The northern meeting of Frederica River and the AICW occurs near Statute Mile 666, just north of marker #229. The Frederica then winds its way south for quite a few miles, cutting into the western flank of St. Simons Island. Boats drawing less 5 feet or less can make use of this stream, BUT ONLY with caution! There are several good opportunities to anchor along the way,  the best of which, in my lowly opinion is abeam of the Fort Frederica historic site. Eventually the river rejoins the AICW north of marker #241. As you will see below in the discussion concerning Frederica River, which I copied from the GL (Great Loop) list, it's this southern intersection which seems to be shoaling. Wise captain will wait for high water before trying these waters.
For maximum safety, you can enter and egress Frederica River from the north, and still experience all those many good anchorages.

Just read an article by Tom Neale in the April 2009 issue of "Soundings" about several places along the ICW in Georgia – a good article if you haven't read it (his articles usually aren't available online). He says "If your boat has shallow draft and you have a bit of nerve, you can take this river [Frederica River] as a detour from the ICW and pass by or even anchor off the fort [Fort Frederica]. The river loops around and meets the ICW again to the south, but there are many shoals and mud banks."
The chart shows a minimum depth of 7 feet in the Frederica River, with many of the soundings over 15 feet. Has anyone taken this route, and what did you find depth-wise?
Bob McLeran and Judy Young

We took the Fredrica river in 2007 and had no problem with our 4' draft.  We entered from the South and exited North.  We anchored just off the fort.  No problems.  You can see where we anchored on our blog if you go back far enough.  The site is www.mvseasea.blogspot.com.
Paul & Stacy Brannon
m/v SEASEA

Also no problem, also 4' draft.  Excellent holding in front of the fort, it blew like stink for 2 days, so hard the dinghy on deck kept getting launched against its ties, and none of the 5 boats there dragged!   Look for my shoe in the mud – got ashore, but with only 1 shoe.  Met lots of people tho, easy to do when you wear 1 shoe.
Steve
Rideau Ferry

The south entrance is tricky and is shoaling. We got stuck there at the lower part of the tide. Otherwise the run is deep enough for my 5' draft.  Use the details of the shoals at the turns and some side
channels as a clue to move to one side or the other. They are pretty accurate.
Greg and Susan Han
Allegria — Krogen Whaleback

We "did" the Frederica River in '06, including anchoring for the night off the fort.  We dinghied in to explore the fort.  It was a most pleasant diversion.
Regards,
Randy Pickelmann
MORNING STAR

Brunswick Landing Marina sits hard by downtown Brunswick, GA. This marina has become very popular with cruisers, both for transient dockage and much longer stays. Captain Jim's note below gives some of the reasons for this facility's appeal.
Also nearby, on Jekyll Creek, is Jekyll Harbor Marina (A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSOR). This is also a superb pleasure craft facility that is highly recommended by this writer.  

Tomorrow (Mon) Palmetto Moon will be on the move North from (MM 680) Brunswick, Ga. This has been our spot to escape the chilly and strong winds of the past week. While in Brunswick, we were able to see some of the nearby sights  and enjoy some goooooood meals in the revitalized downtown. This is worth the effort and off route miles for a great stop. The marina is very calm and the only noise is the occasional trains going to and from the paper mill. Almost every afternoon there is a meeting, convention and general gathering of Seagulls, Cormorants, terns, small shore birds and a few crows who think they are waterfowl, that use the T-head as their place to show who's boss bird. Often times the little shore birds are the victors. Very funny sight watching these bantams chase the much larger away.
Jim Cobb
Palmetto Moon

Sunbury Crab Company Marina and Restaurant (A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSOR) is found upstream on the Medway River, west of this stream's intersection with the AICW. We have always been impressed with both the food and the marina facilities here, not to mention the wonderful folks who run the place!
Now Captain Larry has found yet another reason to patronize Sunbury Crab Company. As he notes, this is a great spot for southbound vessels to wait for a high tide on the shallow Little Mud River section of the AICW!

Because of the timing of the tides, high at 9am, we did not want to try and force making the Little Mud River too late.  The Sunbury Crab Co, on the Medway River, is only 5 mile off the ICW and provides a real nice place to sit until the next day to make the next run down to the Little Mud River & Jekyll Creek.  The people are really nice & the food is GREAT !!
Larry Hemmerich

Unfortuantely, due to a potential liability issue, I have chosen not to display the chartlets sent along with Captain Michael's message below. However, there is still plenty of good info here concerning both St. Catherins Sound Inlet and the nearby Walburg Creek anchorage.

Dear Claiborne,
Your concerns notwithstanding, we ran outside from Savannah and went into St. Catherines inlet with the intention of spending the night anchored in Walburg Creek, which we did.  My chart is dated 2004, and I just couldn't believe that the charted depths could have shoaled to where we could not get in with 5' draft in 4 years.
The only place where the buoyage is different from what my chart shows is the location of the FlR "2" buoy at the entrance to the channel over the bar. The buoy has been moved to the (approximate) location shown by my waypoint on the StCathEnt.jpg file.  My arriving track shows how I adjusted to the edge of the shoal. I carried 12' over the bar at dead low tide.
In addition, the Middle Ground shoal off the north end of Walburg Creek has grown out to the east, and the shoal off the north end of St Catherines island has grown — both as shown in Walburg.jpg. We didn't hit bottom on our arriving track, but we did see some 7' depths, again at low-ish tide.
We also came in through Ponce de Leon Inlet and by reading the markers, the water, and watching other boats we had no problems.
Our best for the holidays, and thank you for your work with the sitge and guides.
Michael Porter
M/V Barbara

Ocean Petroleum Company is found along the approach to Brunswick Landing Marina, near the downtown region!

Subject: Accolades To Ocean Petroleum Company
Cruising News: 12/22/2008
Ocean Petroleum Company (Statute Mile 680, on East River Near Downtown Brunswick)
912-265-2275
Hi Claiborne,
We want to give our heartiest accolades to Ocean Petroleum Company (Statute Mile 680, on East River Near Downtown Brunswick) for their great service and in particular to Jack Oswald.  He went out of his way to help us when we came to his facility to fuel our 46’ Cheoy Lee Trawler on our novice voyage south.  Prior to coming to his fuel dock, we checked out your wonderful Salty Southeast Cruiser’s Net and found Ocean Petroleum listed and were pleasantly surprised to learn that the price for diesel had dropped to $1.74 per gallon ($1.87 w/tax) on the day we purchased fuel.  They definitely had the best fuel cost of any marina or facility around, but beyond the economics, we were treated “as family” when we had mechanical problems shortly after fueling and could not leave their fuel dock.  Jack went well beyond what anyone would expect in accommodating our needs in providing a mechanic and welder, and even loaned us his vehicle so that we could purchase the necessary parts to fix our generator.  We are new to the cruising life and have experienced some difficult moments on our first cruise south, but our experience at Ocean Petroleum and the kindness of Jack Oswald certainly made us feel blessed.  We truly don’t know what we would have done without his kind and generous help.  All cruisers need to know that they can be assured of great service and excellent fuel cost when they come to Ocean Petroleum Company.
Paul and Claudia Peeples
Peeples Choice – 46’ Cheoy Lee Trawler

I don’t know anything about the “old house” mentioned by Captain Laura below. Anyone else know the story?

Hi, Claiborne.
We just anchored in Duplin Creek, GA, between a landing and power lines. There’s an old dilapidated gazebo looking thing but to its left is a house that looks like it came out of To Kill a Mockingbird’¦and we’re pretty much in front of it. Do you know anything about it’”if it’s abandoned (looks like it oughta be)’¦or what. Looks pretty scary to me! Doors’ll be locked tonite. Just curious about it and knew if anyone knew, t’would be you!
Thanks,
Laura Bender
Kindred Spirit III

Brunswick Landing Marina is located well off the ICW, near the heart of downtown Brunswick, GA.

Just to let you know–our stay at Brunswick Marina was a real treat!!! The Omelett at Jim’s is “to die for”. I copied the page from your cruising guide and gave it to them. The guy I talked to didn’t know about you so also gave him your site. Just got fuel at Ocean Petroleum in Brunswick for $1.85!!!
Laura Lane Bender
M/V Kindred Spirit III

I've been saying for some time now that it's WELL worth a trip from the AICW up the Medway River to Sunbury Crab Company Restaurant and Marina (A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSOR). As you will see below, Captains Carol and Dick heartily agree, and they correctly point out that Sunbury is a GREAT stop between Isle of Hope Marina and Golden Isles Marina (both also, SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSORS). Oh yes, and don't overlook the GREAT food!

Subject: Sunbury Crab Restaurant & Marina
Cruising News: WOW!!  We usually make the long slog from Isle of Hope to Golden Isles Marina in one day.. Timing the tides makes the treck long and difficlt.  Today we took your advice and stopped at Sunbury Crab Restaurant  and Marina on the Medway River. Approach is very easy, the welcome is genuine, and the food is wonderful.  If you are tired of the long slog……make sure and STOP AT SUNBURY!! Floating docks, fuel and great food!.
Carol and Dick Rosenberg
Carrousel Fleming 55

Walburg Creek cuts into the western banks of St. Catherines Island, immediately south of Georgia's St. Catherines Sound. It is a superb anchorage, but it is best entered from this northern mouth, which makes into the sound, and does not directly intersect the AICW. An earlier report here on the Net's "Georgia" page reported a missing marker near the intersection of Walburg Creek and St. Caterines Sound, so proceed with caution.
Some cruisers make use of the southern entrance to Walburg Creek, which makes into the AICW near marker #124. We have always found this portion of Walburg Creek to be rather shallow!

We've been anchored in beautiful Walburg Creek, GA the last few days,  enjoying a wonderful full Thanksgiving dinner; one of those times we  really appreciate our energy inefficient galley with full sized kitchen appliances. Gorgeous crisp fall weather enabled fun dinghy exploration. Took the outside route here from Thunderbolt via Wassaw  and St. Catherine's Sounds. This a quick and pretty passage we tried for the first time in the spring on the way up. Highly recommended as  a change of pace, the islands are very pretty too.
George and Ann

We also anchored in Walburg Creek in the Spring of 08.  What a beautifulplace.  Your post brought back a vivid memory of beautiful marshland and fast moving currents.  Just set the hook and watch your speed over water
register about 3kts.
Wayne

The northern mouth of the Frederica River joins the AICW near Statute Mile 666, then cuts into the western banks of St. Simons Island. We have always enjoyed anchoring adjacent to histroic Fort Frederica. Below, Captain Miles tells us about some shallows developing at the Frederica's northern mouth. Sounds like we had all better enter and leave these waters at mid to high tide.

Cruising News: Claiborne,
Entered Frederica River yesterday at it's northern intersection with the ICW near G229, and encountered a shoal building across the entrance.  At 5pm, soundings came down to 4.6ft at mid tide, or 2.4ft at MLW.  We entered the mouth of the river slighltly north of the alternative magenta line to avoid being set onto the charted shoal on the south bank by a southerly current.  We draw 3.7ft and entered without incident, and found the deep charted soundings past the fort where we anchored.
Capt. Miles
MV Europa

I’m sorry to hear Captain Fred’s inflo below. Wahoo River has always been such a wonderful, backwater haven. Looks like the ugly arm of development is about to pay a visit to its shores!

Subject: Georgia and south to Florida
Cruising News: Hello Claiborne;
We just returnied to Fort Lauderdale having stayed in Thunderbolt until our November 1 insurance date. We never saw less than 8 feet anywhere on theway through Georgia.We rae a slow boat and your uides make great reading while watching the boat go along.Here\’s a small update:Following your advice we anchored up Wahoo Creek and found it to be as advertised being as you promised beautiful, idyllic and possessing tangible isolation. This may not last long, however, for WAhoo Island has been wired for electrical service and the boxes can be seen in clearings just a couple hundred yards from where you show an anchor on page 420 of the sixth edition. It’s time to visit this lovely anchorage before the McMansions go up.
Best regards,
Fred SorensenOA 43
“PENGUIN”