Next Stop - Georgia

[lorenzo b]

what would you recommend as an outside route through Georgia and SC?
a lot of this coast seems treacherous with shoals and heavy currents.

is it possible to find any anchorage without entering inlets?

our boat is pretty slow, about 7 knots. if we need stay awake, so be it- but would prefer to run through the day and anchor at night. we draw 6'.

thanks.

[skipmac]

Not totally sure I understand the question. I would see the trip as two options, inside ie the ICW and outside ie offshore. Inside takes some planning and navigation as several sections of the ICW in GA are only 3-4' at low water.

Offshore it is just a matter of staying far enough off to stay in deep water. I just made the trip and if I recall a couple of miles is enough most places. Closer to shore there are a number of buoys, some unlit so would stay further off at night or keep a really close position plot. I did an overnight and kept 8-10 miles off. The odds of hitting one are pretty small but could happen.

Anchoring you either anchor off the beach or go in an inlet. Anchoring off the beach is only an option if the winds are light and from the west but there are plenty of inlets that are pretty easy to enter. With just a little planning you should be able to make easy day trips and find a good anchorage every night.

[ActiveCaptain]

I can tell you what we just did because we were in the same spot a few days ago. We draw 6'. I've been through the ICW in Georgia and South Carolina and prefer to not go through that again. It is much nicer to stay in nice anchorages waiting for good weather. Then jump offshore and have a nice day in the ocean.

So far we've done:

1. Cumberland Island (great anchorage and fun place) to Saint Simons Sound:
This is a short, easy run - 40 miles or so. We anchored off Lanier Island. The town of Brunswick is about 5 miles further on the river.

2. St Simons Sound - Port Royal Sound:
This is a monster day for us - 95 miles (our general speed is 7.5 kts). This time of year there's a lot of daylight and you can leave before sunrise, especially from St. Simons Sound. We anchored off Hilton Head for an easy departure the next morning. The traditional anchorage around there is on Skull Creek.

3. Hilton Head to Charleston, SC:
This is where we are now - currently at the Charleston Maritime Center (excellent place - walking distance to everything in Charleston and reasonably priced). This is an 80 mile day and really wasn't bad at all.

We've been waiting for the weather to settle a bit and are probably leaving Wednesday or Thursday. From here we're making an overnight jump to Beaufort, NC. That'll hop over all the rest of the difficult ICW areas. From Beaufort, NC, we stay inside through the Chesapeake.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

our boat is pretty slow, about 7 knots.

thanks.

You've come to the right place.

[teejayevans]

If you have time, can play the tides, no problem, the good news is there is plenty of
anchorages. There are known shoals areas to go through on a rising tide, personally
I prefer the outside route, weather permitting.
Tom

[KittiwakeCD28]

Usually use the run from St Mary's River (Fernindina) to Port Royal Sound - about 24 hrs in 28' Cape Dory. Need to be careful at Tybee Roads, alot of commercial traffic in and out of Savannah. Usually a pretty pleasant run, although it's around 20 mi from Sound entrance to Port Royal/Beaufort. Peace and Fair Winds, Bill

[osirissail]

If you stay more than 3nm offshore (on average) you will be outside most, if not all, "troubled waters." As Skipmac said there are lots of unlighted bouys for various Fish Havens, Dump Sites, and other miscellaneous stuff. Staying 5 to 10 miles offshore is even better, but I like to stay as close as feasible to stay out of any residual northbound currents or eddies. I usually chart routes from each major river entrance's RACON bouy and that keeps me close but not too close.