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    • On-Site Report – AICW Passage Through Jekyll Creek and Jekyll Harbor Marina, Statute Mile 683

      There has been much discussion recently (see link below) on depths through Jekyll Creek, a perennial AICW Problem Stretch. Thanks to our good friend, Sonny Reeves, who is a full-time resident at Jekyll Harbor Marina, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!, we have up-to-date, on-site reports that some are finding usable depths through this stretch. Of course, others report a very different story, so we still strongly suggest that cruisers time their passage of Jekyll Creek for mid to high tide!

      Update on Jekyll Harbor Marina:
      Here is a loaded barge going north, draft 8ft, Tug draft 8 ft going via ICW at Jekyll Harbor Marina. The tide is out low at over 6 ft. going to a low of 7.
      He will pass green 19 by taking center of channel. The 90 ft “Adventurer ” just left the dock headed south. Jekyll Harbor is a great place to be and enjoy for the winter. We caught 3 # of shrimp in 20 mins last night with a cast net a half a mile from the dock.
      Bike ride today saw deer and an alligator. Fishing is great, Reds and Trout are catching! Sunsets are remarkable. The beach is a 1/2 mile bike ride away and almost deserted. We are looking at 70s this weekend.

      Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Jekyll Creek

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch

      Click Here To Read an Earlier Posting on Depths in the AICW/Jekyll Creek

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    • VERY Interesting Newspaper Story about Depths on AICW/Jekyll Creek Problem Stretch and Jekyll Harbor Marina

      Jeykyll Harbor Marina... a Cool Place to Beat the HeatThe article below is reprinted from the “Brunswick News” (http://www.thebrunswicknews.com)
      This text makes for VERY INTERESTING reading.
      First, let’s address the issue of depths and dredging at SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Jekyll Harbor Marina (http://www.jekyllharbor.com/). We telephoned this facility and talked with one of the assistant dockmasters on 10/22/12. And, we were told, yes indeed, the permitting to dredge process is going forward, and Jekyll Harbor’s dockage basin will most likely be dredged sometime within the next year.
      The assistant dockmaster went on to add that there are still 6+ MLW depths on the north side slips. The shallow water problem seems to plague the southern wet slips, where, on a low tide, soundings can fall to 4-foot or slightly less. Transients, however, are almost always accommodated on the outer docks, where MLW depths are 10+ feet! So, clearly, Jekyll Harbor Marina can accommodate virtually any size and draft of transient pleasure craft, even before the aforementioned dredging project takes place.
      What is really more interesting, is what is said in the article below about depths on the AICW/Jekyll Creek section of the Waterway. Clearly, there is a real and building problem here, which must be addressed sometime in the future if the AICW is to remain open. All this is, of course, why the SSECN declared Jekyll Creek an AICW Problem Stretch years ago!
      Now, and this is also interesting, the Jekyll Harbor Marina assistant dockmaster we spoke with noted that he had just done some extensive soundings on the channel in question. He discovered that if boats pass marker #19 close aboard, they will keep to good water. He also pointed out that commercial tows are coming through Jekyll Creek all the time by employing this navigational tactic.
      Of course, having extensively sounded the Waterway passage through Jekyll Creek myself, I can tell you that this may be easier said than done on the water. Nevertheless, it is GOOD advice, at least as of October, 2012. Who knows what it will be like in a few months.Also, may I be so bold as to remind the cruising community that we strongly suggest all captains time their passage through Jekyll Creek for mid to high tide.

      Local News
      10/19/2012
      Shoaling problem worsens at Jekyll marina
      By MICHAEL HALLThe Brunswick News
      In the absence of help from the federal government, a marina on Jekyll Island is taking the issue of shoaling along Jekyll Creek in the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway into its own hands. Jekyll Harbor Marina, 1 Harbor Road on Jekyll Island, is seeking a permit from the Coastal Marshlands Protection Committee and the Department of Natural Resources to dredge a 1,000-foot by 150-foot section of the creek directly under its boat slips to deepen the area to 10 feet at low tide. The marina’s general manager, Scott Todd, said the dredging is necessary to maintain a business that relies on large, non-commercial vessels with drafts around 6 feet deep. “The worst spots are 4 or 5 feet at mean low tide,” Todd said. But the creek is not much deeper and the marina’s need to dredge under its dock is a symptom of a larger problem, Todd said. “I wish the dredging was in the creek instead,” Todd said. Popular boating enthusiast websites like Cruisers.net list waterway portions in Glynn County as some of the shallowest on the East Coast. Todd has heard the complaints from customers like Joe Fox and his wife, Joyce Fox, who arrived at the marina for the first time Thursday. The couple’s sailboat, Shoban II, has a keel that requires a draft close to 6 feet. “It gets pretty hairy,” Joe Fox said. “We almost ran aground coming in (Thursday).” It is so shallow that most charts of the waterway do not even attempt to recommend a route through the area, Fox said. “It’s probably the only place where they don’t,” Fox said. And he and his wife would know. The couple, along with their Jack Russell Terrier, Matey, have been traveling the East Coast in their boat since December and are on their way home to Apollo Beach, Fla. It was there where a similar problem arose. The waterway needed dredging, but the Army Corps of Engineers, responsible for waterway maintenance, did not have the funding to do it. When the waterway became too shallow, Fox said boaters would simply bypass the section by sailing into the open ocean, something he said would be tempting and easy to do when traveling through Glynn County. Boaters and yachtsmen have told The News in the past that they prefer to risk the open ocean than the waterway because of shoaling. “I bet it is costing this area big bucks in tourism,” Fox said. Boaters traveling up and down the coast often spend a lot of money at stores and on gas when stopped at marinas for a night or two, he said. In Apollo Beach, Fox said the community raised more than $1 million in four years to put towards dredging. Along with state and county governments, the funding goal was accomplished, he said. Andy MacLeod, a boater from Pennsylvania who was docked at the marina on Jekyll Thursday, said the issue will only get worse if not addressed. “There will come a day when this creek is 4 feet at mean low tide,” MacLeod said. That could very well happen in the foreseeable future. Billy Birdwell, spokesman for the Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said there is no funding in the president’s budget for dredging Jekyll Creek. The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the waterways. “We estimate it would cost $6 million to clear Jekyll Creek back to its authorized 12-foot depth if we can place the dredged material into Andrews Island Dredged Material Management Area,” Birdwell said. Andrews Island is used for silt removed from the port’s shipping channel, but it has not been used for waterway maintenance. Congress appropriates funds for dredging in the waterway based on the amount of commercial traffic. Passing pleasure craft traffic is not considered commercial, Birdwell said. Birdwell also noted that the Downing Musgrove Causeway connecting Jekyll Island to the mainland disrupts the natural currents that would keep the creek clear. “Therefore it refills with material quickly,” Birdwell said.

      The truth here is that your Congressperson doesn’t give a hoot about the Intracoastal Waterway or he/she would be fighting to have funds allocated to the Army Corps of Engineers to get the dredging done.
      Richard Boehm

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    • Another View from Jekyll Creek/AICW Problem Stretch, AICW Statute Mile 683

      Click for Chartview

      Jeykyll Harbor Marina... a Cool Place to Beat the HeatThe AICW/Jekyll Creek Problem Stretch has had shoaling for some time now with reports of depths below 5ft at low tide. Mid to high tide passage is recommended. Sonny provides us with another perspective on this very shallow creek.

      I am going to disagree with everyone. The creek at Jekyll is tricky but if you follow the channel, look at a sat or google earth view and you will see it! Not the magenta line.
      We have several barges come through each week at differing tides and they draw 8 ft. I have a picture of the barge going through the bridge at Jekyll Harbor Marina at low tide with a draft of 8 ft.

      Yes there is some shoaling at G19 and St. Andrews sound but we go out and in with our 4 ft draft fine at low tide. Boat US will advise you also to stay in the channel! They say the people that get in trouble are out of the channel.
      I hope this helps.
      I want cruisers to know that the ICW passage here is safe and passable if they are aware and careful. Jekyll Island is a very nice place to visit or stay as they transit the ICW heading south for the winter.
      Sonny, Jekyll Harbor Marina

      Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Jekyll Creek

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch

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    • Another Report on Depths in Jekyll Creek, AICW Problem Stretch, Statute Mile 683

      This AICW/Jekyll Creek Problem Stretch has had shoaling for some time now with reports of depths below 5ft at low tide. Mid to high tide passage is still recommended.

      Passing through Jekyll Creek now. This is the area that has had some skinny water. Have HT at 1848, +07.2′. From the bridge to the Jekyll Island Club dock, on the green side, had depths from 15.5′ to 12.6. From dock to G19, center channel, 15.8 to 13.7. Saw depths as low as 12.6 just north of G19 and on the range. From the range, center channel, didn’t see anything under 15′
      Michael J. Horowitz aboard ALTAIR

      Came through this area from the south at 12:30 PM today [June 12, 2012] and found the same problem as I have seen for three years. Shortly past Marker `19’³ the bottom starts to come up quickly. 100 yards north of the marker we observed 5.1 ft and began to stir mud at six knots.
      Bob Poovey

      Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Jekyll Creek

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch

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    • Report from Jekyll Creek/AICW Problem Stretch, Statute Mile 683

      The AICW/Jekyll Creek Problem Stretch has had shoaling for some time now with reports of depths below 5ft at low tide. Mid to high tide passage is recommended.

      1-11-12, passage thru Jekyll Creek, two past high tide of 10am saw water around G’19’³ at 7′ depth from 30′ off of the green marker.
      Capt. Mike

      Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Jekyll Creek

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch

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    • Passage Report from Jekyll Creek/AICW Problem Stretch (Statute Mile 683)

      The AICW/Jekyll Creek Problem Stretch has had shoaling for some time now with reports of depths below 5ft at low tide. Mid to high tide passage is recommended. Carl provides us with another passage report through this very shallow creek

      I passed this problem spot yesterday (17 August) Northbound in my 35 foot sportfisherman which draws 3 feet. I got distracted and veered slightly east of the channel, just south of `19’³. Realizing my mistake I headed due West, but then seemingly couldn’t find a channel. There was a brief period where I showed 11 feet but that vanished quickly and I was forced to navigate through lots of 8 foot water at least to Marker 19, and possibly a short distance further. What is impressive about this is that the tide at that moment was +6.3 feet, nearly high tide! That means there’s only 1.7 feet of water at low tide.
      Skipper Carl

      Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Jekyll Creek

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch

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    • Reports on AICW/Jekyll Creek Problem Stretch (Statute Mile 683)

      The AICW/Jekyll Creek Problem Stretch has had shoaling for some time now with reports of depths below 5ft at low tide. Mid to high tide passage is recommended.

      I followed my usual path thru Jekyll but found less water than on previous trips with as little as 5′ mlw in spots. Either I messed up on that run or shoaling got worst over winter. I’ll keep playing the tides’¦
      Captain Pascal

      We traveled this stretch on 4/27/11 at 1 hr.before low tide mid channel and saw no less then 7′. Follow the range markers listed as RW on the charts around the curve past Jekyl Wharf Marina.
      Capts.Steve & Di Koch

      May 2011: came thru northbound and 7′ MLW was the lowest reading i found mostly near G19 and along the range. I passed about 150′ off G19 then turned right on the range. Stayed on the range till past R16 (passed about 75′ away).
      No depth issue between the bridge and the wharf. You just have to take it slow and found the best water as the `channel’ is very shallow. On a previous run in April, I did find some 5′ spots around G19 not far from where i passed on this trip.
      Pascal aboard MY Charmer, 70′ 6+ draft

      May 28, 2011. Northbound on a 50′ trawler with 5 foot draft. Passed marker 20A at 4:56 pm. Passed marker 10 at 5:19 pm
      20A depth 14.1 feet
      20 depth 13.3
      19 depth 13.4
      17 depth 13.7
      16 depth 14.1
      13 depth 14.5
      11 depth 17.6
      10 depth 22.3
      I hope this is useful.
      Darrel Peters Aboard `Present Moment’

      Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Jekyll Creek

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To This AICW Problem Stretch

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    • Report and Advice on Jekyll Creek, AICW Statute Mile 683

      As many of you already know, the Jekyll Creek section of the AICW, south of St. Simons Sound, is one of the worst “AICW Problem Stretches” on the entire run from Norfolk, VA to Miami, FL.

      5 ft at almost low tide on 3/24/11 40 ft inside G19. Channel very narrow. Go very slow.
      Skipper Stephen

      I cruise this section of the AICW often. If you are heading south I would hit Jekyll Creek at mid tide and rising because you will want to hit the Brickhill River (south end) and AICW at high tide. Because that is a very bad section as well.”
      James Rogers

      Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Jekyll Creek

      Comments from Cruisers (1)

    • Detailed Report on SHALLOW Depths in Jekyll Creek, AICW Statute Mile 683

      Captains Bob and Helen continue their detailed reports from their southward voyage through Georgia.
      As many of you already know, the Jekyll Creek section of the AICW, south of St. Simons Sound, is one of the worst “AICW Problem Stretches” on the entire run from Norfolk, VA to Miami, FL.
      Note that Captains Bob and Helen’s reading below were taken only a hour before high tide. With a tidal range of approximately 8 feet, that means we must subtract at least 7 feet from the soundings below to discover what depths would be at MLW. Notice that means there would be 1 FOOT of water near marker #18 at low tide!!!!!!!!
      Clearly, cruisers MUST plan to traverse this section of the AICW as near to high water as possible!

      Larry, we hit Jekyll Creek about 1 hr 15 min before high tide.
      Jekyll Creek, High Tide 1503. Entered Creek at 1345 Draft 5 ft
      R8 = 18.6 ft,
      G9=18.6 ft,
      R10 = 13ft,
      G..11=13 ft,
      G13=13ft,
      g17=13ft,
      R18=8ft,
      G19=13ft
      R20=13ft (Time 14:04),
      R20A=11.5 ft,
      R24=16 ft,
      Exit Creek 1415
      Good Run down the middle of the marks. You need to play the tides Mid-to High
      Captains Bob and Helen aboard M/Y ALLEZ

      And, Captain Pascal chips in with the notes below. Though he doesn’t say it, I deeply suspect his readings were taken near high tide as well.

      I came thru Jekyl on the Oct 30th (70′ MY, 6+ draft) and noted the following:
      10’MLW all the way from northern creek entrance to G13
      At G13, I aimed straight for R16 until about 200′ north of being abeam of the range marker, then turned to port to intercept the range. on this path, the shallowest water i found was about 7 to 8′ MLW just before the range and then on the range, all the way to G19 which I passed about 100′ away.
      The key here, like many other places is to go slow and feel your way thru for best water as the channel is very narrow. it’s easy to stray off just 30′ and find very shallow water.
      Pascal

      G19 on range found 2.7′ corrected for MLLW. [Transit Jekyll Creek] Definitely [at] 1/2 [tide] or better.
      Captain Ed Potter

      11/3/10 9:30 am local, low tide today is at 12:47pm
      PASSED GREEN #19 mid channel & saw 8.5 ft the rest of the cut the readings were around 11 ti 12t.
      Mike & Barbara aboard M/V Elan

      Well,clearly different cruisers are finding very different depths in the AICW/Jekyll Creek. See Captain Rogers note below.
      I suspect these soundings differ because some are lucky enough to find the best water, while others are encountering shallows “in the AICW channel.” Jekyll Creek is still, in our collective opinion, the #2 problem stretch on the entire run from Norfolk to Miami (with Little Mud River as the #1 problem)

      We came through Jekyll yesterday(11/3/2010) an hour before low and saw no less then 8 feet. I called Jekyll Island Marina and talked with them before transitting because of what I had read. They said they had seen no problems and depths were good and just stay in the channel. They also said going through at low was a good idea because you can definitely see where the channel is. I used the range marks and they were right on.
      Richard Rodgers

      Click Here To View the “AICW Problems” Entry For Jekyll Creek

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    • Report on AICW/Jekyll Creek Depths (near Statute Mile 683)

      This is good news and good advice in light of recent reports of decreasing depths in Jekyll Creek.

      Submitted on 2010/10/26 at 6:22pm
      Just traversed Jekyll Creek an hour before MLW (according to my `Charts and Tides’ App on my iPhone ‘“ highly recommended!). I have a Beneteau 40 that draws 5’3 ‘“ came within inches of touching but never did. When you approach Green #19, stay in the exact center of the water you can see (there is hundreds of feet of exposed mud to either side of you at close-to-low tide). Great advice from the Jekyll Harbor Marina! It’s still pretty skinny (at low tide) from there to the bridge, but again ‘“ with a 5’3 draft I never touched’¦
      Retriever

      Click Here To View the “AICW Problems” Entry For Jekyll Creek

      Click Here For Another Report on Jekyll Creek

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