Our thanks to Rebecca Maxwell for this report and anchorage recommendation. The Bingham Islands mentioned as a possible anchorage are on the eastside of the ICW immediately south of the bridge. Flagler Memorial. Royal Park and Southern Blvd bridges were under schedule deviations earlier this year. See Directory Listing below for background information.
Bridge is under construction. Clearance is 65’ at lo tide and variance can be 3+’. Bridge openings are on :15 and :45. Our 63’ mast kept us on the southside awaiting low tide. We anchored overnight in 7’ just north of a small cut off Bingham Island. We were far enough out of the waterway for traffic and the holding was good. If you get caught on the southside of this bridge waiting for the next opening, this is a welcome anchorage. Rebecca Maxwell
The temporary bridge will have a vertical clearance of 14 feet in the closed position and 65 feet in the open position with a 125-foot wide navigable channel. The bridge will maintain an opening schedule of twice per hour at 15 minutes and 45 minutes past the hour. There may be half-channel closures during construction.
Subject line should read “Southern Blvd Bridge” And this is a temporary lift bridge, with two vertical clearance distances — one in the down position and one in the up position. See photo in website link below
The Cape Coral Cruise Club is a group of dedicated cruisers who always provide unique reports from the marinas they visit. Pink Shell Beach Resort and Marina, A CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR and voted Best Small Marina in 2017, overlooks the westerly banks of the Matanzas Pass channel, west of marker #13. Pink Shell Beach Marina is a favorite of the CCCC, see https://cruisersnet.net/170308.
By Joanne Ziemer
An even dozen! That’s the number of boats that took advantage of the $1/ft. marina fee for our summer cruise to Pink Shell! Jeff & I settled in ahead of the arriving boats on Tuesday morning. Dave and Craig from Pink Shell were there to greet us in their usual cordial manner. Boaters arrived over the next several hours so, by Docktail time, we had a nice crowd gathered on the lawn for adult beverages and heavy hors de oeuvres. We were fortunate not to have the normal summer afternoon thundershowers.
Thanks to Michelle & Doug Rhees, and Becky & John Todd, Wednesday morning we served up a breakfast of sausage, eggs, fruit, sweet breads, and juice on the deck. It was HOT even at 8:30 a.m. but a few people found shade to enjoy their coffee and breakfast. After clean up, it seemed to be pool time for some folks. The wind was still out of the East, so no one was bothered by the effects Red Tide.
One group rented a pontoon boat for a leisurely cruise to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Others retreated to their boats for some “down time” or took the opportunity to just visit, and some headed to downtown to browse the many shops of Ft. Myers Beach. At 6 p.m., we reconvened for dinner on the lawn. It was again a concerted effort from my helpers who served up burgers and dogs along with the many varied and delicious sides our boaters brought! We had the 12th boat arrive today plus six folks by car so a total of 30 people for our BBQ! Again, the storms held off so no one got wet!
Thursday morning was a repeat of Wednesday. The temperature did not moderate, so another hot day was in store for us. Unfortunately, the wind shifted to the West, so even at the pool, we could feel the effects of Red Tide. No one stayed for a long time at the pool, most wandered back to the marina for some down time before gussying up for dinner. Tonight folks were on their own for dinner, and several headed to Fort Myers Beach to a favorite restaurant.
The last day of the cruise found all but four boats heading home. We were very fortunate with the weather this cruise. Although we had storms all around us, we did not experience any for the duration of the cruise. (For those of us who stayed Friday night; well, that’s another story!)
Thanks to all the participants! I know the staff at Pink Shell was pleased to have 12 boats nearly fill the marina!
The Cape Coral Cruise Club is open to new members who own a boat with overnight accommodations and reside in the Cape Coral / Ft. Myers area. For membership information please contact Phil Kryger at 239-541-0236. Read additional Club information on its website, www.c-c-c-c.org Like us on Facebook.
This week, North Carolina will be experiencing severe weather, including strong winds and a large amount of rainfall as Hurricane Florence makes landfall. There is potential for power outages and major flooding in low-lying areas, and the most important thing you can be doing is to start preparing for a direct hit. This includes:
Having emergency supplies in place at home, at work and in the car, including bottled water, nonperishable food items for three to seven days for each family member, prescription medications, first aid kits, flashlights, and extra batteries.
Creating an emergency communication plan with your family before the hurricane. Know where family members will be during the storm and how to get in touch with them.
Checking your insurance coverage and gather important documents.
Knowing your local evacuation plan and how to receive alerts.
Instructions on how to plan and prepare for severe weather as well as access to real-time weather, flooding, traffic and shelter information can be found at ReadyNC.org. I also want to make sure you have important contact information available if you need to deal with power outages or any emergencies.
For life-threatening emergencies, call 911.
For a toll-free hotline to speak with a trained specialist, call 211. They can provide you information on shelters, evacuation routes, storm clean-up, volunteer needs, and locating food and water. The service is available 24/7.
For road closures, call 511.
For Coast Guard search and rescue, call 1-757-398-6700.
For help finding fuel/gas, visit gasbuddy.com or download the app.
For shelter locations, visit redcross.org or call 888-892-1162.
If you have trouble contacting emergency officials, my staff can be reached at (704) 589-7493.
Below is additional information I hope you find helpful, please pass it along to family and friends.
Stay safe,
Power Outages
Customers may also report an outage or view current outages using the online outage map. Duke Energy also will provide updates on Twitterand Facebook to keep customers informed if significant outages occur.
Crews will work as fast as possible to restore power. Please call your local power company for more information (See below).
Our thanks to Bill Parlatore for permitting Cruisers’ Net to post articles from his excellent blog, Following Seas.
Prepare For The Coming Storms by Bill Parlatore Get ready for some nasty storms on the U.S. East Coast. Pam Wall shares some good information about how best to prepare. And take these storms seriously.
Katrina Greenwood Drifting sands/shoaling will change inlets and on the ICW, creating maps to be inaccurate. Docks won’t have power. No pump out. Marinas may be closed completely. Stores may not open again and be stocked with supplies you need
Sally Grant Grave I came down after Hugo and we had to go outside quite a bit. Difficult passage, but the places that had managed to open back up were so very grateful to see us!
Kathy Kelly Kennedy Bridges on the ICW are already closed in SC. we are stuck in Myrtle Beach.
Clarkson Rollins I always go outside at Beaufort NC. Plan it right seas decent and wind good for a broad reach. Then come in at Jacksonville St Augustine or Coco.
Roger Long I just heard the head of the Katrina recovery task force say to expect everything east of interstate 95 in NC and SC to remain largely uninhabitable for at least weeks and possibly months. I’m trying to imagine ICW conditions 6 – 8 weeks from now and wondering where we will be. Wilmington at Thanksgiving was the plan but that looks subject to change. Bridges and inlets will be big problems. The swing bridge at Isle of Palms was blown off its mounts in Hugo and I can imagine places like Lockwood’s Folly and Shallotte being filled right in.
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Comments from Cruisers (1)
Laura Cheek- September 21, 2018 - 12:08 pm
We moved our boat from Jarrett Bay to Spooners Creek Marina yesterday with no problems. We went slow but saw only a little debris in the water in the port turning basin in Morehead. All Nav aids seemed to be in the right place.
Power is quickly being restored in most places and people are helping their neighbors clean up. We aren’t New Orleans. Eastern NC is resilient and will be back in business soon.
Laura, you are not alone in your sentiments. I doubt if there is a single boater among our readers who has not felt exactly the same frustration at one or more of the old bascule and swing bridges along the Waterway, not just in North Carolina. In our navigation of the Ditch, we always tried to make bridge and lock schedules a game testing our on-water planning against tides and boat speed. We also became very adept at dropping the hook to wait for an opening when arriving early. We do not want to lose Laura as a Waterway cruiser, so, if you have suggestions for her that might make bridge schedules less stressful, let us hear from you! And don’t forget that all bridge schedules are listed by state on our Homepage.
We have absolutely nothing against the State of NC, we love some of their cities and very dear friends abide in that state, but we do abhor their ridiculous ICW bridge restrictions. They open only on the hour and then we have to call to awaken the bridge tender to remind him it’s time to open. A few of these bridges are 4 miles apart so only the slowest sailboat would find that beneficial. Opening takes less than 5′ for traffic to stop, yet we wasted almost 2 hours of our day as well as fuel, just treading water awaiting the ‘appointed time’. There are lots of places we can spend our money, but it won’t be traversing NC’s ICW again. Laura Lane Bender Kindred Spirit III Grand Banks 42 Cl
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Comments from Cruisers (2)
Mike B.- September 7, 2018 - 1:55 pm
We always review the bridge schedules and set our speed to arrive close to scheduled openings. It’s not a big deal and simply good seamanship. We always call every bridge to let them know we wish to pass. They do not always assume every boat wants to go through and some keep track by name of all boats. Therefore, it’s not because they are sleeping. It’s because they don’t open at the appointed time if no one requests an opening. We’ve found nearly all bridge tenders to be professional, helpful and courteous. Mutual respect works both ways.
We feel very fortunate in our lives that we can boat at our leisure and thus we lack the sense of entitlement that causes some to think bridges should open at their sole convenience. There are thousands upon thousands of vehicles crossing those same bridges every day with people commuting, working, on emergencies, making deliveries and myriad other important and necessary things. That somehow recreational boaters should be the center of the bridge universe inciting a tantrum is self-centered.
Waiting a few minutes because I erred in my TSD calculation is a small price to pay for not occupying one of those thousands of vehicles on the bridge who need to be there.
I agree with Laura, the bridges in NC cause the most trouble on the trip from VA to FL. As noted, a few open on the hour only. Do not be late, even a minute in one place will have you waiting for the next opening. I have never had to remind one that it is time to open but sometimes you can tell that they are having a real bad day.
Our thanks to Bill Parlatore for permitting Cruisers’ Net to post articles from his excellent blog, Following Seas.
Monday Minute – Where Do Old Boats Go? I attended the annual boat auction in St Michaels, and wonder about the fate of old boats that no longer have a meaningful purpose.
Comments from Cruisers (2)
The temporary bridge will have a vertical clearance of 14 feet in the closed position and 65 feet in the open position with a 125-foot wide navigable channel. The bridge will maintain an opening schedule of twice per hour at 15 minutes and 45 minutes past the hour. There may be half-channel closures during construction.
Subject line should read “Southern Blvd Bridge” And this is a temporary lift bridge, with two vertical clearance distances — one in the down position and one in the up position. See photo in website link below