Frederica River Anchorages
Posted by admin | Posted on 02-12-2007
Recent Reviews
Click Here to Review This Marina/Anchorage
December 5, 2011 - Ft. Frederica National Monument is open to the public in spite of chart and cruising... read more
May 4, 2010 - The anchorage is wonderful, one of our favorites. We only draw 4 ft but there was... read more
April 15, 2010 - We went up the Frederica River from the south on 4/11/2010 and anchored just south... read more
April 12, 2010 - We anchored in Frederica River across from the Fort last night. We are a sailing... read more
March 30, 2010 - Don’t even think of mooring [cruising] through the north end of the Frederica... read more
Frederica River Anchorages
Statute Mile: 666—northern entrance
Lat/Lon:
31 13.068 North/081 23.756 West (anchorage abeam of Fort Frederica National Monument)
31 12.298 North/081 23.785 West (anchorage south of intersection with Dunbar Creek)
Location: Frederica River flows east and south from the ICW’s unlighted daybeacon #229
Minimum Depth: 3 feet – NOTE THAT RECENT SHOALING HAS BEEN REPORTED AT BOTH THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN INTERSECTIONS OF FREDERICA RIVER AND THE AICW – USE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN ACCESSING THIS ANCHORAGE, OR BYPASS IT ENTIRELY!
Swing Room: sufficient room for vessels as large as 48 feet in anchorage abeam of Fort Frederica National Monument and 36 feet in anchorage south of intersection with Dunbar Creek
Foul Weather Shelter: Good, but anchorage south of intersection with Dunbar Creek is somewhat open to strong southwesterly winds
Rating: 
Click on Chartlet Below to Open a Chart View Window,
Centered on the Location of This Anchorage:
Ft. Frederica National Monument is open to the public in spite of chart and cruising guide nay sayers. You can anchor off the fort (5 stars by my estimation) and dinghy to the dock a few hundred yards south of fort. This is Oglethorpe’s 42nd regiment fort that staged the battle of Bloody Marsh the turned the Spanish attempted conquest of Georgia and forced them back to Florida!
Be careful of tide–the dinghy dock is dry two hours before and after the low tide.
Had to pole off to get back to boat –oops
Capt. Jim aboard S/V Lady Lady
The anchorage is wonderful, one of our favorites. We only draw 4 ft but there was plenty of water below our keel. We were very disappointed to see the dock exactly in the same condition as the fall. We thought for sure it would be finished by now. They have the materials laying on the ground and it is indeed started and we would love to know why its not completed. Would not recommend putting your feet in the water we did see an alligator not too far away.
Dick and Elle Lassman
We went up the Frederica River from the south on 4/11/2010 and anchored just south of the fort. Although we only draw 3 1/2 feet, we set the depth alarm at 6′ and it never went off. The fort is a great place to visit, but if you go in at high tide in your dinghy and tarry too long, you will have a very long slog back to the river through very deep mud. A visit to the site is well worth it if you can figure out how to do it. We continued through the next morning, again never seeing less than 6′ all the way to back to the ICW.
Allen Ames
We anchored in Frederica River across from the Fort last night. We are a sailing vessel with 5′ draft and entered from the southern end at mid-tide and maintained a minimum depth of 9ft. We left the northern end of the river at close to high tide and saw no less than 10ft. this was very similar to the conditions we saw in the fall when we were going south. As always, there is shoaling at each end and you have to pick your way between the two shores and pay close attention to the tide. The park is working on the dock, but it is still not complete.
Kathy & Jim Bearden
s/v Charm
Don’t even think of mooring [cruising] through the north end of the Frederica River. There is now a shoal at the entry G229 almost right the way across at around 3ft 6ins lowish tide – maybe 6 ft high tide. I was lucky to get off it since the falling current quickly put me on it sideways at a 20 degree angle. Not shown on charts.
Captain Arnold
I just received this response from the Superintendent at Fort Frederica (Georgia) to my question about when, if ever, the dock would be reopened. Perhaps we’ll be able to stop and go ashore next year!
Thank you for your interest in the National Park Service at Fort Frederica National Monument!
This message is in response to your question regarding the boat dock along the Frederica River.
We are indeed planning to re-build the boat dock and have been working on it over the last months. Unfortunately, we are working at 1/2 the normal staff levels so we face the challenge of completing multiple projects with just two employees.
Our plan, at this point in time, is to aim for dock completion by March 2010. The park’s long term goal includes building a floating dock near the historic dock site in the town of Frederica. This will take extended planning and project monies to see to fruition but we are actively pursuing this project. It will prove a wonderful way to tie in the park history and provide modern accessibility to the site.
Again, thank you for your interest in Fort Frederica National Monument. Please stop by when you sail once again. Hopefully we will have the
dock completed by that time.
I look forward to meeting you.
Bob McLeran and Judy Young
We ran the Frederica River in June 2009 and anchored midway between the fort and the now inaccessible dock about 300 yards south of the fort. We entered at mid-tide. Depths were never less than 8 feet and in many places approached 20 feet. Holding was good with hard mud. Wind protection from the east is good, but not from any other direction (although we didn’t encounter any substantial winds from any direction while we were there). The charts displayed on the chart plotter (and on paper charts) were accurate for the location of deeper water through the length of the river.
We called the fort/park office, and were told that the dinghy dock is closed due to structural problems, but they anticipated it would be repaired and open again in the fall. We’ll check when we head back south in October – it appears to be a delightful place to visit.
Bob McLeran and Judy Young
MV Sanderling
In late March,2008, s/v”Carolina” traveled the Frederica River(west side of Jeckyl Island) from south to north, entering from the ICW just north of Golden Isles Marina. We were accompanied by s/v “Pamonetti” and m/v “Pelican”. We encountered consistent depths of no less than 20 feet the entire curving length of the river. All three vessels anchored overnight in about 24 feet tucked up against the west bank of the island in the curve near the National Monument. We all had plenty of swing room and were well sheltered from N through SSE, which was much appreciated. Wind at the time was NE 15-20 but everyone had a quiet night. We encountered a very thick fog after getting underway in the morning and all dropped their hooks and enjoyed another cup of coffee.
Steve and Sheila Kamp
s/v “Carolina”