Miserable Mile (Statue Mile 0 to 3)
On 11/6/08, as part of a "Western Florida Wish List," I posed the following question:
17. The official Western Florida Intracoastal Waterway begins in San Carlos Bay, and initially runs west on what is known as the “miserable mile.” Someone who has navigated the “miserable mile” lately, please give us a report. Did you have trouble with the sideways setting current trying to sweep your vessel out of the channel?
Responses follow:
Doug Kendrick
Subject: Miserable mile
Message: There is a lot of boat traffic on weekends and holidays in the entire area and that is the big problem in the area of the miserable mile. The miserable mile itself is still miserable if the tide is flowing across the channel and you have a very slow boat. No problem at all if the tide is slack. In any case if you pay attention to the marks there is no real problem. The junction of the MM channel to main river inlet channel near MM100 can get exciting at high traffic times and as you proceed upriver the first miles are narrow with strong current, slow speed zones and may sightseeing boaters at heavy traffic times.
Bruce
This section does not have seem to have any new problems with shoaling. As usual, it is necessary to really pay attention to the track behind the boat. The drift changes every few hundred yards, and it is easy to over-correct.
Best regards,
Gene and Sue Fuller
Punta Gorda, Florida
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