Lots
Lots to say. It's a great trip and I was very glad to have the chance to make a trip from Boston to Pensacola in 1993-4. Some ideas: 1. use part of a small yellow sticky note to keep your location marked on the charts. I used a piece about 1x1.5 (half of one) with a small arrow marked on the top. Helps keep you from loosing your location amongst all the markers. 2. talk to boaters you meet on the way. great people and they can help you find fun places to anchor. 3. use two anchors spread 180 deg apart and lead to the bow roller. the currents/winds change and you want to limit your swing most times. 4. take your time and don't rush the trip. so much beauty to see in this country. 5. GPS does help if you use it to time your approaches to bridges. you can speed up or slow down to arrive before the bridge opens. Saves having to wait around for it to open. 6. always subtract 2 ft from the depths a marina tells you they have at dockside. Only time I went aground on my trip was IN the marinas! 7. get "the Intracoastal Waterway: Norfolk to Miami" by moeller and other guide books like the Waterway guides, etc. they have a lot of good and fun info. Just remember things change, marker are moved and things silt in. 8. Anchoring out is a lot cheaper than dockside. You need a good dinghy to get to and enjoy the shoreside stuff. 9. have a VHF in the cockpit that will work all day (I used a handheld with a power cord and mic/speaker attached.) You will need to talk to the "BIG" boats (tugs with 600 ft of dredge pipes or large barges). Learn how to talk to them on the VHF correctly by reading the guidebooks. 10. Don't hesitate to GO and ENJOY!
