Sailing Charlston to NY

smokey73 · Apr 14, 2020

I made that trip the opposite direction in May of 2012. When you say "ICW friendly" what is your air clearance (masthead with all attachments). My air clearance is about 64 1/2 feet including the VHF antenna and there are some bridges between Beaufort NC and Norfolk, particularly the Bell Haven Bridge that can be below 64 feet depending on the wind and rain. Also, you have to time your tansit for some of the draw bridges and if the wind is over 35 kts (I think thats the limit) they will not open. I'd get a copy of the ICW guide and study it. There is a book, I can't recall the name, that has good info on anchorages along the ICW. Not sure what the virus restrictions will do to your plans as far as fuel availability, marinas, places to visit, etc. If you can take your time it is a nice trip. We took our time and did not leave at the crack of dawn and generally stopped well before sunset, often about 5:30 or 6:00 pm. It was my wifes first long trip and I wanted to make it a good experience for her.

I bought my boat in New Rochelle and moved it from there to Beaufort, SC. I was off shore form New York Harbor past NJ to the Delaware Bay, up the bay to the canal and over to the Chesapeake, down to Norfolk then the ICW all the way. We took the Dismal Swamp Canal route and it was very pleasant. If you have specific questions fire away and I'll give you what I know, even where we stopped as I have it in my logbook from the trip.

BobH57 · Apr 14, 2020

Waterway Guide Online has lots of info on marinas, bridge openings, anchorages, hazards to navigation, etc., as well as GPX files you may be able to import to your chartplotter to show the best routes through some of the worst shoaling areas on the ICW. Active Captain is also a great online resource for anchorages.
Definitely check the current travel restrictions for each state, as I know Maryland is only allowing commercial boats to operate in it's waters with the exception of private craft engaged in subsistence fishing.
I made the trip back up to MD from the Bahamas last May (some offshore, some ICW) with no problems, but there was no pandemic to deal with at the time.

jssailem · Apr 15, 2020

Weather resources are discussed in the Weather forum here on SBO. NOAA has the NowCast site that will provide the marine conditions along your route. The Windy app is excellent. It can give you multiple day looks and time adjust along a plotted route. Very helpful.

Too name two ideas.

Captain Larry-DH · Apr 15, 2020

jssailem said:
The Windy app is excellent.

Agree, but it really needs a tablet screen to be fully appreciated. Too much info in small text/graphics for a phone. I also like the PredictWind app as much, and it's more usable on a phone.

smokey73 · Apr 15, 2020

Be careful on the "ICW" magenta line which is probably on your chartplotter! Often the best chanal is not on the magental line. Active Captain used to provide a lot of "unfiltered" and often not verified info from various boats passing a particular thin spot but you also had to be skeptical since you don't really know how their depth sounder is calibrated and whether they read true depth, depth from the sounder or even depth beneath the keel. I don't know if they fixed that but I found it useful to cut and tape any Active Captain comments on the area of concern right on the Waterway Guide page where it appeared. I recall on my trip back in 2012 that my shallow depth alarm at 10ft (actual depth) alarmed many times but most of that was mostly in South Carolina.

I also went offshore from Brunswick Ga to Beaufort NC and then the ICW from there north to Norfolk about 2 years ago as crew with a friend on his Moody. He too had a 64+ masthead height and we tinged the VHF on several bridges but didn't have any depth problems on the ICW as I recall anyway.

At the Bellhaven Bridge, we actually had to heel his Moody over with a heavy bag of water (500 lb diver's bag) attached to the boom and we still tinged the VHF antenna

. We would have hit the mast if we had not heeled over. If I recall (and this is only hearsay only) there is an outfit what will come out and "heel you over" with a line like your main halyard to help you get under the bridge. You can probably call the Towboat operator near there and they may be able to tell you if this hearsay is accurate. When the wind is from the south for a sustained period of time and/or there has been a lot of flooding. There is very little tidal change When I made my transit back in 2012, the winds had been from the south and I chose to go around Roanoke Island but the water was really thin along that passage and unless its been dredged I have heard that it is silted in even more. You can check the chart updates and NOTAMs etc. and they give you some useful information for this kind of thing. There is also a periodic notice of information along the entire east coast by email but I can't recall the site. When I get the next one I'll post the link in this thread. Best of luck and as I remember things I will try to give you the info.

jssailem · Apr 15, 2020

When transiting an area of reported shoals, I have always practiced a slow-deadslow behavior.

It gives my sonar (depth sounder) a little more time to report it’s info.

Also if “I go where no one has gone before“, it is easier to back away should I venture into space I should never have gone. That way I can return to an area I have already covered and at the least I know a little about.

Captain Larry-DH · Apr 15, 2020

When I brought a boat up from miami I used the autoroute functionality in the Navionics boating app to time the bridges: I would set the route‘s destination waypoint for the next bridge, and underway the app gave a continuous display of the ETA. We would vary our speed to arrive about 2-3 minutes before the scheduled opening, so we minimized “hover” time and reduced arrival time anxiety. It also enabled us to reduce engine noise and fuel consumption when timing allowed us to slow down.

smokey73 · Apr 15, 2020

Depends on the bridge and further may depend on the day of the week. For instance, our bridge here in Beaufort SC is closed to marine traffic at certain hours in the morning and afternoon. On weekdays other than the auto rush hour hiatus, it opens on the hour. On the weekend it opens on demand. I imagine it is the same for many of the bridges and I remember some were different. Also, many of the bridges will not open if the wind is above a certain amount. The Waterway Guide, I think, gives the hours of operation, hailing channel (normally 9), and other info.

Captain Larry-DH · Apr 15, 2020

To add to what @smokey73 wrote - the bridges are staggered in opening times to allow for approximate travel time between them. If one opens on the hour, the next probably opens on the half-hour, but that also depends on distance between them. If your boat can maintain 7k you should be good.

Randylb · Apr 20, 2020

I just ran the ICW south from the Erie Canal in the fall. Reversing it now. The 2019 ICW Cruising Guide by Bob 423 is what I consider essential. It is available online or paper. When used in conjunction with aquamaps it is the difference between hassle free sailing or being boatus frequent flier.
You can also join his Facebook page. He runs the route both ways each year and publishes updates online with routes to prevent difficult areas.
I would also download aquamaps on a tablet or phone. I ran both it and Navionics. The benefit with aquamaps is that for a couple dollars as an inside app purchase you can overlay the most recent USACE surveys with accurate depths. It saved us many many times.

Captain Larry-DH · Apr 20, 2020

Randylb said:
I ran both it and Navionics. The benefit with aquamaps is that for a couple dollars as an inside app purchase you can overlay the most recent USACE surveys with accurate depths. It saved us many many times.

Did you use Navionics SonarChart? If so, how did it compare with USACE surveys, and which are more up to date?

Vortac · Apr 20, 2020

I do not see the oblivious What tab is the weather forums

Hey Randy.

I will check that out.
I do have the standard waterway guides
More the merrier
Does he offer following weather.

I going to check this today. Thank you

Randylb · Apr 21, 2020

No we did not use the Navionics sonar so can’t compare it to the USACE

Randylb · Apr 21, 2020

Bob423 is strictly for navigation. He also publishes fox files so you can follow his specific route through tricky areas.

for weather I use bothy windy and predict wind. I use the paid subscription for both.

Sailing Charlston to NY

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

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