Intracoastal waterway suggestions

I just purchased a new boat located in Stuart Florida. The wife and talked about shipping it or boating back home to Boston. We estimated the cost to be the same, so we are going to experience this trip as a once in a lifetime opportunity to do it! We are planning this trip late April.
I am unfamiliar with the Intracoastal. One of my concerns in planning the trip home is trying to figure how many miles I can go a day from marina to marina. I know weather will be big factor. Any suggestions would be appreciated

Waterway Guide is a good resource, as will be folks on this site (and elsewhere) who've made similar trips. Books on the Great Loop and Intracoastal from FL to New England will be good, too. If the waves and weather cooperate you can make better time on the Atlantic.

A smart Captain once said "you can have a schedule or an itinerary, but not both!" For the pleasure traveling that we've done, 100 miles per day is a big day. 150 miles is very tiring, especially knowing that I have to get up and do it again tomorrow. One thing that I would have to consider is that I do ALL of the driving. It would be nice to have a day off every third or fourth day. If we were doing it, it would be a trip that I would want to enjoy. Take your time.

I can't offer you any specifices about the AICW other than the stretch from Norfolk (Mile 0) down to Coinjock (Mile ~50). That one 50 mile stretch takes a big chunck of the day because of bridge sheduling, the one Lock, and No Wake Zones.

I envy you planning this trip over the Winter. What kind of boat did you purchase? Post some pictures if you have them!

Jaybeaux

Jaybeaux said:

A smart Captain once said "you can have a schedule or an itinerary, but not both!" For the pleasure traveling that we've done, 100 miles per day is a big day. 150 miles is very tiring, especially knowing that I have to get up and do it again tomorrow. One thing that I would have to consider is that I do ALL of the driving. It would be nice to have a day off every third or fourth day. If we were doing it, it would be a trip that I would want to enjoy. Take your time.

I can't offer you any specifices about the AICW other than the stretch from Norfolk (Mile 0) down to Coinjock (Mile ~50). That one 50 mile stretch takes a big chunck of the day because of bridge sheduling, the one Lock, and No Wake Zones.

I envy you planning this trip over the Winter. What kind of boat did you purchase? Post some pictures if you have them!

Jaybeaux

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After owning 3 different SeaRays (240, 280, 350 Sundancers), We saw this Carver at the boat show and loved it. New with Diesels. My 350 is up for sale.

Third Edition said:

Waterway Guide is a good resource, as will be folks on this site (and elsewhere) who've made similar trips. Books on the Great Loop and Intracoastal from FL to New England will be good, too. If the waves and weather cooperate you can make better time on the Atlantic.

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Thant's a good thought. If there are any boring areas, I would not mind going out a few miles out and get some speed! So whats worth seeing and whats not?

Here's our limited experience.

Cocoa Village Marina is a great place. Right at the "Space Coast", the village has tons of stuff all within walking distance. If you're lucky enough to have a launch while you're there, all the better. It makes the boat "rock".

St. Augustine is pretty much a must see, unless you've been there. There are two marinas right at the drawbridge. We prefer the Conch House marina around the bend in Salt Run. No current and wind's not much of a factor. Watch the tide going through Matanzas. Best do it as close to high tide as you can. Current is swift there and in St. Augustine downtown.

Nothing much, IMO, in Jacksonville.

Farther north Fernandina Beach is a nice marina and small town. If you're lucky a nuclear sub will go by on the surface.

In Georgia we've only been to St. Simon's Island. Very nice.

The tidal changes between Hilton Head and Charleston are severe. It can 9-11 feet. Charts are often outdated. I would plan to go through on a rising tide. Check with Sea Tow for or Boat US for local knowledge. Once you get north of Charleston its pretty well marked though the redline on your chart plotter may not be the deepest. Read up in the Waterway Guide about the low bridges you will encounter. Most are on set schedule so plan your arrival accordingly. No reason to burn fuel at speed only wait 45 minutes for the bridge to open. Navigating the Cape Fear River can be tricky as its a very active shipping lane and many channel markers that are not the main channel.
Have fun. It will be a great trip.

If your starting your trip in April, you will probably have the option to run outside. Fastest, easiest, just enjoy the ride. Not a lot of scenery.

You can stay inside until the mouth of the Delaware river, granted the last part of that trip is up the Chesapeake and down the bay.

On the ICW, starting in Northern FL, across GA, really all the way to Charleston there are spots of shallow water. Especially across GA. I have run from Charleston to Hilton Head on the inside (guessing I may have a deeper draft than your new boat) without any problems because I timed the run to leave Charleston on a rising tide. Along that stretch really watch the tides.

if I think I am going to be on the ICW (where ever I am going), I download a current ICW bridge document for each state. Easy to find. Not so much that you will have very many bridges to open, rather that the bridge document will show each bridge with the ICW mile marker. Very handy for trip planning. I may not know exactly the ICW MM for a specific marina - but I can find a bridge nearby and check its MM.

Even on the ICW, there are some spots you will need to watch weather. The Sounds in North Carolina for example. Some of the roughest water we ever boated in was Albemarle Sound. I did not realize how rough it would get with a sustained blow out of the west.

Our preference is to run outside all the time for NC south. I have no desire to go outside around the outer banks of NC.

We had been as far north as Wrightsville Beach previously. We made the trip to the Chesapeake (from west coast of FL) a couple of years ago. So 1 trip north and 1 trip south across NC. Lot of help from Alex and Rusty on the planning process.

The scenery on the ICW is fantastic. The slowness of progress can be excruciating. Its a balance.

When I was going south in the fall 2 years ago, weather was indicating that at least a portion of the trip would be in the ICW.

I downloaded the Corp of Engineers marine survey data for each region. Very valuable. Showed where the shoaling occurred for ICW and inlets.

Now you can get that data in AquaMap. I would highly recommend it. If you only use it a handful of times its worth the 20 bucks it costs.

There are a ton of people on this site who have made the trip, lots of good resources. Captain Rusty probably has done the trip 2-3 times within a month some months.

It will be a memorable trip. Lots of fun planning a trip like this.

tony1b2000 said:

I just purchased a new boat located in Stuart Florida. The wife and talked about shipping it or boating back home to Boston. We estimated the cost to be the same, so we are going to experience this trip as a once in a lifetime opportunity to do it! We are planning this trip late April.
I am unfamiliar with the Intracoastal. One of my concerns in planning the trip home is trying to figure how many miles I can go a day from marina to marina. I know weather will be big factor. Any suggestions would be appreciated

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You're in Salem. I'm sure you've navigated around Gloucester and Rockport right? If you can navigate those waters you can navigate anywhere lol Rockport didn't get it's name from clear sailing deep water. We used to live in Salem and then Gloucester 20+ years ago.
I'm envious. I hope one day to have the opportunity to need to take a trip like your planning. You only live once. Don't trailer it!

Thanks guys. Lot of good information. Going to check out aqua map and signed up with Waterway Guide. Very interesting that many inlets in Florida are marked risky at best!

Be careful with Florida inlets.

Had to rename New Pass to Don't Pass, and Big Pass to What Pass. Used to routinely take 60+footers through there, but that was the 80's.
They were both abandoned when our Coast Guard Cutter at 10th St left for good. I think it's the one in Nokomis right by Venice Inlet now.

Done the trip a few times. My recommendation is, take your time, stay inside. There is so much to see along the way. Many great small towns to spend an afternoon and eat. On your boat plan 100 miles or less a day to really enjoy. It may be a once in a lifetime trip, smell the roses.

Congrats on the new boat and good luck on the trip - Is Rob Paramentier still president of Carvrer? If so, you're still in the "family"....looks like you're getting some good advice - north of where you are, ft pierce and canaveral inlets are fine - Will you be doing any boating in south florida this winter? As a fellow "Masshole" that spends time there (currently boatless after selling my 300da but working on it) id be happy to share some ideas.....caution - you may not want to bring the boat home LOL

I would outside of Georgia if possible. It tends to be a shallow state with large tide swings. Hells gate is super shallow, but can be done if you hug the Red marker. The other reason to skip is that the ICW winds back and forth, so you don't really travel very far north for the time spent. Go out of Jacksonville and go back in Charlestown then stay at the Isle of Palms. As you progress north the other areas that are tricky are, north of Charleston, Locks Folly in SC, the Rock Pile in SC (stay in middle), Snows Cut in NC, North Topsail Inlet crossing NC. AS get farther north call to see who is open for fuel as a lot will hav winter hours or be closed. You can PM me for more thoughts. Enjoy the trip and stay warm.

mquiet said:

I would outside of Georgia if possible. It tends to be a shallow state with large tide swings. Hells gate is super shallow, but can be done if you hug the Red marker. The other reason to skip is that the ICW winds back and forth, so you don't really travel very far north for the time spent. Go out of Jacksonville and go back in Charlestown then stay at the Isle of Palms. As you progress north the other areas that are tricky are, north of Charleston, Locks Folly in SC, the Rock Pile in SC (stay in middle), Snows Cut in NC, North Topsail Inlet crossing NC. AS get farther north call to see who is open for fuel as a lot will hav winter hours or be closed. You can PM me for more thoughts. Enjoy the trip and stay warm.

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The Rock Pile is scary for me. Most of the time on the ICW, high tide is good. Not so good here, you don't see the shelf ledges.

Ididntdoit said:

Congrats on the new boat and good luck on the trip - Is Rob Paramentier still president of Carvrer? If so, you're still in the "family"....looks like you're getting some good advice - north of where you are, ft pierce and canaveral inlets are fine - Will you be doing any boating in south florida this winter? As a fellow "Masshole" that spends time there (currently boatless after selling my 300da but working on it) id be happy to share some ideas.....caution - you may not want to bring the boat home LOL

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I am actually going down to Stuart Florida to sea trial the boat the day after Christmas. Mini vacation! Nice to get out of Boston after the 15 inches of snow we just got!
I may head south to West Palm area or Ft Lauderdale. What's open and whats not right now with Covid? Restaurant suggestions?

mquiet said:

I would outside of Georgia if possible. It tends to be a shallow state with large tide swings. Hells gate is super shallow, but can be done if you hug the Red marker. The other reason to skip is that the ICW winds back and forth, so you don't really travel very far north for the time spent. Go out of Jacksonville and go back in Charlestown then stay at the Isle of Palms. As you progress north the other areas that are tricky are, north of Charleston, Locks Folly in SC, the Rock Pile in SC (stay in middle), Snows Cut in NC, North Topsail Inlet crossing NC. AS get farther north call to see who is open for fuel as a lot will hav winter hours or be closed. You can PM me for more thoughts. Enjoy the trip and stay warm.

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You guys have been great. I am taking a lot of notes to plan my route. If the weather is good, I like the idea of the open seas to avoid Georgia unless there is something worth seeing

tony1b2000 said:

I am actually going down to Stuart Florida to sea trial the boat the day after Christmas. Mini vacation! Nice to get out of Boston after the 15 inches of snow we just got!
I may head south to West Palm area or Ft Lauderdale. What's open and whats not right now with Covid? Restaurant suggestions?

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Palm Harbor in palm beach is great - gives you access to the city walk outside mall with lots of shops and restaurants - also a great day anchorage at peanut island - Not sure what the weather will bring, but if the seas cooperate, you could go outside from lake worth to port everglades (ft lauderdale) stay at bahia mar - right in the middle of it all - the icw back would be a full day, but you could stop at lake boca to break it up......ill be in the area - pm me - id love to see your new boat! Just re read your post - will you be heading down by boat or car? even if by car, hit me up! everything is open here - no restrictions

tony1b2000 said:

You guys have been great. I am taking a lot of notes to plan my route. If the weather is good, I like the idea of the open seas to avoid Georgia unless there is something worth seeing

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You haven't said how much time you have, maybe you are just moving a boat, that's fine, but if you have the time, stay inside and enjoy the trip. A few of the things you'll miss by skipping Georgia: Biking around Jekyll Island and seeing the mansions from previous generations. Enjoying the morning's first cup of coffee while watching the sunrise over the saltmarsh anchored in the middle of nowhere. Checking out downtown Savannah, walking the City Market, learning about how the buildings along the waterfront were built with ballast stone from other parts of the world that the sailing ships off loaded before taking ships full of cotton back to Europe and Africa. Treat yourself and your crew to dinner at 17Hundred90, a great restaurant there with some wonderful (and spooky) history. Don't forget that photo of you and the admiral sitting on the park bench at the bus stop across from "Jenny's" diner from Forrest Gump. (It's not the original one that Tom Hanks sat on, that one's in a museum someplace, but nobody needs to know ). Myself and the wife can recall all these things in vivid detail.
I can tell you that the days we ran outside were, well, we ran outside. I know we burned a lot of fuel on those days. We did cover ground, and I get that sometimes you just need to do that.
Just my 2 cents. It's your trip, above all enjoy and be safe and congrats on the new boat.

The most interesting path between two points is never a straight line