Doin' the Ditch
Tips for making your ICW passage easier
and safer
Most people
are using electronic charts today, but if you're old
fashioned, a purist, or broke, you'll sail with paper
charts. And, to be honest, if you don't have the
e-charts for the ICW, I suggest you save the money,
because the paper alternatives are perfectly suitable.
I've made a dozen trips on the ICW with only a handheld
GPS and, most of the time, I didn't need even that.
What you should have to comfortably and safely navigate the ICW are two items - three if you want to spend a couple extra dollars. The first two are Kettlewell's Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook: Norfolk to Miami, supplemented by the companion book, The ICW: A Cockpit Cuising Handbook, by Moeller.
Kettlewell's chartbook is designed as a strip chart; it's small and cockpit handy, and has everything you need, including bridge openings and other useful data.
I issue one caution about this chartbook: some of the recommended anchorages are not, in my opinion, safe, so use your judgement before setting the hook.
I discovered this one evening just south of the Savannah River when anchoring in a creek suggested by the book. Imagine my surprise when a large gambling cruiseship hailed me on the VHF to warn me of his passage - in a channel perhaps 70 feet wide at high tide. I quickly put out an anchor to the shore to keep me from swinging into center channel before he returned.
Another 'recommended' anchorage would leave you blocking the entrance to a creek with a fleet of shrimpers at the far end. A third one outside of Beaufort SC would leave you in the middle of a marked channel.
The problem, I suspect, is that the author has taken suggestions from cruisers who have used these anchorages, without checking them out himself. I exchanged a series of emails with him in 2007 regarding this, but haven't seen the newest edition to see if this problem has been corrected.
The companion book by Moeller is very handy for providing distances, marina locations, bridge and other data which simplify any trip. I recommend it.
My last recommendation, Waterway Guide, comes with the caveat that I write for the publisher. I suggest you pick up the Waterway Guide for the area you are traveling. I used it my first trip south, before I worked for them, and it made the trip much easier.
Where the WWG excels is in giving you information on the various harbours you'll come to, along with a close up
What you should have to comfortably and safely navigate the ICW are two items - three if you want to spend a couple extra dollars. The first two are Kettlewell's Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook: Norfolk to Miami, supplemented by the companion book, The ICW: A Cockpit Cuising Handbook, by Moeller.
Kettlewell's chartbook is designed as a strip chart; it's small and cockpit handy, and has everything you need, including bridge openings and other useful data.
I issue one caution about this chartbook: some of the recommended anchorages are not, in my opinion, safe, so use your judgement before setting the hook.
I discovered this one evening just south of the Savannah River when anchoring in a creek suggested by the book. Imagine my surprise when a large gambling cruiseship hailed me on the VHF to warn me of his passage - in a channel perhaps 70 feet wide at high tide. I quickly put out an anchor to the shore to keep me from swinging into center channel before he returned.
Another 'recommended' anchorage would leave you blocking the entrance to a creek with a fleet of shrimpers at the far end. A third one outside of Beaufort SC would leave you in the middle of a marked channel.
The problem, I suspect, is that the author has taken suggestions from cruisers who have used these anchorages, without checking them out himself. I exchanged a series of emails with him in 2007 regarding this, but haven't seen the newest edition to see if this problem has been corrected.
The companion book by Moeller is very handy for providing distances, marina locations, bridge and other data which simplify any trip. I recommend it.
My last recommendation, Waterway Guide, comes with the caveat that I write for the publisher. I suggest you pick up the Waterway Guide for the area you are traveling. I used it my first trip south, before I worked for them, and it made the trip much easier.
Where the WWG excels is in giving you information on the various harbours you'll come to, along with a close up
chartlet
showing the locations of the marinas. So, if you're
looking for certain amenities in a marina - you require
wireless, and need a diesel fillup plus a chandlery,
the information is right there. There are also
excellent sections on what to expect shoreside -
restaurants, destinations, etc.
The most recent edition (2009) has excellent cautions for problem areas on the ICW as well.
If you have only these three books onboard, you'll have no problems and, if you choose to go with e-charts only, at least have the Waterway Guide onboard, since it has information you'll need. Even with e-charts however, I've discovered that Moeller's book is extremely useful and I would not want to be without it.
Another item you'll find useful on the ICW is a spare depthsounder, in case you lose the one installed. It's happened to me, once on my boat and again on a delivery and, as a result, I keep on board an old and cheap unit I purchased at Sailorman's in St. Augustine. Another option is one of those depthsounders you can cast out on a fishing line, or a handheld, both available at your favourite marine store. The handheld unit has an additional advantage in that it can be used in the dinghy for exploring gunkholes - or a safe way out in case you should go aground.
If you don't carry a handheld VHF, you should. It allows one person to be ashore while the other returns to the boat, awaiting a pick-up call. It's vital for canals when your mast is lowered, handy when cruising about in the dinghy, keeping tabs on the anchorage while you're onshore....lots of uses.
Make sure you get a good one though. Cobra sells a cheapie that the USCG 'suggested' I toss overboard in Atlantic City when I used it to hail them. They couldn't hear me - while I was being pushed back into the Atlantic with a broken transmission and an injured crewmember - from a half mile away no less.
Do you have a fender board? Some of the docks on the ICW, not to mention the Bahamas and Caribbean, are not pretty. Unless you enjoy gelcoat repair, you'll want a fenderboard to protect your topsides from damage.
Something you don't need: fourteen jerry jugs for diesel and water in the Bahamas. Unless you're going into the smaller non-populated islands, you'll be able to get water at almost any dock. Diesel is also easy to come by.
The most recent edition (2009) has excellent cautions for problem areas on the ICW as well.
If you have only these three books onboard, you'll have no problems and, if you choose to go with e-charts only, at least have the Waterway Guide onboard, since it has information you'll need. Even with e-charts however, I've discovered that Moeller's book is extremely useful and I would not want to be without it.
Another item you'll find useful on the ICW is a spare depthsounder, in case you lose the one installed. It's happened to me, once on my boat and again on a delivery and, as a result, I keep on board an old and cheap unit I purchased at Sailorman's in St. Augustine. Another option is one of those depthsounders you can cast out on a fishing line, or a handheld, both available at your favourite marine store. The handheld unit has an additional advantage in that it can be used in the dinghy for exploring gunkholes - or a safe way out in case you should go aground.
If you don't carry a handheld VHF, you should. It allows one person to be ashore while the other returns to the boat, awaiting a pick-up call. It's vital for canals when your mast is lowered, handy when cruising about in the dinghy, keeping tabs on the anchorage while you're onshore....lots of uses.
Make sure you get a good one though. Cobra sells a cheapie that the USCG 'suggested' I toss overboard in Atlantic City when I used it to hail them. They couldn't hear me - while I was being pushed back into the Atlantic with a broken transmission and an injured crewmember - from a half mile away no less.
Do you have a fender board? Some of the docks on the ICW, not to mention the Bahamas and Caribbean, are not pretty. Unless you enjoy gelcoat repair, you'll want a fenderboard to protect your topsides from damage.
Something you don't need: fourteen jerry jugs for diesel and water in the Bahamas. Unless you're going into the smaller non-populated islands, you'll be able to get water at almost any dock. Diesel is also easy to come by.