I have been sailing lakes for the past couple of years and i have only recently moved up to a bigger sailboat that i can spend a night on. I am planning on sailing on parts of the ICW in August. What is the deal with mooring buoys? Can anyone sail up to one and tie up to it for the night? Is it for the public or do people own certain one with color coding on them? please excuse me here, i'm still new to saltwater sailing.
- Status
Moorings
This was discussed in length a month or two back, but I am having problems finding it in the archives. Hopefully someone can locate the discussion. As a general rule, nothing is free, so you should expect that someone owns each mooring and you shouldn’t hook on without permission unless in an extreme emergency. I remember others commenting on how they would feel if they returned to their mooring to find a stranger on their hook. Also, you have to consider that you don’t know the condition of the mooring. I'm not aware of any color-coding used to indicate ownership.
This was discussed in length a month or two back, but I am having problems finding it in the archives. Hopefully someone can locate the discussion. As a general rule, nothing is free, so you should expect that someone owns each mooring and you shouldn’t hook on without permission unless in an extreme emergency. I remember others commenting on how they would feel if they returned to their mooring to find a stranger on their hook. Also, you have to consider that you don’t know the condition of the mooring. I'm not aware of any color-coding used to indicate ownership.
moooring bouy's ICW
I would advise you to get OUT of the icw when anchoring at night or day because of Barge traffic.The Mooring bouy's you see along the ICW and near Locks are for commercial use and usually fill with barges waiting lock turn. I can only speak from personal/ Professional experience regarding bouy's in ICWW between MS river and Corpus Christi , TX. ALWAYS ask on vhf. Locks are usually on vhf ch 14 and canal traffic is on 16 or 13. happy sailing; Captain Charles Creel 200 ton masters
I would advise you to get OUT of the icw when anchoring at night or day because of Barge traffic.The Mooring bouy's you see along the ICW and near Locks are for commercial use and usually fill with barges waiting lock turn. I can only speak from personal/ Professional experience regarding bouy's in ICWW between MS river and Corpus Christi , TX. ALWAYS ask on vhf. Locks are usually on vhf ch 14 and canal traffic is on 16 or 13. happy sailing; Captain Charles Creel 200 ton masters
I don't know of any publicly maintained
moorings in the Chesapeake Bay which is a large segment of the ICW. That said the size of the ball defines the size of the vessel that ties up there. There is a mooring in the river just south of us that a man could stand on easily. They tie 2000 ton barges to that one. All of the others in the area belong to the marinas.
moorings in the Chesapeake Bay which is a large segment of the ICW. That said the size of the ball defines the size of the vessel that ties up there. There is a mooring in the river just south of us that a man could stand on easily. They tie 2000 ton barges to that one. All of the others in the area belong to the marinas.
Not Many Around
Mike, Your not going to see many mooring buoys along the ICW. With a 22 foot Hunter with a shaol draft your much better off anchoring. Remember you'll need two anchors (danforth and plow for mud and sand). During my jouney on the ICW I recalled a few bouy fields, but these required payment and limited time. I am not aware of any color coding. I have read that St. Augustine, Florida is in the process of providing a buoy field for transients and its current liveaboard "on the hook" population. Before you begin your journey, I would make some calls to various marinas along your route (ICW Guide is a great source) and inquire about bouys being provided. I would be surprised if you came across many. Bob
Mike, Your not going to see many mooring buoys along the ICW. With a 22 foot Hunter with a shaol draft your much better off anchoring. Remember you'll need two anchors (danforth and plow for mud and sand). During my jouney on the ICW I recalled a few bouy fields, but these required payment and limited time. I am not aware of any color coding. I have read that St. Augustine, Florida is in the process of providing a buoy field for transients and its current liveaboard "on the hook" population. Before you begin your journey, I would make some calls to various marinas along your route (ICW Guide is a great source) and inquire about bouys being provided. I would be surprised if you came across many. Bob
Plan to anchor
unless required by some local regulations I'd plan on anchoring. A 22' boat sounds perfect for gunk holeing especially if you have a swing keel. We always liked dropping an anchoring and then tying to a tree on shore or at worst putting an anchor on shore. Gunk holes can be so great especiallyif it is so small that only one boat can anchor there at a time.
unless required by some local regulations I'd plan on anchoring. A 22' boat sounds perfect for gunk holeing especially if you have a swing keel. We always liked dropping an anchoring and then tying to a tree on shore or at worst putting an anchor on shore. Gunk holes can be so great especiallyif it is so small that only one boat can anchor there at a time.
For Ross and Mike
There are 60 public moorings just inside the Spa Creek Bridge in Annapolis. The city operates on a "first come-first served" basis. The hourly mooring rate of $6 per hour and an overnight mooring fee of $20 per night. The City also provides 18 slips and 300 feet of bulkhead space at a fee of $1.75 per foot overnight. Contact the harbour master on Chanel 9 or 16 if interested. There was a spirited discussion here of whether one could just tie up to an unused mooring. My strong feeling then, and now, is that unless you know the mooring is a publicly maintained, you cannot tie up to it, just like you can't park your boat in someone's unoccupied slip.
There are 60 public moorings just inside the Spa Creek Bridge in Annapolis. The city operates on a "first come-first served" basis. The hourly mooring rate of $6 per hour and an overnight mooring fee of $20 per night. The City also provides 18 slips and 300 feet of bulkhead space at a fee of $1.75 per foot overnight. Contact the harbour master on Chanel 9 or 16 if interested. There was a spirited discussion here of whether one could just tie up to an unused mooring. My strong feeling then, and now, is that unless you know the mooring is a publicly maintained, you cannot tie up to it, just like you can't park your boat in someone's unoccupied slip.
You don't want to find the old thread
A chap came on and asked the same question and some guys here jumped on him - not a really great response - so you don't really want to find the old thread. The guys that jumped on him are probably the same guys that post that there is no such thing as a "silly" question when newbies say they will be asking lots of questions. In BC coastal waters, there are many guides you can purchase and in them, locations with public buoys are listed. I'm guessing you have similar guides over on the east coast. If I don't see a buoy listed in the local guide books, I assume it is either private or commercial. So as an example, from the Dreamspeaker Cruising Guide, Vol 3 an excerpt about Plumpers Cove: "Anchor - Pick up one of the parks eight mooring buoys or anchor to the S or W of the buoys. Depths 6-8m (20 - 27 feet). Holding good in mud and shingle." By the way, I had to look up what "shingle" is; here is the results: shin·gle [ shíng g'l ] noun Definition: 1. pebbles: small round pebbles on a beach 2. pebbly area: an area of beach covered in shingle [Mid-16th century. Origin ?]
A chap came on and asked the same question and some guys here jumped on him - not a really great response - so you don't really want to find the old thread. The guys that jumped on him are probably the same guys that post that there is no such thing as a "silly" question when newbies say they will be asking lots of questions. In BC coastal waters, there are many guides you can purchase and in them, locations with public buoys are listed. I'm guessing you have similar guides over on the east coast. If I don't see a buoy listed in the local guide books, I assume it is either private or commercial. So as an example, from the Dreamspeaker Cruising Guide, Vol 3 an excerpt about Plumpers Cove: "Anchor - Pick up one of the parks eight mooring buoys or anchor to the S or W of the buoys. Depths 6-8m (20 - 27 feet). Holding good in mud and shingle." By the way, I had to look up what "shingle" is; here is the results: shin·gle [ shíng g'l ] noun Definition: 1. pebbles: small round pebbles on a beach 2. pebbly area: an area of beach covered in shingle [Mid-16th century. Origin ?]
- Status