T&T: ICW travel

[Rudy and Jill Sechez]

Good Morning Georgs-

My heart started to race when I read you wanted to do the ICW. We, inspite of all the effort required, look back on our journey up and down the ICW and realize that we loved every minute. Can we come with you- please... please.

To allow us a few thoughts not mentioned so far, on other posts:

Traveling the ICW, like everywhere is determined by the weather; something we all probably acknowledge, but often ignore. In the ICW, since it is a "protected" body of water, it is easy to ignore this, but when approaching inlets and the larger bodies of water, the weather is a big consideration.

The time available to travel is usually determined by the daylight available (which can be determined by looking in the Nautical Almanac). However, there were several times when we extended our distance by traveling through dark or fog- this does require close attention to dead reckoning, but for us the challenge (with no electronics) made it fun. The distances went minutes to minutes, instead of the greater distances expected when in more open bodies of water. The fun was exaggerated even more so, in the areas that snaked around. Ironically, we never were "delayed" when traveling like this, probably because we paid attention to details, like staying in the channel! 

Often asked how we did it, we explain that we used basic dead reckoning- course to steer, time to next mark (distance divided by our speed), a clock (and at times, a timer) at the helm and having the chart person telling the helmsperson, what to expect- straight, curves, the next marker's characteristics, dangers, etc. When in doubt, we stopped or slowed down until the uncertainty was resolved. This is even easier with a full moon, but much more fun with a new moon, especially in the fog.

With a perusal of your charts, you will probably notice many potential anchorages not included in anchoring lists, that could be of use to you, since you have a boat that has less draft than most. Just because they are not listed, does not mean that you cannot use them. For us not to use a spot for an anchorage, we would have to identify a reason that would suggest not anchor there.

When we choose to anchor at night and want it more likely that we will be seen, we keep more than our anchor light lit. We never hesitated to light our steaming light and our stern light. As far as we know, nothing prevents the use of more lighting (white); your imagination sets the limits. (Since inland regs, unlike in international waters, identify a strobe light as a distress signal, this is an option that we do not use.)

With very few exceptions, there are few designated anchorages along the ICW and having the appropriate day shape, though something seldom seen used, could prove important. The concern here is more legal than practical. We did see a tug/barge run over an anchored boat who was not exhibiting a ball, a situation which probably would have been avoided, under the circumstances, if the tug's captain could have recognized that the boat was anchored. We suspect that the anchored boat, being out of, but beside the channel, will probably share some of the fault, since he was not showing the proper day shape.

Anchoring- mud is the type of bottom that you will find most of, if not, all the way until south of St Augustine, Fl. So, ground tackle and anchoring techniques will need to conform to this.

We found good use for both the Current Tables and the Tide Tables, although Jill found use for the tide tables more often since her "delays" were "bigger" than mine.

Other than "high" winds (what parameters to put on high is dependent on you and your boat), the only consideration we gave to the wind was when they conflicted, in direction, with the current, even though the ICW is "protected" waters. We crossed one inlet, when, halfway through, a minor turn in the channel allowed the current to oppose the wind and we found ourselves in 4 foot seas breaking on our beam, with no opportunity to turn around. Once again we learned something!

Even though it is difficult to correlate the currents with the current tables in areas where the Atlantic ICW was interspersed with inlets, the general rule that we found useful, was that tidal changes start north and progress south. It was this pattern that governed the direction of the currents more so than the distance to the next inlet. This was particularly notable in areas that aligned north/south. In the areas that aligns east/west, the current tables seemed to relate more accurately to the currents. Even with this concept, the best we could do is anticipate what we would find, not what time or in what location we would find it. Logic would assume that the current would change half way to the next inlet, but this does not happen. The direction of the current in the ICW, from the inlet immediately to the north of the segment being traveled, seems to dominate until close to, or at, the inlet to the immediate south. (Hope this makes sense, as we seem
 to have difficulty explaining it.)

Hope to run into you at this end.

Rudy and Jill
Briney Bug, Port St Joe, Fl