If you’ve had experience with the trip from Savannah to Sunbury, please click the “Comment on This Posting/Marina/Anchorage/Bridge” link below, and share your information.. Thanks! Sunbury Crab Company Marina is a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!

How long a boat trip is it to the Sunbury from Savannah? Looking to rent a group tour boat.
Alicia

Bernard Maley, dockmaster at Sunbury, estimates about 60 miles by water from downtown Savannah to Sunbury, which can be a long day depending on type of boat and weather conditions. Bernard had several suggestions for departure points between Savannah and Sunbury to shorten the travel distance. I suggest you call him and discuss your plans. He’s at 912 884 8640 or maley@coastalnow.net. He will be happy to assist you in making your voyage plans.

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s Georgia Marina Directory Listing For Sunbury Crab Company Marina

This is an excellent question considering the forecast for the hurricane season. Please let Mary and all Salty Southeast Cruisers know of your recommendations for riding out the worst! Please include latitude/longitude!

Are there any generally recognized hurricane holes in North Carolina? We’re spending the summer at New Bern. Easy season so far but who knows what the next several weeks will bring. Thanks.
Mary Foxworthy aboard sv Sea Fox

Responses:

We stayed at Wilmington Marine Center on the Cape Fear River. It is a surge free hurricane hole at Buoy 59 about 12 miles from the ICW and a couple miles before Wilmington.
Alan LLoyd

River Dunes Marina [on Broad Creek off the AICW/Neuse River, downstream of Oriental, editor]: Probably the best hurricane hole in North Carolina.
Cliff Kisby

My choice would be to get inside the Dismal Swamp Canal past the first lock. Then you don’t have to worry about storm surge, just the wind and there would be no fetch.
Captain John Kettlewell, editor, The Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook

I would be concerned with the potential of a 13 ft surge anywhere on the Neuse river, that includes River Dunes. A winter northeaster runs 13 ft surge in the south river according to a local. Just look at the height of the pilings in river dunes.
Capt. Bill Hitchcock

Interesting but based on hearsay, I think. I’ve lived 1-1/2 miles from River Dunes since 1985 and the highest the water has been here in Broad Creek during any hurricanes since then was 8.4 ft. during Isabelle. Prior to that hurricane Dennis II caused the water to rise 7.8 ft.
Because South River is five miles south of River Dunes the water might indeed surge higher there but I think no more a foot or two.
Further westward the water gets higher as the Neuse River narrows and creates a funnelling effect, forcing the same volume of water into a narrowing channel. It has no where to go but up. The surges in New Bern, for instance, are much greater in height than at the Neuse River mouth. I think a 13 ft rise in New Bern is entirely within reason.
Captain Andy Denmark

We know from the tide tables that the tidal range in this area is only about a foot, slightly more or less, but we have not had reports of the bridge being less than its designed height. If you have information that confirms a discrepancy, please contact us ASAP by clicking the “Comment on This Posting/Marina/Anchorage/Bridge” link below.. You could also give Dave an email at dehret@ocens.net.

I’ve heard that the Ormond Beach Bridge is a bit lower than 65′ at MHW. Is this true? If so, by how much?
What is the best tidal reference point to use for this area? Thanks
David Ehret

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s Eastern Florida Bridge Directory Listing For Ormond Beach Bridge

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Ormond Beach Bridge

If you’ve had experience anchoring at Bluffton, please give a heads-up to the captain of Sea Huddle at tracyhellman@bellsouth.net.

Where exactly did you anchor? My daughter will be attending USCB this fall and we are looking for a good anchorage in the area.
Captain Tracy aboard Sea Huddle

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s for a Recent Report on Bluffton Anchorage

We too will be transiting the Dismal Swamp in mid-July. We draw 5 1/2 feet. Any current information before 7/16 will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Art and Lynn aboard S/V Blue Dragon, Mirage 39

Click Here To View An Earlier Report On The Dismal Swamp Route

June 30th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
LOOKING FOR CREW. 2 days, a week or the two week trip.
Leaving Charleston July 4th for Canada with stops in Beaufort, Norfolk, NY, Boston NY. Crew can stay on for the full two week trip or different legs.
Boat is a fully equipped Mirage 35′ with all electronics and navigation equipment. Skipper has twelve years ocean experience. He and his wife brought the boat down three years ago and now he is making the return trip.
If you are look for an adventure, have experience and references this may be the trip for you.
Looking for 2-3 crew. Mostly ICW to Norfolk and then off shore overnights but nothing too serious.
Shake down sail July 3rd. Interest?
Peter

Subject: Bicycles in the Abbacos
Cruising News: Does anyone have any experience bicycling on Great Abaco? We are cruising there soon and would be interested in riding across to the Bight side.
Jim Lichtefeld

Subject: Hilton Head Marker 13
Cruising News: We were told there is a good restaurant at marker 13 on the ICW at HHI. Does anyone know what it is, how is the dockage or if there is any, & food reviews???
Michael Seguin

Subject: Roanoke Sound Channel
Cruising News: Has anyone recently taken the Roanoke Sound Channel from the upper end of the Pamlico Sound to Roanoke Island. Is there any shoaling.
Thanks,
William Strange

Subject: Anchorages in Murrells Inlet
Cruising News: We are going outside from Cape Fear to Charleston. Any recommendations for anchorages at Little River and Murrells Inlet
would be appreciated.
Douglas Paddock

Does anyone have any info on taking a firearm into the Bahamas? I have heard all you have to do is declare weapon and amno upon entry. Fees, limitations, etc. ?
Chuck

Subject: Newfound Harbor
Cruising News: What are the depths like in this area? We draw 5′-7″, can we anchor in the harbor ( I understand there is an anchoring restriction in the channel due to power lines) safely, or do I have to hold my breath?
Thanks!
Jim

Cruising News: Help – we bought a boat in Florida, it is registered in Pennsylvania, our home state, we will keep it in Maryland for a few months before we start cruising. We bought the dinghy in Florida – where should we register it?
Thank you.
Sandy

Well, first off… the official word is you have to register it someplace. If you’re in FL, for example, AND they stop you, and it’s not registered, they will give you a ticket. Hence your question about where to register. If you haven’t paid sales tax on it yet, my recommendation is that you register it where the sales tax is the least. When you register it, you will most likely be required to pay the sales tax. Most states have rules about how long a vessel can be in their state before you have to pay sales tax on it. If you’ve already paid sales tax somewhere else, you usually just pay the difference if the local sales tax is higher. In other words – it doesn’t really matter where you register it. What matters is how long you’re in the state for to determine whether you need to pay sales tax there too. Theoretically, you should be able to register a dinghy in your home state and NOT pay sales tax on it if you never plan to bring it there. We tried that in NY and they just gave us odd looks and then accused us of trying to dodge the tax. Oh well. I will say this – as long as the dinghy has some sort of registration number on it, you probably won’t get harassed. They tend to care more about the bigger boats, but go at your own risk.
Chris
S/V Pelican

The question and answer sequence below was copied from the MTOA List-Serve!

I struck an underwater object. I will need to be hauled. Can anyone suggest a reasonable repair yard in the Norfolk area? Thanks
Dick Hein

I have my boat hauled at Ocean Marina in Portsmouth. So far so good. Do you know what you hit and where was it?
Dave Hart

I don’t know what we struck. We were just motoring up the ICW south of Norfolk a bit. Before you went into Ocean Marine, did you consider Atlantic Yacht Basin?
Dick Hein

Lot’s of options… Atlantic Yacht basin.. Yard right at the entrance to the Dismal Swamp Cut-off, Ocean Marine, Portsmouth Yacht Marina (Full Throttle) and many more if you can limp a bit further. There
seemed to be a lot of deadheads this year.
Don R,
m/v Andante

Looking for a TriCare Primary Doc in the Southern Region. Since we travel/live on our boat, we need a doc who understands our lifestyle and is able to give referals when we are not in the local area. Can anyone recommend a Doc?
Bill Feller

Subject: DIY boatyard FL Panhandle
Cruising News: I am looking for any DIY boatyards on the FL Panhandle near Panama City Beach to the Big Bend area. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Paul Eugenio

Hi,
I have done some digging around and found some information. Panama City and Port St Joe (actually White City, FL) have DIY boatyards. These are: Bay County Boatyard on the Watson Bayou and Port St Joe’s Boat Works located just off of the GICW near White City, FL.
Bad news, Dockside Marina in Carrabelle, FL is closing. Their travel lift has been sold and moved to another state. And as far as I know, this was the last travel lift in the big bend area. For sailboat owners, this means no bottom jobs from Port St Joe to the Tarpon Springs area.
Paul

Subject: oil spill
Cruising News: Has anyone gotten any news about potential problems for boats returning to the west coast of Florida from the Keys? We’ve been told the oil may permanently damage heat exchangers. Any other concerns? Has it hit the loop current yet?
John Stocksdale

Subject: Buddy Boating
Cruising News: I’ll be single-handing my Seafarer 38 ketch from Punta Gorda, FL north to Maine, leaving this Sunday, May 9, and would welcome the opportunity to buddy boat with others for part or all of the way. I’m planning to keep to the ICW to Norfolk, thence up Chesapeake Bay to the C&O Canal, down Delaware Bay, up the Jersey Coast to NYC, east on Long Island Sound to Cape Cod Canal, then coastal to Penobscot Bay. David Laing 239 565 5558, davidlaing@aol.com.
David Laing

I have two heads on my 43′Trawler.Both have their own activation switches and connected to ONE Electrasan. Does this please the “PottyCops” ?
Eddie Holcombe

Subject: Grand Bahama Island
Cruising News: I am contemplating a summer cruise to the Keys or the Bahamas with the family this coming June. Since We need to be out of Florida by the end of June for insurance purposes I was thinking we would go to the Bahamas as that is closer to the FL border. But since doing some research I am growing reluctant to go to the Bahamas because of the theft/crime issues. I was thinking of going to Grand Bahama/Lucaya. Would any of you all comment on the crime/theft issue and if you stay at Marinas do they have security thus lessening the exposure to crime. Thank you for your time.
RB

Dear RB –
If you are leaving Florida because of insurance reasons, you may want to make sure that the Bahamas is in your coverage area, as most insurance companies want the vessel insured to go north. The Bahamas are well within the hurricane risk area that companies want you out of.
As to theft in Bahamas, we feel very safe at Old Bahama Bay, Treasure Cay, Green Turtle Cay all in the Abacos.
Then if you go south, Staniel Cay and Sampson Cay are very safe. Whatever you do …. ENJOY
C. W. Fowler