Gulf Coast: How long to transit the ICW from Kemah, TX to Pensacola, FL?

[YellowcakeMan]

If you change your mind about the ICW, here's what we did ...

Leg 1: (mostly sailing with some engine use)
8/5/15 0945 Departed Watergate Yachting Center
8/7/15 0740 Entered the entrance to Tiger Pass, LA
8/7/15 1400 Arrived Cyprus Cove Marina, Venice, LA for rest and re-fuel

Leg 2: (all on engine due to no wind)
8/9/15 0900 Departed Cyprus Cove Marina, north on Mississippi River to Baptiste Pass Main Pass and into the GOM
8/12/15 0315 Arrived off Clearwater, FL and waited until sunrise to enter port

Leg 1 was a straight line through a lot of oil fields. This was no big deal. You have to pay attention, of course, but it's far less demanding than navigating the ICW.

[sva3]

Be sure the check the clearance of the Brooks Bridge at Destin.

I think it's (only) 48 feet.

[Sailshabby]

GICW (near Mobile) was the first time I heard “Breaker 16.” Still cracks me up years later...

[rachelsavitt]

Hello
My husband and I just did this route in January , it took us about two months to go Kemah to Clearwater , we took Icw to Pensacola, then outside to port st joe and then in ice to carrabelle, then one overnight sail to Clearwater , we had two big delays ( a week each. After Pensacola the bridges were to short 48 and 50 ft for our mast

We seas can get choppy so make sure when outside in gulf you choose the right conditions, we got bashed around in our first try going Pensacola to port st joe,

I would make sure you have AIS, read waterway guide and study each day to make sure about bridge opening, there is one in New Orleans you have to call 4 hours ahead, active captain for anchorages, we draft 5.5 and were sometimes limited by shallow water, also understand the passes at Pensacola and beyond because they can be bad if wind and tide apose each other , we have a YouTube channel but it may not help too much " treasures Await "

Good luck

[Group9]

After bringing my newly purchased boat from Kemah to Mississippi last year, using the ICW, you couldn't make me do it again with a gun to my head. If there is a more desolate and ugly part of the ICW than that route, I hope I never see it. Few places to anchor or to fuel up, locks and barges all over.

Wait for the weather and go offshore.

[captmikem]

Kemah to Key West,

I took the easy route, departed Kemah, down to Galveston, then took a heading for the Dry Tortugas. Wind was light so just under six days to the Tortugas, spent a day there, then less than a day to Key West.

Platforms a very well marked, easy to see and show up well on radar, very little traffic, a few summer squalls but a very uneventful and enjoyable trip.

Two of us aboard so plenty of rest and always a good lookout.

Can't imagine how long it would have taken using the intracoastal, having to motor and hand steer all the time, traffic and bridges everywhere, crazy.

Much easier to set sail, shut down the engine, set the autopilot and enjoy the trip. caught a couple of spanish mackerel and a tuna on the trip. Saw some beautiful sunsets, and had time to do some cosmetic repairs on the boat.

M

[RTB]

The thread is Kemah to Pensacola....no?

Personally, I've enjoyed this bit of waterway 3 times. Not a big challenge actually. Quite easy compared to northern Florida (east coast) and Georgia, where the water can be 2' at low tide. The barges on the GICW keep the depths to 10' or more, mostly.

The ditch is protected, but anyone using the intracoastal waterways must do their homework. Anchorages are few and far between (Texas through Louisiana). Planning is of the greatest importance. Otherwise, you will find yourself in a very bad place at the end of the day.

Too many oil rigs offshore to safely cruise Texas/Louisiana (at night). Never going back because of this. It's much nicer once in Florida or on the eastern U.S. coast. Just my 2 cents from a Texan.

[captmikem]

QUOTE=RTB;2602696]The thread is Kemah to Pensacola....no?

Read the first line of the OP's text "In May I plan on sailing from Kemah, TX, to Key West"

Too many oil rigs offshore to safely cruise Texas/Louisiana (at night).[/QUOTE]

This is quite a statement, like there are too many cars on the road to travel at night.

You should preface such a statement that For You there are too many oil rigs, but for thousands of vessels there are not. In fact there are more markers and obstructions in the intracoastal than oil rigs on the way south, and there is more room around them and they are easier to see. If you hold a little east for a while when departing Galveston there are fewer than on a direct route. You make it sound like one has to constantly weave around them. Occasionally you will have two or three in your horizon, but they are brightly lit and easy to avoid. One meets far more traffic on the intracoastl than one meets oil rigs on trip south.

Seriously, oil rigs are not much of a problem, and it is such a much easier and more relaxed way to get to Key West.

M

[SSgtPitt]

At 2am, it’s hard to distinguish whether that rig is panic close or 5 miles out. I thoroughly enjoyed my route across the Gulf. I couldn’t imagine doing the ICW instead of the open ocean.
A full moon, the bimini folded back, a heading on the compass......good LORD i was in heaven.
And it was my first sail, I’m hooked for life.

[ErBrown]

Here’s another vote for heading outside and straight across. We opted for Kemah to Tampa. The rigs really are well marked and hard to miss. As mentioned they also show well on Radar. We had no issues with the unmarked or un-light rigs you always hear about, not saying they don’t exist but we kept a good watch all the way across and saw no first hand evidence of anything unmarked.

As long as there are at least 2 people aboard, we opted for a 3rd, and everyone is comfortable handling the boat then we found the rigs to be a non issue. They can be a bit of an annoyance when actually sailing, since they will force small course changes. Still we always find the offshore route to be much more relaxing than being slaved to the helm all day in the ICW.

Since the trip across the gulf, my wife and I will almost always opt for the outside route when given a choice by the weather. With the right watch schedule for you time of day really doesn’t make a difference. I think the key is finding a watch cycle that works for you, 3 hour shifts work well for us) but I think it’s different for most every couple. The first 24 hours can be hard to sleep, but once you settle into a rythm, sleep is much easier. Then as long as everyone standing watch knows how to handle the boat and to wake the off watch crew if they have ANY questions or concerns, you’re in good shape.

So if you’re really wanting to check out the ICW, then by all means take that route. But don’t let the rigs be the reason you stay inside, the gulf can be really pretty, particularly once you get East of the Mississippi River.

Just my $0.02,
Erin

[Group9]

If the rigs concern you, wait for a full, or nearly full moon and clear skies. We always try and time our night passages for that. It's just a lot more relaxing and fun when everything is lit up at night.

[Olddan1943]

One nice thing about oil rigs, they don't move. Easier to avoid them than a moving boat or ship.

"Hey, which way is that oil rig going? Can you predict its course so we can pass astern of it?"
Sort of like avoiding a sign post or a tree.

[VelascoGuy]

Originally Posted by YellowcakeMan

If you change your mind about the ICW, here's what we did ...

Leg 1: (mostly sailing with some engine use)
8/5/15 0945 Departed Watergate Yachting Center
8/7/15 0740 Entered the entrance to Tiger Pass, LA
8/7/15 1400 Arrived Cyprus Cove Marina, Venice, LA for rest and re-fuel

Leg 2: (all on engine due to no wind)
8/9/15 0900 Departed Cyprus Cove Marina, north on Mississippi River to Baptiste Pass Main Pass and into the GOM
8/12/15 0315 Arrived off Clearwater, FL and waited until sunrise to enter port

Leg 1 was a straight line through a lot of oil fields. This was no big deal. You have to pay attention, of course, but it's far less demanding than navigating the ICW.

Note.... Unless something has changed since October 2017, Tiger Pass is silted in and all navigational signage has been removed and replaced with "Danger" signs. That leaves you with the task of gonging in the southwest pass with all the big boats, or going around the delta and straight into Mobile

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by jwolters4

Hi PhoenixRising -

We did this trip about 3 years ago. Started in Freeport, TX and took the ICW all the way to Pensacola. Then offshore to Panama City. ICW to Apalachicola, then offshore to Clearwater. ICW to Ft Myers, then offshore to Marco, then offshore to Shark River, then offshore to Marathon.

Awesome trip, we had a great time!

I would HIGHLY recommend getting the Skipper Bob and Waterway Gulf Coast ICW guides. They have all the details on the not so obvious anchorages along the way.

There is a lot of barge traffic at times, but also very peaceful stretches where you hardly see anyone.

The most stressful (exciting!) part was exiting the Harvey Locks into the Mississippi and catching the left hand turn into the industrial channel...that was crazy! But you get to float right by downtown New Orleans.

Timing...I don't have my notes with me, but I think it took 6-7 weeks total Freeport to Marathon.

I'm planning this trip after hurricane season this year, can you give me a list of places of interest along the way?

[SSgtPitt]

We did this again in Nov 2018. We started in Corpus Christi, stayed in the shipping lanes and made port in Grand Isle, La. From there headed up the MS River to Venice, LA and made port at Venice Marina (stay away from Cyprus Cove). From there we went out the Baptist Collette pass to Pensacola. We made port in Pensacola then headed to Tampa Bay then St Petersburg then Fort Myers, Ten Thousand Islands, Dry Tortugas and up the East Coast eventually making it to the Bahamas.
The oil rigs in the Gulf can be disconcerting for those of us not used to them. Especially at night trying to figure out which target on the radar is the stationary rig and which one is the shrimp boat.
There are many other things to run into out there and at 2am on a moonless night, your mind goes to all kind of crazy places.......still, it beats the heck out of the ICW.