Albermarly to Palmico Sound

[Velero49]

I need some local knowledge. My bridge clearance is arounf 64' and I draw 5.5'. There is a 64' bridge in the Alligator river. My question is do I go via the Alligator River or the eastern side of Roanoke island? I have heard that boats with 65' bridge clearance have made it thru Alligator river route, but a couple of factors I have to consider is winds and full moon high tide. On the other hand the channel in the eastern side of Roanoke island is very narrow. I have a lot of time to think about this, since I am waiting out Sandy and will be in Elizabeth City until Wednesday or Thursday morning. Thanks for help in advance......

 

[RichH]

I seem to think that the bridge that you are talking about is at the south end of the Alligator Pungo Canal.
This bridge 'seems' to be 'conservatively' mismarked via its depth posting boards, and may be higher in air gap than what is on the bridge fender boards. Just be sure to pass under the mid span and take is VERY slow and easy. All the ICW bridge clearances as posted are for the edge of the channel and not necessarily indicate mid-span or 'highest' clearance. The bridge tenders at nearby bascule bridges usually know 'the particulars' of nearby fixed bridge 'air gaps', but will not 'tell you exactly because of 'liability exposure' .... so you have to 'read between the lines' of what they are saying to you to get 'truth'.

Also be sure to watch the shoreline of the A-P canal , etc. to see the 'actual' water height vs. 'normal', as wind driven tides can greatly shift the height of water all throughout this region.

 

[jibes138]

The alligator river is a swing bridge so no hieght concerns. The high rise bridges after that are route 64 goes across near Belhaven over the canal Rich refers to. There are also other bridges you will need to think about all the way down the ICW unless you are going outside at Beaufort. There is one in Adams creek between Oriental and Beaufort where route 101 goes across. I think there might be one around Hoboken also? Haven't been in that section for a long time. At Beaufort there is still a draw bridge but you will need to use that route at high tide as the channel is only about 5 feet at MLW. The other route through the Morehead to Beaufort bridge is another high rise road bridge with a height limitation.

 

[All U Get]

I need some local knowledge. My bridge clearance is arounf 64' and I draw 5.5'. There is a 64' bridge in the Alligator river. My question is do I go via the Alligator River or the eastern side of Roanoke island? I have heard that boats with 65' bridge clearance have made it thru Alligator river route, but a couple of factors I have to consider is winds and full moon high tide. On the other hand the channel in the eastern side of Roanoke island is very narrow. I have a lot of time to think about this, since I am waiting out Sandy and will be in Elizabeth City until Wednesday or Thursday morning. Thanks for help in advance......

Hi Velero49,
Did you make it under the Wilkenson Bridge yet? We also have a 64 foot mast and I was going to do the ICW from Norfolk to Morehead City.
All U Get

 

[CarlN]

The problem with the Wilkerson (and also the Pungo Ferry) is that they can be substantially less than 64' in periods of wind driven high water. Conversely, when the water is low there's plenty of room. Here's a picture of the tide board of the Wilkerson last time I went through (64' mast clearance). My VHF whip is higher. My notes with the picture said that the amount of whip bend indicated 65'6" this day.

We now prefer to go around the Wilkerson via the Albemarle sound unless strong unfavorable winds are forecast. The distance is about the same, the bridge is high, and you typically get some really nice sailing time. The towns of Manteo and Ocracoke are two of our favorite stops on the ICW.

Carl

 

[All U Get]

Thanks Carlf,
Reading the tide board in your picture, the water was low on the 65 meaning close to 66 feet? Or the same question if you see part of the 65, does this mean 65+ feet or does the whole number have to be showing? I draft 6'10" so this is the only route besides outside.
All U Get

 

[capta]

mast height

All U Get
Do you not have the centerboard model 530?
We draw 6' w/ board up and have a mast height of 73' from the water.
Had heard there was one 530 that was not a ketch and no board??? Wondering why the differences.

 

[CarlN]

My "rule" is that when I see the whole 65 including the line under it if there is a line - then I have between 65' 0" to 65' 11" depending on how much margin for error the guy with the tape measure felt he needed the day he hung the board.

We've never seen a bridge that was tighter than this interpretation of the tide board but some 65' bridges seem to have a couple of feet extra room. And some bridges have no tide board at all.

And while the chart says Wilkerson is 64' and the Pungo Ferry is 65', I find Pungo Ferry tighter (the tide board seems accurate). Maybe it's sinking.

 

[All U Get]

My "rule" is that when I see the whole 65 including the line under it if there is a line - then I have between 65' 0" to 65' 11" depending on how much margin for error the guy with the tape measure felt he needed the day he hung the board.

We've never seen a bridge that was tighter than this interpretation of the tide board but some 65' bridges seem to have a couple of feet extra room. And some bridges have no tide board at all.

Thanks Carlf, we are working on a plan. Maybe having a dingy list the boat 10 degrees abeam. I wonder how much weight that would take?

All U Get
Do you not have the centerboard model 530?
We draw 6' w/ board up and have a mast height of 73' from the water.
Had heard there was one 530 that was not a ketch and no board??? Wondering why the differences.

No we have a fin keel and it was listed as 6'10" on the delivery paperwork circa 1985. Both options were listed in the operators manual.

All U Get

 

[CarlN]

I've used the dinghy off the boom technique. Got a little less than 10 degrees of heel. Helped a little.

The easiest thing is just to have enough extra time in your schedule to wait out high water. We once had to wait 48 hours at Pungo Ferry. Another boat was there and we had a nice time. Eventually the water came down and we were on our way.

Farther south it's rarely a problem as there's tidal range. You just plan to reach the fixed bridges at something other than high tide.

 

[CarlN]

Here's a picture of Pungo Ferry at somewhat high water. We've seen it worse. Our VHF whip got a good cleaning but no mast hit. I think the tide board is accurate showing 64 and a couple of inches.

If your trig is as rusty as mine, here's a nifty calculator to figure out whether swinging the dingy out will help enough. 10 degrees get's you a foot.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/righttricalc.html

 

[RichH]

Cosine 10° is = .985
meaning for a 7 ft. / 84" draft, heeling the boat by only 10 degrees will only save/deduct 1.3 inches.
84 X .985 = 82.7" .... = 1.3" 'saved'.

6" saved at 20° over
11.2" saved at 30° over

 

[CarlN]

His primary problem is air draft. .985*64ft=63.02

 

[All U Get]

We measured the mast to be 63 feet, the tri light and other items added 14 inches. The windex would be a problem since it's slightly higher. So on the trig calculator we used 64 for side a and 65 for side b = 10.06 degrees. Golly that's close. Here at he dock using my weight on the spinaker halyard I could get roughly 1 degree of list while leaning off the side. While we're at anchor I'm going to run the dingy along side and see what kind of list we can develop with the use of the spinaker halyard. This all may be academic if I can't get at least 8 degrees with the dingy (RIB 90lb) + outboard (90 lb)+ my 190 lbs = 370 lb ish. If there's Wifi I'll post my results.
All U Get

 

[JustDucky]

FYI, that is not the only 64' bridge you will encounter while on the AICW. We have seen some as low as 63' between St. Augustine and Daytona.

 

[CarlN]

I'd go up the mast. A lot of people take off their windex (and often don't put them back up). And you won't use a tricolor on the ICW. If the tricolor is also your anchor light, get something to hang in the rigging.

If your anemometer sticks out forward on a stalk you can probably bend it down or remount it a few inches lower on the mast so the cups are almost level with the mast top. I doubt accuracy will be affected if it's 12"+ forward of the mast.

63' isn't going to be a problem.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

When traveling the Alligator River oce you leave the Albermarle Sound, you will first encounter the markers and make sure you follow the entrance markers to the alligator River as you have very little room for error. The bridge is a swing bridge and there is an excellent marina prior on the west side prior to the bridge. I suggest to anyone do not try to transit the Alligator at night. Once you are long past the bridge and I foret the marker, you will actually come to the cutout prior to the Pungo. Just be careful of submerged logs. Once you are in the Pungo section, there are several places to stay at marinas.

Generally, most bridges are 65 feet high at full tidal; however, you have wind tides vs. regular tides in the Albermarle and Pamlico Sounds to be condsidered when going thru. Once you leave the Pamlico after passing Oriental and back onto the ICW, there is one bridge with a clearance of 64 feet which is the Corps Creek Bridge. I use to find out when the tide was going out at Morehead and then adjust from there. I have taken Hunter 41 and 44 sailboats thru there.

I hope this helps.