Intercoastal Highway

[thesailerdude]

Hi again-- this is the same dude who brought up about the idea of sailing the caribbean waters this summer with his college friends...

i am wondering how long would it take me to sail from Annapolis, MD to perhaps West Palm, FL? We are currently practicing on chesapeake bay...and would you guys recommend a generator on board?

Kevin

 

[Ross]

Figure 40-50 miles per day. How much electric power do you use?

 

[Hermit Scott]

I take it you want to know how long it would take you to motor down the Intra Coastal Waterway. It's 1000 miles at 5 or 6 miles an hour. So 170 to 200 hours. If you and your buddies take shifts at the helm it will take 7 or 8 days striaght motoring. Add to that refueling, waiting on bridges if there are any, grabbing supplies, 8 or 9 days if you motor straight through. I doubt there will be much sailing in "the ditch", it's too narrow from what I have seen of it.
Did you buy that boat? Is that what you are practicing on? What kind of boat is it again, and how deep is the draft on it?

 

[RichH]

If you are planning to travel down the ICW, and travel in daylight only ... you will only typically cover 50-60 miles per day ('pushing it'). With no layups for bad weather, that will take ±20-25 days.

 

[Ross]

Motoring at night on the ICW is a recipe for running aground.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

I take it you want to know how long it would take you to motor down the Intra Coastal Waterway. It's 1000 miles at 5 or 6 miles an hour. So 170 to 200 hours. If you and your buddies take shifts at the helm it will take 7 or 8 days striaght motoring. Add to that refueling, waiting on bridges if there are any, grabbing supplies, 8 or 9 days if you motor straight through.

I can't imagine why anyone would want to do it that way...there are so many neat places along the way...Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah, Brunswick and Jekyll and Cumberland Island,St. Augustine...bunches of small coastal towns. And cruisers in all of 'em.

So why rush? Slow down and smell some roses along the way!

 

[Hermit Scott]

You can do it like the barges, with a BIG spot light. And motoring you will have enough power for that big spot light. You only have to make it to the next can. But that is why I asked about the draft on his boat. I would try it that way with 5 guys to rotate shifts.
Amen to that Peggy, I am sure there are some nice places. I would plan a couple of trips to see some sights along the way, but if possible I would make time at night.

 

[Chuckbear]

Kevin, You really should not try to do any part of the ICW at night for a variety of reasons. We have made the trip some ten or eleven times now. Using the 50 miles per day measure and allowing days for weather delays, bridges out of commission and rest, as well as mechanical problems and you will be able to work out the math. For some of our insights on doing the ICW have a look at one of our web pages on some of the changes we have seen over the years at
http://tinyurl.com/dnanlh
Chuck

 

[Hermit Scott]

That is eye opening Chuck. The ICW is very differnet than what I have seen in Texas.
I wouldn't want to try navigating the ICW on the east coast since it's so narrow in the dark or the light. I guess they just dredge more here, probably has something to do with the oil companies.

 

[Dean5735]

I think you college guys are dreaming (nothing wrong with that) but there must be a million places around your area to spend a couple weeks or months and not see everything. If you are that new to boating and sailing, that would be a safer bet. See all there is to see, anchor in all the cool spots, hit the best bars, then try traveling. It sounds like you don't have a clue what to expect. Enjoy your own back yard!!! People come from all over the world to see the Chesepeake area. Then friends can come and go easier than a long distance trip.

 

[kloudie1]

Ross, I agree.. night running in the intercoastal on your side of the country will put you aground. My experience was mostly with the intercoastal on the northern gulf coast.. No problem running there at night! The channel is well marked and is deep and well maintained.. I signed on to a delivery from Ft. Lauderdale to Oriental NC and found the intercoastal on the right side (not to be confused with correct side) of the country to be a different animal indeed. We stopped after two nights of puckering experiences with keel rubbings and currents that were invisible at night, and missing channel markers!.. Stopping at night on that waterway is pretty much a given.

 

[Ross]

There are 58 named rivers that enter the Chesapeake Bay. Several of them are quite long and all of them are scenic. Have you sailed to: Rock Hall? To St. Michaels? To Oxford? To Cambridge? to the Baltimore inner harbor? To Solomons Island? To Annapolis? To Chestertown?
Get your charts out and spread them on the kitchen table and plan to go some place that you can get to in a day or two. Circumnavigate Kent Island. or Tilghman Island. Visit all of the light houses in the bay north of Thomas Point

 

[Ed Schenck]

Sailordude and Caribbean

Did you tell us about your boat and your schedule? Maybe you really want to see the islands and are limited on time. Then you have to go offshore. Eventually you have to cross but meanwhile you could leapfrog down the coast.

As stated do not try to run the ICW after dark. Fifty miles a day is possible but not for an average, try forty. If you draw five feet or more you will go aground. The only way to prevent that is to wait for high tide anywhere within five miles of an inlet. We stuck three or four times with my shoal draft, about 4'6" loaded. And always between the marks. A chartplotter is almost mandatory. When there is so much distance between the marks it is easy to get out of the channel.

There is so much motoring while cruising that the batteries tend to stay up. The exception would be if you expect to be anchored for more than one night at a time. Then a generator would be handy.

 

[Cpt. Jon]

There are 58 named rivers that enter the Chesapeake Bay. Several of them are quite long and all of them are scenic. Have you sailed to: Rock Hall? To St. Michaels? To Oxford? To Cambridge? to the Baltimore inner harbor? To Solomons Island? To Annapolis? To Chestertown?
Get your charts out and spread them on the kitchen table and plan to go some place that you can get to in a day or two. Circumnavigate Kent Island. or Tilghman Island. Visit all of the light houses in the bay north of Thomas Point

Matthews, Yorktown (Bars and resturants, most weekends there is something going on at the waterfront), Sara's Creek (York River Yacht Haven - nice food and drink), Hampton Pirate Festival (Huge party), Norfolk Harbor Days (another huge party) - Parade of Sail, Mobjack Bay, Deltaville, Smith Island, Tangier Island (bring your own booze). I'm very happy to stay around the Chesapeake this time of year. Some good advice as the summer afternoon squalls start hitting here though is to get to your destination early and beat those squalls, the bay can get pretty nasty.

 

[sailaway78]

Good advice

There are tons of scenic and nice places in the Chesapeake. I wish on my two trips through there that I would have had more time to stop and smell the roses. But if your mind is made up to go to the islands, then by all means go for it. But, DO NOT run the ICW at night. I can assure you that you will be aground many many times if you do. Shoals build up at the inlets so fast, they have a hard time keeping the bouys in the proper places. Most of them are nuns and cans, unlighted. It is difficult at times, to make 50 mile days. Bridges open on schedules, so waits for them are common. In Georgia, North and South Carolina the tides are 8' or more a day. Anchoring and navigating shallower areas takes some planning. Doing the ICW is a good experience too, but needs to be done when time is available, and a tight schedule is not necessary. Jump offshore, and do some overnighters. The experiecne will be a good way to learn the boat, it's systems, and yourselves. There are a lot of inlets to get into, should things go bad. Get yourself a Skipper Bobs waterway guide. There is a ton of good info. in it, and will tell you which inlets to shy away from, and which ones are safe, and have good anchorages. Good luck, good weather, and enjoy.

 

[TimCup]

sailordude!!- whassup, bud?

So, you asked 2 questions:
how long to "sail" to west palm?, and
Do we need a generator?

Did you read about needing to motor most of the way? Was that in your plan? You can sail a fair amount, if the winds are right, but the ditch is too narrow in most places to tackand/or gybe, so you'll motor mostly.

I read the posts saying it would take anywhere from 7 to 25 days... confused?
Actually, they're both within reason- 7 days with perfect conditions and round the clock travel, over 3 weeks if you travel a more normal way...

A generator? If you have an alternator on your engine, then no. If not, then definitely yes- you'll need it for the defibrillator cuz this trip is gonna kill you!


cup

 

[Benny]

A generator? If you have and want air conditioning then take one. I'm with Ross, you could sail for years in the Chesapeake Bay and not visit the same anchorage twice. The whole thing about sailing is the adventure and you do not have to go far to experience it. If you want to go to an island go to Tangier Island. If after a few weeks you get tired or homesick you will not be more than 2-3 days away.

 

[Ross]

An historical water trail has been established for retracing Capt. John Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake Bay.
http://www.nps.gov/cajo/
This voyage of discovery is a worthwhile adventure for any sailor on the Chesapeake bay. Jamestown to Port Deposit.

 

[Nereussailor]

Hey sailordude,
It took me about a month from Washington, NC to St Augustine, FL took my time, had a few delays, checked out a lot of sights, and only traveled in the day, except for a couple of jumps into the ocean. But we did it in a 36 ft blue water cruiser. Stay inside, travel in the day and as Peggy said, Stop and smell the roses. there are tons of kewl things to see. We could have done it in a week or two, but why. When sailing, it's not about the destination, its about the journey.

Dave

 

[jibes138]

ICW at night

I've run the section from the virginia cut lock to coinjock at night getting in about 3 am. Most of the run is in ditches so staying in the center is pretty easy. the section along currituck sound was probably the most worrisome, as it is open water and very shallow outside the dredged chanel.
The locks only run until dark so you don't have a choice if you get there late but to tie up overnight or drop a hook.
There is some great sailing on the ICW, crossing albemarle sound, crossing the Neuse River, the section from up around bayboro until you get to Adams creek is a long stretch of sailing and you can either tie up in Oriental or drop a hook in Adams creek by the range marker. Winds are squirrelly in the canals because of the trees on both sides but if the are strong and the right direction you can motor sail using the sails to give you a lift on speed. Haven't done south of Morehead yet, I'd prefer to jump outside to Charleston when I take that trip. Charleston is a wonderful place, lots to see and do, Kiawah is one of my favorite places in the world, a true paradise. Great golf courses, a manicured island (the whole island) and guard posts every couple miles to keep out the non-residents.