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    • May 13, 2019by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments

      LOTS of Questions!

      Terry Logan is a new to the AICW cruiser with a new boat and lots of questions. Many of you are thoroughly capable of answering his inquiries with advice, observations and solutions. So, sit down with a cold one and type away. Terry and his wife will be most grateful.

      Not sure if this is the appropriate forum for my question,so apologies in advance if it isn’t. My wife and I just bought a 38′ outboard express fishing boat and are picking her up next week from Long Island Sound just north of NY City. We’ll be bringing her down the ICW and offshore to Southport, NC. We’ve got about 3 weeks budgeted to allow for weather, and sightseeing/exploring. As we’ve never been through this part of the ICW/coast, any suggestions and advice from more experienced folks will be welcome and appreciated. Tips on “don’t miss” spots as well as “spots to avoid” are especially welcome! Thanks in advance!

      Terry Logan

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    • May 10, 2019by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments

      Security News for Boaters

      Personal security and property security are becoming larger areas of concern these days and these linked articles seem particularly appropriate to boaters, especially transient cruisers.

      How the Collier County Sheriff’s Office is keeping you safe on the water
      Wink News

      “Carfax for boats’ law will alert buyers to vessels’ shady pasts
      Sun Sentinel

      Tip of organized theft ring targeting boats, motors leads to arrest of 3 men in Melbourne
      Florida Today

       

       

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    • May 9, 2019by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments

      Shared Photo: Sunrise at Spanish Wells by Greg Allard

      Our thanks to Greg Allard for sharing his gift of photography.

      Sunrise at Spanish Wells, in the Bahamas, where commercial fishing boats greatly outnumber cruising boats.

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    • May 9, 2019by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments 26.7687,-81.43829999

      TowBoatUS Now in LaBelle, FL, Okeechobee Waterway Statute Mile 103


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      Always hoping you never need their services, it is good to know they are there.

      NEWS From BoatUS

      Boat Owners Association of The United States
      5323 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22151
      Read this press release online at: https://bit.ly/2JmcikB



      Photo Caption: Capt. Mike Ammons aboard his 24-hour boat towing and response vessel

      For Boaters Crossing Florida, TowBoatUS Has You Covered

      LaBelle is fourth location for TowBoatUS on the Okeechobee Waterway

      LABELLE., Fla., May 8, 2019 – Most boats crossing the state of Florida on the Okeechobee Waterway are transient, only trying to get from one coast to the other as quickly as possible. That means their captains may not have local knowledge, and if they need assistance for an unexpected grounding or engine problem, the newly opened 24-hour on-water towing and assistance service for recreational boaters, TowBoatUS LaBelle, is ready to help.

      It’s the fourth TowBoatUS port servicing the 134.3-nautical-mile waterway, which includes bookend locations in Stuart and Fort Myers, and in Okeechobee. TowBoatUS is the only national, 24-hour on-water service delivering professional assistance on the waterway from end-to-end, providing boaters with routine help with dead batteries, soft ungroundings, running out of fuel, or a tow back to the launch ramp or marina.

      TowBoatUS LaBelle is the second location for Capt. Mike Ammons, who opened TowBoatUS Lake Okeechobee in 2018. Prior to that, Ammons owned three TowBoatUS ports in the early 2000s. Today, TowBoatUS has over 300 locations and 600 towing response vessels across the country.

      Much like an auto club, BoatUS offers on-water Unlimited Towing Memberships for boaters and anglers for just $159 per year. Boaters without BoatUS towing services face costs that average $750 per towing incident, with some paying thousands out of pocket.

      TowBoatUS LaBelle and TowBoatUS Okeechobee offer extended service areas, including Lake Okeechobee in its entirety and the Caloosahatchee River. St. Lucie Canal service is provided by TowBoatUS Stuart.

      TowBoatUS LaBelle operates a 22-foot power cat response vessel with twin outboards, easily recognizable by its red hull and TowBoatUS logos emblazoned in bright white letters on its sides, rigged and ready for towing, jump starts, fuel delivery and soft ungroundings.

      Boaters can reach TowBoatUS LaBelle by hailing on VHF channel 16, by calling the company directly at (239) 600-0140, by phoning the BoatUS toll-free 24/7 Dispatch Center at (800) 391-4869, or via smartphone using the BoatUS App. More information can be found at BoatUS.com/Towing, or call (800) 888-4869.

      ###

      About TowBoatUS:

      Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is the nation’s leading advocate, services and safety group for recreational boaters. We are the Boat Owners Auto Club and provide our more than half-million members with a wide array of helpful services, including 24-hour on-water towing that gets you safely home when your boat won’t, jump starts, fuel delivery, and soft ungroundings. The TowBoatUS towing fleet is North America’s largest network of towing ports with more than 300 locations and over 600 red towing assistance vessels, responding to more than 70,000 requests for assistance each year. The BoatUS App makes it easy to summon water and road assistance 24/7 and can speed response times (BoatUS.com/App). For more information go to BoatUS.com/Membership.

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of LaBelle on the Okeechobee Waterway

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    • May 7, 2019by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments 33.6811,-79.04179999

      Praise for Osprey Marina, AICW Statute Mile 373


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      Osprey Marina

      A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, popular Osprey Marina is at mile marker 373 on the Intracoastal Waterway south of Myrtle Beach, SC. Thankfully, Osprey Marina has almost completely recovered from the damages of hurricane Florence. Our thanks to Loopers Steve Quinn and Brenda Sanderson for these good words as posted on AGLCA’s Forum.

      I needed about three weeks of harborage myself in the same area so I chose Osprey Marina. Great folks, clean family run marina and very well protected. I called pretty much last minute to make reservations and they did work me in. Highly recommended. I will be returning to my boat approximately May 10.
      Steve Quinn

      2nd Steve Quinn’s recommendation. if you can go North a little more, you won’t find much of a friendlier and well protected marina. Last trip through southbound, they paid two dock hands OT to receive us an hour after closing to make sure we made it in. Cheap diesel too. We love Osprey. On our way north recently we stopped to fuel and pump out at Wacca Wache. Over 25 cents more per gallon on diesel than Osprey and a whopping $25 for a pumpout.
      Brenda Sanderson

      Click Here To View the Cruisers Net South Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Osprey Marina

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Osprey Marina

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    • May 7, 2019by:   Larry Dorminy No Comments 29.9835,-81.62029999

      Shands Bridge, St. Johns River, Green Cove Springs, FL


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      For our tall-masted friends thinking of exploring the upper St. Johns River, Bruce Phaup kindly reminds us that the Shands Bridge with a fixed vertical clearance of 45ft connects Red Bay and Smith Points just south of Green Cove Springs. Funds have been approved for the replacement of Shands Bridge by the Florida Legislature, see links below. The bridge portion of the project is scheduled for completion in 2030.

      The Shands Bridge, just south of Green Cove Springs, has a clearance of 45 feet. The Shands Bridge is the controlling height for the entire navigable extent of the St. John’s River, extending south to Sanford, Florida.
      Bruce Phaup

      Current Shands Bridge

      Click here for Renderings of the new Shands Bridge

      Click here for State funds $763M to replace Shands Bridge, extend beltway

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    • May 2, 2019by:   Larry Dorminy 3 Comments 31.0648,-81.4289999

      Caution Still Needed in Jekyll Creek Problem Stretch, GA AICW Statute Mile 683


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      This long overdue dredging is very welcome, but as Richard Ross confirms, the dredging has not been completed so GO SLOW and KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE DEPTH FINDER! Because the channel through this Problem Stretch seems to shift with each tide and until the dredging proves otherwise, Cruisers Net still recommends mid to high tide passage.

      By now everyone cruising the ICW should know that Jekyll Creek is being dredged.
      We came thru there today (May 2/19) near high tide and saw 2 ft MLW near the infamous marker 19. The dredge is at the north end and will be working its way south. Completion is scheduled for June 15. So don’t strike this off your list of Georgia problem stretches yet.
      Richard Ross

      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

      AREA SPONSORING MARINA

      Click Here To View the Cruisers Net Georgia Marina Directory Listing For Jekyll Harbor Marina

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Jekyll Harbor Marina

      Comments from Cruisers (3)

      1. Richard Ross -  May 15, 2019 - 10:48 am

        In reply to Dave and Bob. Sorry it took so long, we have been out cruising.

        MLW depths mean the water depth at low tide. Of course the water was much deeper at close to high tide when we went thru (We draw 5 ft), but I subtracted the tide when calculating water depth. The bottom line is that until the dredging is finished, most boats will not be able to pass this section at low tide.

        Reply to Richard
      3. Bob Keller -  May 2, 2019 - 10:01 pm

        With all due respect, it is hard to believe that there was 2 ft mlw in Jekyll Creek today near high tide. These kinds of reports are useless to cruisers and actually are detrimental because they do not potray a complete picture. Exactly where near green 19 were you when you saw 2 ft? I suspect you were quite far off G 19 and which direction were u heading, north or south? I travel through here several times a year and have never heard of 2 ft at mlw except if you are out of the channel, off course or have not paid attention to the many tracks and routes posted online to easily traverse this area.

        Reply to Bob
    • May 2, 2019by:   Larry Dorminy 1 Comment 36.5054,-76.35519999

      Incident in Dismal Swamp Canal, AICW Alternate Route


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      Things that go bump… Normally, the ride through Dismal Swamp is best described as idyllic and unforgettable, but because of its heavily wooded banks, dredging in the Canal can sometimes stir up more than the usual amount of debris. It is unfortunate that vessels occasionally make contact in the Canal, even when no dredging is underway. Our thanks to Loopers Jeffrey and Cathy, Richard and Terrie for sharing their recent experiences with us. Dismal Swamp Canal is home to Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center, A CRUISERS NET SPONSOR.

      We came through the Dismal Swamp today and to tell the truth, I can’t recommend the route at all. We went through with three boats. One boat which draws 5ft struck submerged logs numerous times and bent the prop. Our Mainship 40, which draws four feet, struck something twice and ran over a dredge hose in the canal. There is a dredge working the canal but he has a plastic pipe across the canal and I asked him to submerge it. He came back on the radio and said he did sink it. I went over it and hit it both with the bow and my prop. If you take this route please use caution. If I had to do it over again, I would go the Virginia cut. Good luck.
      Jeffrey and Cathy Guttenberger
      R Time
      2005 Mainship 400

      We came past the dredge a few minutes ago and had no problems … we draw 4.5 feet. The dredge operator was very helpful and contacted us after we passed to ask if we had hit anything. I think he was feeling bad about yesterday’s incidents. My depth finder alarm was set at 6’ and never went off. The lowest depth I remember seeing was 7.2’. We did bump something a couple times but for us it wasn’t a big deal.
      Richard & Terrie Dukes
      Avalon

      Director of the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center, Donna Stewart, offered this response:

      A boater mentioned this second hand to us yesterday, but I had not had any complaints…..at all. We have been consistently asking people, and also have checked in with Robert [Lock master]. Of course, most of our boats are heading north right now, with a few southbound. I’m sorry to hear this report…… After the wind on Friday, we had a report of a tree down at mm19 on Saturday morning, but all boats got through and I’m aware the contractor came and cut the tree to clear passage. I’ve had so many positive comments this season, and it has been so good. This is disappointing.
      All the comments we have received from boaters have been very positive, which has been encouraging and we have asked. We are advising boaters the company is monitoring Channel 72 and please contact them for any information in moving through. I’m sorry to hear someone had issues.
      Donna Stewart

      Click Here To View the North Carolina Cruisers Net’s Marina Directory Listing For the Camden TDA/Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center

      Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of the Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center

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      Comments from Cruisers (1)

      1. Tom Lahey -  May 4, 2019 - 5:46 am

        Our boat "Kissed Some Frogs" 42' with 3.5' draft, and 2 others in our group, another 42' with 3.5" draft, and a 53' with 5' draft, all transited the lock and past the dredge with no issues. We saw a few floating logs/sticks, and there was a bump or two with the 5' draft, but no worse than other wooded edge waterways like the Waccamaw River. We also saw three other sailboats (which we assume all had deeper drafts) two south bound and one north bound behind us, that transited without issue.

        We called the Dredge Barge on channel 72, they asked us to hold for a few minutes while they got the pipe out of the way, and we proceeded past very slowly. While passing over the pipe, we went into neutral and glided across just to be safe, but none of us had any issues. The Dredge operators were very friendly and helpful.

        We stayed overnight at the welcome center with 2 other boats, a cruiser and a sailboat, and it was great. The paths in the State Park are beautiful! All of the staff (Lock masters, Welcome Center, State Park employees), were friendly helpful and were showing real concern for the reported issues. They were not aware, and asked that anyone who did experience issues, contact them as the Dredge Operator carries insurance.

        Don't miss the opportunity to experience this amazing part of our boating history. Just take it slow, (we kept to about 5 knots), keep your eyes open, and stay in the center of the channel. You'll be glad you did!

        Reply to Tom

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