Skippers Wilson and Simmons join the chorus of satisfied customers at Brunswick Landing Marina, a very popular facility with long term resident cruisers and many positive comments from your fellow boaters. BLM sits well off the direct path of the AICW, flanking the eastern banks of Academy Creek off Brunswick River, near the heart of downtown Brunswick, Georgia.
Brunswick Landing is by far one of the finest marinas on the East Coast. Whether it’s for a night, or long-term. The staff and facilities are top notch and the boating community that gathers is a fun group. We have called BLM our home for over 12 years, and as we return each season from cruising, they know us, they know our slip and they welcome us with open arms. It is at the top of our recommended list of home port marinas. Robert Wilson
We have spent the last 5 or 6 summer and fall seasons at Brunswick Landing and have found it to be a wonderful experience. As with many places we have stayed, the people, manager, dock office and cruisers alike make the difference. The new manager has been instrumental in completing the new boaters lounge that is second to none as well as working to restore the yard’s reputation. Proximity to downtown Brunswick, St. Simon Island and Jekyll Island provide much to see and do. The marina is well protected and provides good access to both the ocean and ICW. S/V Dream Chaser Morgan 41OI Don and Anne Simmons
With one of the lowest gas tax rates in the country and politicians loathe to raise any tax, this article on raising a SC tax might be whistling in the dark. But, then, we boaters are accustomed to holding our collective breaths waiting on helpful legislation! Will it ever come?!? This article from today’s Post and Courier in Charleston offers some hope that, at least, one official is concerned about the AICW.
Ailing Intracoastal Waterway could be dredged using state gas tax money, local officials say
An increase in the state gas tax that is being considered in Columbia could be used to provide much-needed funds for dredging the ailing Intracoastal Waterway, local officials said.
`I think the gas tax is basically a transportation tax so I do think it could justifiably be used for waterway dredging. I encourage our state leaders to research what has been done elsewhere along the waterway,’ said Charleston County Councilman Dickie Schweers.
The article below comes from Sounding’s Trade Only Today and might well offer some hope to the dilemma boaters using gasoline often find themselves. See a warning posted recently by BoatUS: /?p=146615
NMMA supports fuel-standard revision in Keystone XL bill Posted on January 22nd, 2015
The National Marine Manufacturers Association is applauding an amendment floated to the Keystone XL pipeline bill that would remove corn ethanol from the Renewable Fuel Standard.
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., floated the amendment, which is called the Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act of 2015, according to the NMMA. U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., is a co-sponsor.
The amendment would remove the mandate to blend normal ethanol into gasoline but preserve other renewable fuel mandates, including those for biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol. The standard ethanol mandate is effectively a corn ethanol mandate, the sponsors said.
Citing growing food prices and an increasing amount of corn ethanol in the U.S. fuel supply (the fuel standard caps corn ethanol production at 15 billion gallons), Feinstein called the bill a simple and smart modification of the RFS.
`Once we remove the corn ethanol mandate, the RFS program can finally serve its intended purpose: to support the development of advanced, environmentally friendly biofuels, like biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol and other revolutionary fuels,’ Feinstein said, according to the NMMA.
Skipper Starling’s report comes in response to an earlier posting on the heavy-handed practices of some FWC patrol officers, /?p=133874. Despite numerous complaints filed by experienced and law abiding boaters, Florida seems unable to control the over-zealous enforcement present in the FWC enforcement division, practices definitely not limited to the Keys.
Predatory practices by FWCC toward boaters in Key West Being shadowed by a boat with no lights while underway to the dock at sunset is unnerving , but when it turns out to be FWCC , it is worse. Now pulled over by FWCC, they mention running lights so I mention the sunglasses they still have on. No matter that it is literally moments after sunset. Their intention is to write a citation and generate income for FWCC and at the moment I have become that revenue resource. Minor infractions that should warrant a verbal warning are tickets. Worse yet , a few weeks later I receive a certified letter from FWCC . Inside, a citation for a non operational anchor light , which was issued in my absence from the vessel. It was issued at 6:32 , just after sunset when the ambient light was bright enough to keep the photo cell on my Davis auto anchor light from activating. This anchor light is an industry standard and turns on and off automatically . My vessel was not anchored in State waters but Navy bay bottom and not in navigable waters. I have lost any respect for the newly inducted Officers, as they lack the skills necessary to gain the confidence of the Citizens and form relationships that would benefit the FWCC and boating community. Older Veteran Officers do not operate in this manner and know that it creates animosity and results in the boating community not helping FWCC in investigations of serious violations due to bad experiences and distrust. FWCC wonders why the boating community doesn’t trust them , and refuses to cooperate . This is one example of their perception of boaters as a income revenue resource. Lee Starling
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Rick Emerson- January 30, 2015 - 7:29 pm
Sorry, but never ever not ever tell any officer something like “you’re wearing sunglasses after sunset”. Your ticket for the anchor light was, no doubt, payback for the comment.
Skipper Burnham has sent a photo of the white buoy marking the sunken vessel and the green trawler moored nearby in the hopes of helping visitors to Gulfport mooring field avoid the hazard. See /?p=145996. As you can see from the photo, the white buoy (with the cormorant atop) marking the sunken vessel is VERY small and could, as Skipper Burnham has been warning, easily be missed, even in daylight hours!
Larry, I sailed out to the sunken power boat today and took a picture of the light green steel hulled trawler and the small white buoy that marks the hazard. Today the wind was blowing from the west and I was surprised to see the sunken hulk was north of the white buoy or just to the right of the buoy in the photo. The buoy had been on the east end of the wreck and today it is sitting on the south side of it. The light green trawler is seldom off its mooring so it probably makes a better hazard marker than the tiny white buoy until this starts showing up on the chart plotter updates. Attached is a photo of the buoy and the trawler… David Burnham
As of early this morning (1/29/2015), the green steel trawler is not moored out by the casino. It was moved up against the sea wall in front of the Coast Guard Auxiliary heading into the GP Marina. Make sure to use prior information regarding the location of the sunken boat that was near this vessel.
Larry, I sailed over to check on the sunken powerboat today and couldn’t see the small white marker buoy because a large brown pelican was using it as a perch, so it was barely visible above the water until the bird took flight. The light green trawler has moved north, closer to shore, and is no longer moored near the wreck making this even more of a hazard as the 3 foot keel on my sailboat had no problem lying against the wreckage until the breeze blew me off of it.
Skipper Sonny Reeves is exploring the St. Johns River and, while we normally excerpt his marina reports as posted on his blog, this one is just too complete to edit, so open the link below and enjoy. Boathouse Marina overlooks the shores of the St. Johns River west-southwest of Palatka City Marina and marker #1. Cruisers docking here are within walking easy distance of the shops and restaurants in downtown Palatka.
Huckins Boat Yard is located on the northern shores of the Ortega River off the St. Johns River, just upstream of the Roosevelt Boulevard Bridge with a 45ft vertical clearance. Skipper Reeves joins other skippers in praising Huckins Boat Yard. See /?p=128570
FYI, I can’t say enough about how nice the experience at Huckins was for us. Sonny Reeves
Huckins is the best. We had a fuel tank replaced by them and some more work done to the Leprechaun 440 EB Sea Ray and I can’t say enough about them they are the top of the line service and very reasonabe on there price Richard and Justin were the best and PJ was on top of everthing and Trishia in the office could not have been better. If you need repairs get it there you will not be sorry.
Ditto this positive review of the Huckins Yard. They are a longtime custom boat builder with extensive facilities and equipment. They have weathered the down market in custom new-builds by cultivating their service operation. The workers are high-skill and conscientious, and management is on-site and responsive. Huckins has a reputation for being pricey, but their hourly rates are in-line with many yards, they go the extra mile to serve a customer, and their quality is such that you get full value for every dollar. They have worked on my boat several times, and I always leave satisfied. Alan Bliss
Charmaine Smith Ladd is a longtime contributor to SSECN, as well as a good friend to Claiborne Young. Her expert advice below was in response to a reader from the UK wanting to bareboat charter a sailboat (34-35ft, 5ft or less draft) in the Keys. The quality of Charmaine’s advice is such that it calls for sharing with all of you who dream of cruising the Keys in a charter or in your own boat. Thank you Charmaine!
If you’re wishing to charter, you need to hone in on where you want to do your sailing as that will dictate from where you’ll want to charter the vessel. People tend to think that getting from Virginia Key to Key West is no big trip or problem, but I’m sure you don’t want to spend your entire 6 days/5 nights going in circles and then have to get the boat back on time. Weather can change. Tides need to be considered. You need a plan. So, recommending you look at charts of the Keys (you can find them online) and figure out from where you wish to charter. Then you can branch out your sail and overnighting (be it on the hook or at a marina) from there.
`Mod cons,’ you say? Modern conveniences’¦ have mercy. That’s like telling a realtor you want a house with modern conveniences. That’s quite relative and subjective to each individual. It depends. I had satellite phone, satellite television, watermaker, inboard diesel generator, freezer, etc., things that many others would not want on a charter but that some others wouldn’t leave the dock without them. LOL Okay, so I admit to being somewhat of a prima donna when it came to `mod cons.’ Bottom line: please be specific in requesting what you desire.
A draft of 5′ or more is probably too drafty for someone on a 6 day vacation and never having sailed the Keys. That is, not unless there is a solid plan of where and how one wishes to sail. People come down to the Keys all the time from up north where there’s deep water everywhere (especially Canada) and run aground constantly. They are used to having lots of water beneath them and are not adept at chartplotting. It’s necessary in the Keys to either know the lay of the land beneath the water or know how to read charts! The only way you know the seafloor is by reading charts.
You’d be surprised how the adage, `ignorance is bliss’ gets tested time and time again when people come down to sail the shallower waters of the Keys. It can be a rude wakeup call to those who thought they knew all the ins and outs of sailing. Getting in and out can be a problem too, depending where you are! But it can be done. One simply needs do some homework.
You’ve made it clear you wish to sail both sides of the Keys: Florida Bay/the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic sides. Most locals of the Keys rarely take their sailboats on the Bay/Gulf Side, though I did all the time during my eleven years there. It’s actually some of the most pristine and fabulous backwaters in all of the Keys. However, it comes down to reading charts and having your course plotted BEFORE you leave the dock or hook (depending on where you wish to go)’¦ tides and currents can move you around and some areas are very tight for passage if you have much of a draft beneath you. Hurricanes have changed the seafloor and areas get silted in’¦ before you know it you’re hailing Tow Boat U.S. No one wants to spend much time on their vacation doing that!
You want have to fun on your vacation and do all the sailing you can. And that, with due preparation, can most certainly happen! And when it does, it is a glorious thing!
Fair Winds and Calm Seas!
Charmaine Smith Ladd Hard Aground in West Central FL (Yikes! I’m a Landlubber!) CSmithLadd.com (Author of `Shake Hands with Yourself’ Amazon Books) SeptemberSea.com
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Phillip Werndli- January 23, 2015 - 9:55 am
Those chartering in the Florida Keys also should be advised that the area is a National Marine Sanctuary and to run aground on reefs or grass beds could lead to civil penalties for repair of the damage. These costs can be very high, so your advice about following charts and careful planning are essential for a successful cruise there.
Skipper Reeves cruises out of Jekyll Harbor Marina, A SSECN SPONSOR, and always provides us with reliable local knowledge about problem stretches in his area. Cumberland Dividings, south of Jekyll Island, is a perennially shifting channel that has moved away from your chartplotter’s magenta line.
Here Garmin shows the track going into the marsh. The dividings are a easy to navigate IF you follow the Reds and not the thin magenta line on your GPS. Sonny Reeves
It’s been this way at that location for years. Anyone who has his/her face stuck in the chart plotter and doesn’t look outside to follow the markers is asking for whatever problem might come along!
The issue of a state’s requiring all vessels entering that state have a state registration, i.e. from the vessel’s home state, regardless of documentation, has been discussed at length here and in other forums. Skipper Long brings news of success with the problem in his home state of Maine.
There have been discussions here previously about the Florida requirement (at least according to Captain Tom Shipp of the FWC, Department of Law Enforcement, Boating and Waterways) that a documented vessel have a state registration in full force and effect before entering Florida waters. This is currently being verified at higher levels by BoatUS. In the meantime, it poses a problem for residents of MA, DE, VA, and SC which do not require state registrations for documented vessels.
I was told more than once by Maine officials that I could not re-register my documented vessel with the state without surrendering my documentation. With the help of BoatUS, I was able to get a determination farther up the food chain that Maine will issue a state registration if requested. This is more than the pair of decals, unaccompanied by any other paperwork, that Maine owners of documented vessels receive and which may or may not be recognized as `state registration’ by law enforcement officers in other states.
My Maine registration is now on its way and my USCG document remains valid. My vessel will now be assigned a Maine number and I will receive the same paperwork as if it were not documented. I am prevented by federal law from attaching the ME numbers to the bow but I will have the paperwork to show any boarding law enforcement officer in another state. Since Maine can’t get the excise tax decals to boaters before late February or early March, I will be glad to have the registration paperwork aboard before entering Florida in a couple weeks.
If you try to state register your documented vessel in Maine, you may well be told that you can not do so by the local officials in the town where you register. If so, ask them to please check with Bill Swan at Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Howard, I believe only Florida requires you to have a valid state registration in addition to your CG document, and many of us have successfully cruised Florida for months without once being asked to show a state registration. Technically, Florida does have the law on the books that all boats must have a state registration somewhere, though many in the state do not. If you don’t spend more than 90 days visiting any one state most will not try to extract taxes from you, though some states have a shorter grace period–New Hampshire only grants 30 days! In practice, unless you rent a slip in a marina for a long period you are unlikely to be hassled about taxes while traveling.
More questions than answers Why do some states only recognize other state reg. And not federally documented boats…. Is it for tax reasons???? My boat is documented and I do pay taxes I just want to travel in America with no hassle. Howard Secrist
This charted spoil area is on the eastern side of a narrow Waterway channel abreast of Lake Park at the southern end of Lake Worth. As with all narrrow channels in the Waterway, care must be taken to stay in the channel!
FLORIDA ‘“ AICW – PALM SHORES TO WEST PALM BEACH ‘“ LAKE WORTH NORTH: Hazard to Navigation/Shallow Area The USCG received a report of a shallow area of approximately 4ft in position 26-47.652’N/080-02.701’W located in the Spoil Area east of the Intracoastal Waterway just north of the Florida AIA Bridge in West Palm Beach, Fl. Mariners are advised to use caution while transiting the area. Chart 11472 LNM: 02/15
If you are a charter boat or know someone who does captained charters, let us hear from you. We have to assume that Ms Olsen is referring to the St. Johns River as “north central Florida.”
We are looking for a 3 or 4 nite trip in the waterways of north central Florida. There would be 2 coupels who would like to entertain the idea of a captain with sleeping quarters for us and stops and picturesque towns for food and exploration. Can you give us some ideas of how to arrange such a trip? Thank you Pam Olsen
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Thomas Bonnett- January 16, 2015 - 2:26 pm
I am a charter captain and own a 60′ Hatteras convertible that we do use for charters such as your request. Moviing boat to st Augustine February 1, will be in Jacksonville Beach till then. We customize the trip to your wishes. My ph # is 612-251-4436. My business is Seahorse Charters&Cruises LLC. Regards, Capt Tom Bonnett
This response to an AGLCA Forum request for dry storage on the Atlantic coast comes from SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Bennett Brothers Yachts in Wilmington, NC. Patricia Bennett was recently featured by Marina Life Magazine, see /?p=145444.
Bennett Brothers Yachts is a AGLCA sponsor and we can accommodate catamarans! Our 70 Ton lift pit has a width of 26 ft so a beam of 22 ft is not a problem. We are located on the Northeast Cape Fear River in historic Wilmington, NC. Height is not a restriction! Long term dry storage is available for monohulls as well as multihulls. Please call Tricia Bennett for details – 910.772.9277, www.bbyachts.com Patricia Donovan Bennett President Bennett Brothers Yachts, Inc. Cape Fear Marina 1701 J.E.L. Wade Drive Wilmington, NC 28401 www.bbyachts.com 910.772.9277
Bennett Brothers Yachts (BBY) at Cape Fear Marina is a great place to launch and / or cross your wake! Located in the heart of Historic Downtown Wilmington, BBY is a looper and cruiser friendly place. Brokerage and boat works, recreation and socialize pretty much sum it up. Full service marina with amenities, 70 ton travel lift, paint shop, mechanical shop. Leave your boat with BBY and fly home no problem ILM Wilmington international Airport is 4 minutes away… We will give you the lift to get there! Thank You Cruisers Net for sharing a great secret. Get to Wilmington and have fun… BBY will see to it.
Now that many of you are in southern waters and maybe headed for the Bahamas, don’t miss this opportunity to link with the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club. Check them out (see /?p=144940) and learn of the many exciting benefits a membership can bring and all the enjoyment it can add to your time in and around Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas. Drop a note to the club’s commodore, John F. Conley, at: commodore@rmhyc.com, or their membership Commodore, Valerie Nucci, at: benefits@rmhyc.com Keep us posted on all your fun times.
January 12 at 4:32pm RMHYC members receive a discount on our anchorage books. Chuck Baier and Susan Landry
Access to Dania Beach Marina from the ICW is restricted by a fixed bridge with 18ft vertical clearance, but the marina is well protected and located on the beach. The entrance channel is on the east side of the Waterway just north of the Dania Beach Boulevard Bascule Bridge. Skipper Mahler’s comments are from the AGLCA Forum.
Try dania beach municipal marina. It Is 2 miles south of port everglades inlet. Brand new marina, concrete floating docks. $750 per month annual I think $900 monthly. The price is by the slip not by the foot, slips can handle up to 50×17. Edward Mahler
Lake Park Harbor Marina is on the west side of the Waterway, one mile north of Lake Worth Inlet. These comments from Skipper Pattison are from the AGLCA Forum.
Unless you can find a private home with available dock space, rates for most places in SE Florida are pretty silly. The farther north you go, the better the rates. We’ve used Lake Park City Marina for several years and find it to be a good place to keep a boat. Their amenities are not great but the rates are better than most and they have great floating docks. Here is the link to their website: http://www.lakeparkmarina.com/ Dockmaster Ken is knowledgeable and a great help for anything you might need. Tell him we said hi if you go there. Jim Pattison m/v Samba & Island Bound
As described in Jim Flannery’s article below in Soundings Trade Only Today, the USCG got more than they bargained for when they requested comments on three railway bridges, see /?p=145271
Florida boaters flood Coast Guard with comments on bridge openings Posted on January 7th, 2015 Written by Jim Flannery
The Coast Guard gathered around 3,000 comments in hearings in November about the navigation needs of mariners at three railroad drawbridges that run over the New River in Fort Lauderdale, the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter and the St. Lucie River in Stuart, according to Barry Dragon, chief of bridge administration for the Seventh Coast Guard District.
Half to two-thirds of those comments registered concern with the All Aboard Florida high-speed passenger service proposed for the 128.5-mile Florida East Coast Railroad corridor from Miami to Cocoa and a new 40-mile east-west rail corridor on state-owned right-of-way from Cocoa to Orlando. But Dragon said that wasn’t the hearings’ purpose. The purpose was to gather information on how mariners use those waterways and what their `reasonable navigation needs’ at the bridges are ‘” today.
`The hardest part was getting mariners to tell me what their needs are, not what they think about All Aboard Florida,’ Dragon said.
I attended and spoke at the USCG hearings in Stuart re: St. Lucie River RR Bridge closings issue. While the USCG did state that they have no jurisdiction over the railroad, and therefore cannot take a position on the viability (or not) of All Aboard Florida’s (AAF) attempt to add 32 highs speed trains per day to the tracks between Miami and Orlando, USCG did say they are responsible and have jurisdiction over the waterways in so far as safe navigation is concerned. They can (and did in CT at the CT River Amtrak bridge in the 80’s) limit the closing of RR bridges if they interfere with the safe passage of vessels. The proposed AAG 32 high speed trains between Miami and Orlando would increase the “bridge close time” to a total of 75 minutes every hour (greater than one hour for those not mathematically inclined) which represents not only a navigation safety issue, but is in actuality a “BLOCKADE”. To be successful with the USCG in this matter, we must focus on what the USCG can affect, which is the impact of the bridge closings on safe navigation of the waterways. Capt. Ken Wright, North Palm Beach, Florida
BoatUS continues to be the nation’s leading advocate for boating safety, including the proper and consistent use of life jackets. Here is your chance to contribute to the future of boating safety by designing the perfect life jacket. Be sure to watch the video linked in the article below. SSECN is proud to have BoatUS as a SPONSOR!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: D. Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com
Photo Caption: Could this be what some life jackets may look like in the future?
Win $10,000 in Life Jacket Design Competition
Judges Get Glimpse Into the Future
ANNAPOLIS, MD, January 8, 2015 ‘“ Here, in a building at a nondescript suburban office park just a mile from the harbor made famous as `America’s sailing capital,’ is a look into the future of life jackets for American boaters. It’s the headquarters of the nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, and on the line is a first place prize of $10,000 for the best new design submitted for the 2015 Innovations in Life Jacket Design Competition. However, for now, there are just a trickle of entries as boaters, arm chair inventors, design, engineering or high school students have until the April 15 deadline to submit their design to BoatUS.org/design.
Five competition judges are eagerly waiting to review the entries coming in for the design contest, which hopes to seek out the newest technologies and design ideas for the next generation of these life saving devices. Teamed up with the Foundation are the Personal Floatation Device Manufacturers Association as well as the National Marine Manufacturers Association, all looking to find the best new life jacket ideas based on four criteria: wearability, reliability, cost and innovation.
Not too distant on any of the five judge’s minds was the big news on October 22, 2014 — the US Coast Guard had eliminated the old Type I-V code labeling system which clears the path of out-of-box design ideas and is the first step in a multi-year process to get new designs to market (for more on this, go to BoatUS.com/typecodepr).
Design competition Judge Lili Colby, Co-Owner of MTI Adventurewear, a paddlesport life jacket manufacturer, said, `Manufacturers will continue to use Type I-V coding until newer labels are designed, approved, and new standards are adopted, so it’s likely a couple of years before consumers will start to see a difference on store shelves. But this is where it all starts.’ Colby is an advocate of programs that increase paddling participation among young people, and understands how life jacket design can appeal ‘“ or alienate — the younger demographic. Colby’s out-of-the-box awareness generating campaigns have included offering promotional condoms imprinted with the `Wear it’ life jacket messaging. `It’s all about targeting your message ‘“ or product ‘“ with an appeal to a specific audience,’ added Colby, whose manufacturing and marketing expertise is being heavily tapped as a judge.
Also from the paddling industry is competition Judge Chris Stec, whose day job is COO of the American Canoe Association, which focuses on education, stewardship, recreation and competition. An Eagle Scout who was one of the authors of the revised Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Canoeing and Whitewater Merit Badge pamphlets, Stec also led the development of BSA’s Stand Up Paddleboarding Award. Stec clearly understands what works for youngsters.
Judge Chuck Hawley, a marine industry consultant, speaker on boating safety, and former `West Marine Advisor’ with 40,000 miles of open ocean sailing experience on both coasts is keenly on the lookout for better jacket ideas for offshore sailors. Hawley has sailed everything from 24-foot ultralights to the 125-foot catamaran Playstation and his expertise in the product development pipeline and the retail environment is helping the group make their decisions.
Joe Fogarty, VP at Image Base, a business communications company in Chicago, is also a judge. Joe’s insight on the boating consumer is adding an important voice to the judging mix. Fogarty has been knee-deep in the NMMA Discover Boating program for many years, producing videos that have contributed to driving over one million visitors to boatbuilder websites in 2013.
The fifth competition judge is Frank Solazzo, a Team Leader with Leland Limited which supplies life jacket manufacturers with the small, high pressure gas filled cylinders used for inflatable life jackets ‘“ arguably the most comfortable jackets on the market today. With his hectic schedule of trade shows and sales visits, Frank adds an important supplier voice, helping the group imagine what’s possible.
What these five judges decide may have a long-term impact on increasing voluntary wearing of life jackets and saving lives. `We know this is a whole new era of innovation and it is exciting to be a part of it,’ added Hawley. A short video about the competition is available at: http://youtu.be/wSfdANt_lGU. Winners will be announced in September at the International Boat Builders Exhibition and Conference in Louisville, KY.
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About the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water:
The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national leader promoting safe, clean and responsible boating. Funded primarily by donations from the over half-million members of Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), the non-profit provides innovative educational outreach directly to boaters and anglers with the aim of reducing accidents and fatalities, increasing stewardship of America’s waterways and keeping boating safe for all. A range of boating safety courses ‘“ including 33 free state courses ‘“ can be found at BoatUS.org/courses.
About the Personal Flotation Device Manufacturers Association:
The Personal Flotation Device Manufacturers Association (PFDMA) is an affiliate of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), the leading trade organization representing the recreational boating industry. NMMA member companies produce more than 80% of the boats, engines, trailers, accessories and gear used by boaters and anglers in the United States. The association is dedicated to industry growth through programs in public policy, market research and data, product quality assurance and marketing communications. For more information about PFDMA, visit www.pfdma.org and visit www.nmma.org to learn more about NMMA.
The Waterway follows a short and narrow, man-made canal known as Hell Gate between the Vernon and Ogeechee Rivers. These waters have been an “AICW Problem Stretch” for years and mid to high tide is recommended for vessels drawing 5ft or more.
Today, Jan. 5th 2015 went thru Hell Gate at 14:00. Found only 2.7 feet at low tide. Very shallow, luckily my PDQ 34 power cat made it. Sailors be aware! Reiner Zeppenfeld
Captain Vic Wilreker- February 10, 2015 - 12:01 am
We came through Hell Gate at 1500 that same day (January 5, 2015). It was low tide. Add to that a NW wind blowing water out of the rivers all day and the tide was very low. Well, anyway, Hell Gate was closed to 4.5 foot draft vessels. Our first indication was the temporary green and red buoys laying on their sides in the mud completely out of the water. We dropped the hook to wait for the tide. An hour later, the tide had come up two feet, the buoys were floating, and we got through without a problem.
Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant and Pub on Longbeach, is just to the west of the Jewfish Key South Anchorage off northern Sarasota Bay. Our thanks to Skipper Fowler for the photos.
Larry – some new docks at Mar Vista restaurant at the anchorage behind Jewfish Key, near Longboat Pass. Winston Fowler
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To A “Navigation Alert” Position at Lake Park
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