Ponce Inlet ,NSB anchoring advice

[The Garbone]

Newb question here.

The wife and I want to take the boat up to St. Augustine over a 3 day weekend. The problem is that from our current marina it is a 4 days of travel round trip. The rough plan is to take the ICW up to an anchorage just south of Ponce inlet and leave the boat for a week on anchor as we do not want to pay for a slip. We live locally so the truck drop and dinghy is the easy part.

My concern is with leaving the boat on anchor unattended. Any advice about leaving a boat on the hook unattended there for a week at a time, is it just a bad idea?

[Vasco]

If you're going to leave the boat unattended on anchor Daytona would be the best spot, by the sewage plant on the west side. Or you might find a spot in Palm Coast, on someone's dock. Lots of empty docks there.

[RabidRabbit]

If you have to leave it unattended its best to stay with it a few days to see what the current may do. Just anchoring and spliting is a bad idea. A mooring in st augustine is only $20 a day, pay them and split. dont tell them your plan, some mooring fields dont like unattended storage. No one would notice a few days though. If you anchor be sure to have good ground tackle, not light daysailor stuff.

[AA3JY]

I was under the impression that the Volusia County SO patrolled that area south of the Rt.44 bridge. leading onto New Syrna Beach, for long term anchoring and over board discharging violations with some what of a heavy hand. There was an incident a couple of years ago concerning such...

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by AA3JY

I was under the impression that the Volusia County SO patrolled that area south of the Rt.44 bridge. leading onto New Syrna Beach, for long term anchoring and over board discharging violations with some what of a heavy hand. There was an incident a couple of years ago concerning such...

Actually, the NSB section of the ICW is the worst (or best depending on your point of view) for being checked out by Florida Fish and Wildlife patrols. I have been boarded while underway there. Elsewhere they usually only check you if you're at anchor.

[LostAtSea2011]

You can anchor on the south side of the Rt.44 bridge. Good holding and a few liveaboards there. I left my boat there for a few months last year and never moved. The FWC , Coast Guard, and Police won't bother you if you are legal. Other than that you can anchor in Daytona by the poop factory.

[The Garbone]

Thanks for the replies folks.

From what your saying it looks like we may try the rt 44 bridge. Don't want to get too far north as we may wish to venture outside if the weather is good.

We stayed at the City marina 2 weeks ago and like the area. We have some pretty decent tackle, an oversized Fortress and some chain off of a battleship.

[Finistere]

Look at leaving your boat at Marineland, new marina, great people and cheap.

[onestepcsy37]

i live in the area and use ponce inlet pretty regularly.

the anchorage on the east side of the icw, just south of the route 44 bridge, is a good spot. there is some shallow water there so watch your depths. also, be sure to anchor well out of the icw - that seems to be the biggest problem that the water cops deal with. and don't forget your anchor light - it's not a designated anchorage and you could easily get an eighty dollar ticket; the city needs the income.

if you go ten miles further north you can stop at daytona beach. there's a good anchorage off the water treatment plant on the west side, about a mile south of the orange avenue drawbridge. turn left just before red 44 and proceed up into the anchorage. about a dozen or so boats call it home. bottom is soft mud over sand, depth about 8 to 10 feet. it's shoal just south and just north of the anchorage. anchor light rule applies here too.

[FSMike]

I'm confused. You show your location as Sanford but you are going up the ICW? Is your boat at a different location?

[The Garbone]

Boat is currently in Titusville, guess I could update that. We had planned to move the boat to Sanford when we got it but the move would add 6 to 7 days to any longer trips.

Of course I have not been up the mast so I do not know what type of bulb is up there. I will have to do the calculations if my 15watts of solar can keep my batteries up for a week. Maybe I will put a meter in series at the master cut off an see what the anchor light draws. Another thing go the to do list.