There is a 5 foot shallow spot in the ICW about 0.3 miles south of G117A near Sullivans Island, SC. Heading south last November we found the shoal and marked it on our charts.  Coming north March 28, I was looking for it to get an update.  I was proceeding at about 4 knots because the state of the tide was 0.1 foot below MLLW (Mean Lower Low Water), and we draw 4.5 feet. A sailboat from Maine was catching up to me.  I called him on the VHF to let him know there was a shoal ahead.  He said ...

Pay close attention as you cross the New River.  This is a really deceptive trouble spot. This ICW inlet crossing is both visually confusing and has a significant shoal.  Visually, whether you are northbound or southbound N”12A” appears to line up with the Red ICW aids.  The ICW aids are numbered 70, 72, 74, and 76.  Unless you are watching the marks and reading off the numbers you will be lulled into running over to N “12A” thinking it is the mark where you turn.  This will put you aground on the shoal which has built across the ICW from ...

St. Andrews Sound.  This sound is to be respected.  It is often rolly with swells coming in off the ocean. When there is a strong east wind and outgoing current, it is not unusual to see 4 foot waves at times.  If the conditions are poor on your northbound leg, stay an extra day at Fernandina Beach or Cumberland Island.  If southbound spend a day or two at Jekyll Harbor Marina and let the conditions improve.  Jekyll Island is  beautiful.  It is easy to bike and explore.  The marina has a golf cart for transients to borrow.   CAUTION: R30 and ...

We crossed the St. Johns River northbound in mid March. This area at the north end of Pablo Creek, where it meets the St. Johns River, was dredged and re buoyed in 2016.  Here again, some the buoys are not correctly shown on the latest updated charts NOAA 11491 (2/03/2018) making this section confusing.  The buoys are in the same locations we saw them in early February and for both transits through here we just followed the USCG ATONs.  G1 and R2 are correct as are R8 and G9.  However, R6 is no longer there and several other buoys have ...

The good news here is that although the channel shifted after the 2017 hurricanes, the water is deep!   The bad news here is that G47A and G47 are both missing.  If you have updated your charts their expected location will be found on the chart. If you drive your boat through here following the aids to navigation as shown on the charts you will see water depths greater than 10 feet all the way through here.  When you get over near R36 be prepared to experience cross setting current!...

South of McClellanville This long-standing shoal stretch has not dredged itself. It seem to be filling in at a slow rate, and in the past year has shoaled another 3-6 inches.

The chart below covers this shallow stretch. It starts at G47 Awendaw Creek and ends at G35A Jeremy Creek, McClellanville. From G47 to R42 just stay in visual center to have depths of 8 to 20 feet MLLW. Between R42 and G39 we saw several spots showing as little as 6.6 feet and we had +3.1 of help. This means that these areas would have 3.5 feet MLLW. In ...

Dawho Creek STM 495 has been a growing area of concern. It has shoaled to less than 6 feet at MLLW and you do not have to be far of course to see less than 5 feet. There are USACE surveys through Dawho Creek from the fall of 2017. They show a deep-water route to the north of the marked USCG channel. Bob Sherer, more well known by his Active Captain handle of bob423, has plotted waypoints along this new route. Bob asked me to beta test the route March 27. Here is our track, waypoints and depth findings along ...

By Diana Doyle

The final official event of the SAIL Magazine ICW Rally was the “Sailing South Seminar,” a full day of seminars on destinations south, including continental breakfast, lunch, one-on-one with the speakers, and a Q&A session. This all-day event was open to the public for registration, capped at 108 participants, for $125/couple. Rallyers received free admission as part of the Rally. We were at capacity with a waiting list, filling seats as a few registrants canceled at the last minute.

The event was held at The Corazon Cinema and Cafe, the oldest brick building in ...

By Diana Doyle
Throughout our several days in St. Augustine, there has been a powerful presence behind the scenes. No, not ghosts, although St. Augustine boasts many haunted locations, including the site of two of our gatherings: the “ghost bar” in the loft of Scarlett O’Hara’s restaurant.

The presence was St. Augustine Cruisers Net or SACN, an all-volunteer organization of cruisers who provide welcome and support to visiting boaters. It is kept going by a rotating group of boaters, depending on who is moored in the home port while others are off cruising. For starters, every morning at 0800 hrs ...

By Diana Doyle

The fleet is really enjoying the stay at Morningstar Marina at Golden Isles (aka Golden Isles Marina). While some of us were lucky enough to arrive at slack current, that was impossible for all. The Georgia current runs up to three knots on the ebb, but this is just part of the daily cycle of docking for this marina’s staff. Dockmaster Chick Candler hustled back and forth between boats, advising them on how to work with the current while docking. Luckily he had a bike to keep up with us—we came with a collective total of 650 ...