Our thanks to Martin and Cindy Dahm for this report of another door closed to cruisers. Will anchoring in the Basin be next? See https://cruisersnet.net/690 for more comments from Martin Dahm. Tarpon Basin lies on the east side of the Waterway in the northeast corner of Buttonwood Sound.
My wife and I have been anchored at Tarpon Basin in Key Largo for the last 3 weeks and have been using the dinghy dock at the Murray E. Nelson government building without any issues. However yesterday we returned from running errands ashore and found the attached signs had been posted in the parking lot and in several places on the dock. As of April 15, 2019 no one will be able to tie up to the dock, trees or moor within 25 feet of the dock. Overnight parking will also be prohibited. I suppose you could still use the dock to drop someone off and then pick them up later, but no can leave their dinghy tied up anywhere on the property. Looks like Monroe County is rolling up the welcome mat for the cruising community. Best Regards, Martin and Cindy Dahm S/V Just One Dance Lagoon 380 S2
When I saw the first photo I wondered, how many cruisers have their car parked overnight at the county property? These are not cruisers, but they sure are ruining it for those of us who are.
Amen to that. No matter what part of the proverbial “public” you work with, there will always be some that will spoil the amenities offered, and all will suffer.
It isn't the water, it's the land; or more specifically, the abuse of the shoreside facility by unthoughtful live-aboards. The county center had become a garbage dump, bathrooms were constantly fouled, and the parking lot had become an ersatz boatyard. Efforts were made to educate users of these issues, but the problems continued to be exacerbated. When we cruisers take advantage of community resources, we have to be responsible, and most of us are. Yet, some who decide that they want to "live off the grid" have taken the generosity of the public too far and the results are that we all lose some of the benefits that we as taxpayers and visitors should enjoy. This should be a lesson to us all.
Our thanks to Tom Hale for allowing Cruisers Net to post his recent Waterway passage through Isle of Palms as posted on SailFeed.com. This stretch north of the Ben Sawyer Bridge has been a Problem Stretch for some time with numerous warnings in the past. Cruisers Net continues to advise mid to high tide passage only. Isle of Palms is home to CRUISERS NET SPONSOR, Isle of Palms Marina, located on the east side of the Waterway north of the Charleston Harbor.
This safety zone is established for the move of equipment barges up the Cape Fear River to Wilmington as announced earlier, see One-Day Closure. The closure will effectively shut down the AICW from Southport to Snows Cut.
Coast Guard to establish safety zone on Cape Fear River, NC
WILMINGTON, N.C. — A temporary safety zone is scheduled to be enforced on the Cape Fear River, April 8, for the transit of the 776-foot motor vessel Zhen Hua 25.
The temporary safety zone will close a large portion of the Cape Fear River to vessel traffic for approximately five to seven hours, affecting all navigable waters about 26 miles south of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, until the ship is safely moored at the North Carolina State Ports Authority.
Commercial vessels moored at facilities within the safety zone must depart prior to midnight, April 7, and no vessel is authorized to moor, transit, or remain within the river while the safety zone is in effect.
A second safety zone will be enforced for approximately two to four hours on separate days for the offload of a Neo-Panamax crane. The zone will include all of the waters within a 200-yard radius around the motor vessel Zhen Hua 25 while moored at NCSPA Berth Eight.
Vessel traffic south of NCSPA will not be impacted during the second safety zone.
If you have any questions concerning the closure of the Cape Fear River, please contact the
Waterways Management Division at NCmarineevents@uscg.mil or Coast Guard personnel at 910-772-2230.
For media inquiries, please contact Lt. Cmdr. Elizabeth Buendia at 252-241-6042.
Tried to read the story about Wadmalaw Island and local environ of Edison River Low Country. Pop up link to Coastal living subscription made the article unreadable . The “Low Country” is a remarkable place. My wife and I have traveled the area by car, camped in the state parks, and cruised the ICW numerous times, venturing off the beaten path to anchor up the tidal creeks and backwaters Every skipper should take the time to visit this region and expand the horizon to all of the salt marsh / tannic waters from the Waccamaw to the St.Johns. Each trip is a different experience. Our approach to cruising is to enjoy the journey without running a marathon to the destination. Steve Kamp S/V Carolina, a Hunter 38
Editor’s Note: Usually, clicking No Thanks will make the ad go away.
This excellent report comes from Robert Sherer’s Facebook page, Bob423. Thank you Robert! See also Pomeranz Report on dredging in Dawho River from October of 2018.
Many of you have used my GPX routes as an aid in passing through many of the shallow areas of the ICW. The number of individual routes proliferated when Aqua Map added USACE Survey maps to their Master upgrade which allowed me to form a route based on their recent depth surveys.
Using the previously unavailable USACE data, I’ve formed new GPX routes for Ft Matanzas, Buttermilk and Altamaha Sound, Little Mud River, Hell Gate, Ashepoo-Coos…
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a five-year services contract to U.S. Facilities Inc. for operations and maintenance of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway’s locks and bridges.
In the past, boating groups and the marine industry have railed against adding more ethanol to marine fuel. Newer engines can now cope with E10 but not E15. Older gasoline engines must still search for non-ethanol fuels which are available at almost all gas stations in South Carolina; but for how long? Remember the old “leaded” versus “non-leaded” fuels?
Year-round E15 fuel sales is dangerous for anyone who operates machinery with small engines – including boats, chainsaws, and lawnmowers – because most people are unaware of the damage it causes to these products and that it’s federally prohibited to use in these engines.
NMMA has been fighting for better consumer education and protection and strongly opposes year-round E15 sales. Now, we need your help to stop this dangerous proposal.
Click hereto send your message to the EPA to stop year-round sales of E15!
Boating United is the grassroots platform of the recreational boating industry. It is comprised of boating manufacturers, businesses and supporters who share the common goal of protecting and promoting the industry. Take action, learn about the issues and more at http://boatingunited.com/
These are devices you hope to never need, but their presence on your boat could save your life!
406 Day: National Campaign for Awareness of Emergency Locator Beacon Importance
NEW ORLEANS – Saturday, April 6, is 406 Day, a national campaign run by NOAA to spread awareness of the importance of emergency position indicating radio beacons, or EPIRBS, and personal locator beacons, or PLBs, in boating safety.
In 2018, the Eighth Coast Guard District responded to over 200 distress signals from EPIRBS aboard aircraft and boats.
An EPIRB works by transmitting a signal that is picked up by a satellite and then relayed to a rescue coordination center.
Beacon registration is free, easy, and required by law. Federal law requires all EPIRBs be registered in the NOAA SARSAT Beacon Registration Database, which is free to all beacon owners.
When beacon owner information changes, it should be updated online at www.beaconregistration.noaa.govor by contacting the NOAA SARSAT Beacon Registration Database at 1-888-212-SAVE (7283).
Owners are required to validate their beacon information every two years to ensure their contact information is up-to-date. Current beacon owner information allows search and rescue responders to work more efficiently and can decrease response time during distress situations.
If your EPIRB is accidentally activated, contact the U.S. Coast Guard at 1-855-406-USCG (8724) and provide them with the beacon’s ID to cancel the false alert.
Search and rescue personnel begin responding immediately to every activation of a distress beacon. Cancellation of false alerts helps protect SAR personnel who would be utilized during an actual emergency, and ensures valuable resources are available to respond to actual distress cases.
“The Eighth Coast Guard District covers roughly half of the Gulf of Mexico and receives over 200 EPIRB alerts a year,” said Kevin Robb, a SAR specialist at the Eighth Coast Guard District. “Approximately 97% of these alerts are false alerts, including accidental activations and bracket failures. Our sole focus is your safety on the water. Keeping your EPIRB registration information accurate helps us to better respond to your situation, and in turn prevents us from unduly hazarding our first responders and wasting resources at taxpayer expense. Be safe and register your EPIRBs and PLBs and keep the registration information current!”
Cruisers Net is proud to be a member of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association whose lobbying work is crucial to keeping the Waterway navigable. Your membership dollars directly impact their vital work. Please join and encourage your boating neighbors to do likewise, regardless of their homeport.
Greetings from the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA). This year is going to be very busy for the AIWA in every state along the waterway and we rely heavily on the support of our members. Below is a list of some of our major accomplishments from 2018 and early efforts this year.
• Worked with Congress and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to increase funding for the dredging of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW). For federal Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19), which started in October 2018, we received a total of $23.944 million. This is the highest non-disaster amount we have received in years and is in addition to over $40 million in FY18. As of this letter, maintenance dredging projects are underway in all five states along the AIWW.
• In early March, our Board of Directors met with twelve Congressional Offices in Washington, D.C. to request funding for additional dredging needs for FY20 and they were supportive of our efforts. We also met with staff at Headquarters of the Corps during the visit to highlight the importance of the AIWW. From our advocacy efforts, we were able to secure support from Congressional offices in six states (FL, GA, SC, NC, VA and NJ) to join a multi-state, bipartisan delegation letter asking for a total of $180 million in additional funding for dredging projects that could include the AIWW. We don’t yet know how much more money will be included by Congress, but this is a major step forward in highlighting the AIWW as a project with national significance due to its interconnectivity along the eastern seaboard of the U.S.
• We presented our annual meeting to bring decision-makers and stakeholders together to discuss issues impacting the AIWW. Our annual meeting was held on November 15-16, 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina. Some of the topics included: State of the Waterway and ongoing maintenance efforts after Hurricanes, Engineering with Nature and beneficial use of dredge materials including a pilot project in Georgia, commercial and industrial waterway access, and dredge material management challenges and opportunities. We were also joined by Mayor John Tecklenburg, City of Charleston, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Palazzini, Charleston District Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Captain John Reed, 5A Market Street Beaufort, SC 29906 (843) 379-1151, Charleston Sector Commander for the U.S. Coast Guard, Kyle Ward of NOAA, and Fran Bohnsack of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration in addition to many other stakeholder groups.
• We are working with non-federal partners to establish non-federal funding for the dredging of the AIWW. Florida and North Carolina have established non-federal funding programs and we are raising awareness of the benefits of providing non-federal funding in South Carolina and Georgia. This will be critical in the long-term maintenance of Marine Highway 95.
• We participated in regional and national coalitions to increase awareness of AIWW issues. We are an active board member and on the Executive Committee of the National Waterways Conference, Inc., and partner with numerous other national organizations. In 2018, we were presenters at the Local Government Meeting of NCBIWA, America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association Rendezvous, and the American Boating Congress in Washington, D.C. We also participated in the National Dredging Meeting, Western Dredging Association Meeting, and were invited to participate in the U.S. Army Corps’ of Engineers Engineering with Nature initiative due to our work on the Jekyll Creek Pilot Project. This March, we gave a presentation at the Marine Trades Association of New Jersey 2019 Conference to build support in the northeastern U.S.
• We continue outreach with other federal agencies such as the Maritime Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, NOAA, and the U.S. Coast Guard to support many efforts including the Marine Highways program and chart mapping efforts, especially in areas where maintenance dredging is needed.
• We publish monthly newsletters of our efforts and distribute to our members. We hope you saw the March 2019 issue, and it can be accessed from the News section on our website at https://atlanticintracoastal.org/news/.
As you can see, we had a fruitful 2018 and we have hit the ground running in 2019. We hope that we can continue to be the Voice of the Waterway in 2019 and beyond.
If you have AIS equipment aboard, please respond to this USCG request for survey input.
Good Afternoon Everyone,
USCG Navigation Center (NAVCEN) created a survey to better understand the use of AIS-ATON during major storms of 2018 (Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Michael, etc). In order to generate a more robust response, the NAVCEN request your participation with this survey by April 19, 2019. Please feel free to distribute as necessary. The survey can be located from the following url;
Comments from Cruisers (5)
When I saw the first photo I wondered, how many cruisers have their car parked overnight at the county property? These are not cruisers, but they sure are ruining it for those of us who are.
Spend your money where you are welcomed.
Amen to that. No matter what part of the proverbial “public” you work with, there will always be some that will spoil the amenities offered, and all will suffer.
It isn't the water, it's the land; or more specifically, the abuse of the shoreside facility by unthoughtful live-aboards. The county center had become a garbage dump, bathrooms were constantly fouled, and the parking lot had become an ersatz boatyard. Efforts were made to educate users of these issues, but the problems continued to be exacerbated. When we cruisers take advantage of community resources, we have to be responsible, and most of us are. Yet, some who decide that they want to "live off the grid" have taken the generosity of the public too far and the results are that we all lose some of the benefits that we as taxpayers and visitors should enjoy. This should be a lesson to us all.
Who owns the water??!!