Good Advice for Navigating AICW/Cumberland Dividings Problem Stretch and Brickhill River, Statute Miles 696-704
The Brickhill makes a pleasant, parallel detour east of the Waterway, with a north departure at Waterway marker #40 and rejoining the Waterway at Cumberland Dividings, markers #62 and #63. Cumberland Dividings has been a Problem Stretch for several years due to constantly shifting shoals and an erroneous magenta line on many chartplotters. Capt. Thorpe advises you to follow the Green markers on the east side of the channel and ignore the Red.
I have been going through this stretch for ten years at all tide stages in a coastal passenger ship 240′ long drawing 9 feet’¦coming South staying to the left (GPS will show you actually going through the marsh) will carry 20+ feet all the way. Forget that the red markers exist!
Henry Thorpe
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For the Cumberland Dividings
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch
Comments from Cruisers (1)
Henry’s advice is spot on. I learned the lesson here many years ago when I misread the markers and relied on the magenta line. I had good company as two other boats, one northbound and the other southbound with me, all ran aground. Follow the navigational aids favoring the green marker and you will have no problem.