie canal are ways to go.


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[sww914]

From what I saw of the ICW around Jacksonville, it would be easier to stay outside IMO. Conditions are different on different coasts. On the California coast we'd go and be comfortable in < 10' swells and < 25kt winds. On the shallow parts of the E coast it would be pretty steep in those conditions I think.

[AnchorageGuy]

Stretch, From someone that has done more than 20 transits of the Atlantic ICW, the inside route is our preferred choice and may be the best choice for the boat you plan to use. The different scenery and hundreds of anchorages along the way are spectacular and facilities to tie up or make repairs or re-provision are just around the corner. There are many, many small,historic towns to stop and visit along the way. We have detailed entries for a few of our transits on our Beach House blog. There are a few problem stretches and info on all of those can be found at Cruiser's Net and our navigation notices at Marinalife: Navigational Notices . The problem stretches are, for us, all part of the adventure. Planning ahead can easily get you through those locations by using the tides and proper navigation. If you need any more info, let me know. Chuck

[redcobra]

Originally Posted by Tia Bu

Great Dismal Swamp is also beautiful. Buy a screen tent at Walmart that you can quickly drape over the bimini and main hatch when bugs attack in an anchorage. They are usually only active for an hour or so. Take your time and enjoy.

What a great idea..the screen tent... thanks.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by sck5

I have avoided the ICW south of Beaufort myself and have heard that southern SC and Georgia are particular problematic

you can see 3 feet of depth at low tide at jekyll island .. mostly soft mud but the channel is narrow and hard to turn around once committed. go slow and watch your depth gauge. we tied up at the marina and waited several hours for a rising tide.

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by gonesail

you can see 3 feet of depth at low tide at jekyll island .. mostly soft mud but the channel is narrow and hard to turn around once committed. go slow and watch your depth gauge. we tied up at the marina and waited several hours for a rising tide.

I have to say that we have transited that stretch if the waterway many times, including 2 months ago, and at DFL never saw 3 feet. Some have reported 4 1/2 feet but we never saw even that little depth. It depends on where you are in the channel. or not in the channel. Here is a lot of great first hand info on Jekyll Creek, Cruiser's Net » ICW – Trouble Spots – Jekyll Creek . Chuck

[svmeanderer]

Active Captain shows shoaling to under 4 feet for part of the ICW at Jekyll Island.

https://activecaptain.com/X.php?lat=...31093&t=n&z=15

The latest report there is from just a couple of weeks ago. It's why their data is so good. It shows changes as they are happening.

I just read that NOAA is using Active Captain for it's own charting uses because the data is so current from the many users and apps updating the data. It's a place where you can view the latest problem areas and update them yourself to provide the feedback to other sailors and the cartographers responsible for keeping the charts current. I've been using it for a year now and it is fantastic.

[svseachange]

We found there are at least a dozen places on the ICW you might test the bottom with a 5ft draft. A few feet one way or the other can make a lot of depth difference in some sections.

Going inside the whole way is kinda ridiculous unless you are in a patently unseaworthy boat. Taking the ICW the whole way with more than 5.5ft draft is absolutely ridiculous.

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[S/V Antares]

The AICW is a great cruise. We enjoy it. There are plenty of small towns, some with public docks. In the fall it is my purpose in life to stop at all the Shrimp docks and buy fresh caught shrimp from NC to FL.

Low tide can be helpful as it tends to show exactly where the channel is. Especially true in Jekyll and some other spots in GA.

In the last 7 years we have transited 14 times with 5 ft draft and more years ago. It is easier now as most of the swing bridges have been replaced with 65 ft (+-) spans.

We have identified at least 10 nesting pairs of bald eagles and and even saw Momma bear and two cubs doing what bears do in the woods.

Whats not to like? Go for it...it is easy and fun.