Frederica River Anchorages
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 – Please note that shoaling has been reported at both the northern and southern intersections of Frederica River and the AICW – Use caution when accessing these anchorages, and, for maximum safety, enter and exit at mid to high tide.
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: 
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Comments from Cruisers (10)
We anchored in Frederica River on 1/22/13 and had a comfortable night anchored off the fort. We had no trouble entering the Frederica River at the north end, but were hard aground 100 yards in from the south entrance on our way out the next morning. I strongly recommend sticking to the north entrance to come and go. Good holding and dinghied ashore to walk the grounds of the fort. A nice stop if you avoid the shoal water at south entrance. We draw 4.5 ft.
Steve Young
CrossRoads
We have dropped the hook in this river three times and have had good experiences each time.
We have used the spot at the monument twice, both north and southbound. The access point to the monument from the river requires at low tide a slog through about 15 feet of puff mud and then a dubious climb up a rickety wooden ladder to the sea wall top. We chose not to go ashore.
Entry/exit in both directions is pretty straightforward, but some what shallow compared to the channel in the river itself. Bear in mind the manner in which shoals form in these tidal rivers, filling at points and cutting deeper at the outside of curves.
Steve Kamp
S/V Carolina
We have not anchored there, although friends did a year ago and said it worked fine. But we did take the tour by land. The fort is one of many wonderful Georgia historical treasures and well worth the stop. Very informative, and pleasant and peaceful grounds.
Jack &Linda Dunnigan
S/V SILVER GIRL
No problem in the Frederica River if you follow the channel. Like any “soft bottom channel”, DO NOT GO DOWN THE CENTER OR FOLLOW THE MAGENTA LINE! Take the outside of the turns as the tide flows “out”.
We went through the Frederica River at near low tide three weeks ago. In the “channel” no less than 12′ of water, in the center many dry sand bars. If you run the ICW through marsh channels of northern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in the center or on the Magenta line you will also run aground at low water, read the banks, study the tide chart and determine if the current is coming up “in”, or going down “out”, then you can determine what side of the channel you want to be on, works every time.
Stay to the SW side of channel, outside curve, as you leave or enter ICW at north end. You’ll find shallow water in center to inside of curve. Steep drop off on outside curve, so find 6-8′ of water and come back towards center and follow curve. Should be able to follow 6-8′ depth at the radius of curve shown on your chart. There’s probably more water further to the outside of the curve, would expect near 12′ based on depths we found in the rest of the river, but quickly goes to nothing, which you will see at low tide and not at higher tides. 6-8′ of water is plenty for any of us to get through.
Chuck Gorgen
We entered from the south side of Frederica River. We noted no problems with shoaling. We went up about 1/2 mile from the junction with the Mackay River. We had good 3g with Verizon.
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
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.
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
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”