new sailor I live in wilmington nc and will be purchasing a 30ft soon and i thought i would get use to it on the icw, maybe wilmington to charleston sc?? is ther a fee for traveling the icw? and how do bridges work? do you radio ahead? is there time you cant go under a bridge??so many questions......thnks
inter coastal waterway
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ICW from Wilmington NC North
I just purchased a sailboat in Wilmington NC and brought it up the ICW to the Cheasapeak. It was very easy with a GPS and charts. There were fewer achorages than I expected because of shallow water. Most bridges open on request or the half hour--some on the hour. Bridges and commercial traffic alll use channel 13 on the vhf. In more conjested areas be sure to monitore 13 as well as 16. We ran into trouble at a bridge in Norfolk when the bridge was trying to hail us when we were on 16. Since we did not hear him, he was not going to let us through with the tug we were following. He finnally did once we caught up with the tug. There were still many angry commuters on both sides of the bridge as we went through.
Good luck. Get a few Navigation guides and a good GPS. Charts as back-ups are also important. Its a great way to get to know the boat but be sure that you have had a good survey before you leave and you know what the problem areas of the boat are.
I just purchased a sailboat in Wilmington NC and brought it up the ICW to the Cheasapeak. It was very easy with a GPS and charts. There were fewer achorages than I expected because of shallow water. Most bridges open on request or the half hour--some on the hour. Bridges and commercial traffic alll use channel 13 on the vhf. In more conjested areas be sure to monitore 13 as well as 16. We ran into trouble at a bridge in Norfolk when the bridge was trying to hail us when we were on 16. Since we did not hear him, he was not going to let us through with the tug we were following. He finnally did once we caught up with the tug. There were still many angry commuters on both sides of the bridge as we went through.
Good luck. Get a few Navigation guides and a good GPS. Charts as back-ups are also important. Its a great way to get to know the boat but be sure that you have had a good survey before you leave and you know what the problem areas of the boat are.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and...
New sailors and questions are always welcome in a place like this but, all the questions there is time, patience, and bandwidth for this site to handle will be just a drop in the bucket of what you appear to need to learn. The web makes it a lot easier but you'll get a lot more out of this fourm if you do some research first and ask questions that take advantage of the experience here rather than just saving you some typing time.
Start here:
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/division.htm?fno=400&div=13
and:
http://www.google.com type in (Intercoastal Waterway)
Everybody,
This makes me think though. It would be nice to have a basic syllabus of books and web links that someone starting out with a boat and minimal experience should read. I'll even put a page on my site if people send me suggestions (direct email please). I think it would be a nice addition to this one though. It also won't appear to disappear if I have to move my site again as I just did, resulting in lots of broken links all over the web.
New sailors and questions are always welcome in a place like this but, all the questions there is time, patience, and bandwidth for this site to handle will be just a drop in the bucket of what you appear to need to learn. The web makes it a lot easier but you'll get a lot more out of this fourm if you do some research first and ask questions that take advantage of the experience here rather than just saving you some typing time.
Start here:
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/division.htm?fno=400&div=13
and:
http://www.google.com type in (Intercoastal Waterway)
Everybody,
This makes me think though. It would be nice to have a basic syllabus of books and web links that someone starting out with a boat and minimal experience should read. I'll even put a page on my site if people send me suggestions (direct email please). I think it would be a nice addition to this one though. It also won't appear to disappear if I have to move my site again as I just did, resulting in lots of broken links all over the web.
I believe you mean Intra Coastal Waterway... An inter coastal waterway is typically referred to as an ocean.
This will be one good place to find the charts that you must have.
http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletChart/AtlanticCoastBookletCharts.htm
Some one said to get charts as a back up. I say get a gps as a back up and aid to your charts . GPS can tell you exactly where you are in the world but you need the charts to tell you where "where" is in relation to the rest of the world. REED'S Nautical almanac will answer a thousand questions for you that you will never think to ask. It includes the coast pilot for the east coast ,tide tables and currents for about ten thousand places, mini-charts of many places. I suggest you spend the holidays reading everything you can get your hands on for coastal navigation and piloting.
http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletChart/AtlanticCoastBookletCharts.htm
Some one said to get charts as a back up. I say get a gps as a back up and aid to your charts . GPS can tell you exactly where you are in the world but you need the charts to tell you where "where" is in relation to the rest of the world. REED'S Nautical almanac will answer a thousand questions for you that you will never think to ask. It includes the coast pilot for the east coast ,tide tables and currents for about ten thousand places, mini-charts of many places. I suggest you spend the holidays reading everything you can get your hands on for coastal navigation and piloting.
thanks
just wanted to thank everyone for their help..well at least 2 of you..doing a seach on any of these forums hardly ever helps.and as far as spelling right...I mean come on!! Its kinda hard when you have a 1 year old little girl in your lap! And if you have that much time to correct spelling... well maybe you should be sailing!!!
just wanted to thank everyone for their help..well at least 2 of you..doing a seach on any of these forums hardly ever helps.and as far as spelling right...I mean come on!! Its kinda hard when you have a 1 year old little girl in your lap! And if you have that much time to correct spelling... well maybe you should be sailing!!!
Christian
This is a pretty easy trip to make. Get one of the waterway guides, and read it. Then follow it mile by mile as you go along. Skipper Bobs guide is considered by many, including myself, to be the best of them all. One thing you should be aware of. There are places subject to shoaling, where currents are strong. Navigate these areas bouy to bouy, as the bouys are regularly moved as shoals and bars build up or change. They aren't moved much, just shifted slightly. But missing one can put you aground. Remember that all water depths shown on the charts are at mean low tide. If you anchor out, be sure to pay close attention to the tides. Unlike the gulf coast, the tides there are substancial, and anchoring in shallow water at low tide, can have you wake up in the middle of the night with the boat listing. You know how I came by this information. Don't let some of our resident boo birds scare you. Cast off the lines and enjoy your trip. It's the very best way to learn.
This is a pretty easy trip to make. Get one of the waterway guides, and read it. Then follow it mile by mile as you go along. Skipper Bobs guide is considered by many, including myself, to be the best of them all. One thing you should be aware of. There are places subject to shoaling, where currents are strong. Navigate these areas bouy to bouy, as the bouys are regularly moved as shoals and bars build up or change. They aren't moved much, just shifted slightly. But missing one can put you aground. Remember that all water depths shown on the charts are at mean low tide. If you anchor out, be sure to pay close attention to the tides. Unlike the gulf coast, the tides there are substancial, and anchoring in shallow water at low tide, can have you wake up in the middle of the night with the boat listing. You know how I came by this information. Don't let some of our resident boo birds scare you. Cast off the lines and enjoy your trip. It's the very best way to learn.
Improved resource for Information
What would really work is a Wiki to store information rather than the threads of the forums. A cruising Wiki would be straight forward. I wonder if it could be hosted here? Moderator??
What would really work is a Wiki to store information rather than the threads of the forums. A cruising Wiki would be straight forward. I wonder if it could be hosted here? Moderator??
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