Anna’s comments are in contrast to other more favorable reviews of ‘Tween Waters Marina we have received, such as /149457, but seems to be in line with these comments: /148730. Tween Waters Inn and Marina lies southwest of the Roosevelt Channel’s marker #19 off Pine Island Sound.
My husband and I visited this marina before our vacation to preview it. We drove our car and when we got to the marina we weren’t impressed. The docks were in need of repair with nails poking through. We went into the dock masters office to inquire about pricing…the older lady working there was helpful but the gentleman there was to busy to even acknowledge our presence. We even asked him a question and he never looked up at us. Then we went to check out the restaurant and the older lady working there was very rude to us when we inquired about the menu as they weren’t open yet. Needless to say we will never stay at this place. Anna
You can be at the resort when things are not in sync. But normally you will find Tween Waters a very nice place to visit. We docked there one night recently, having been there by boat numerous times. They were busy with other boats, so instead of waiting we docked ourselves. No worries. The food is good. The pool is fun. The town is just a stroll away. One of our favorite places. Dave Bell, Escapade, Nordic Tug
We had almost the exact same experience last year. Because of their location they are not inclined to be friendly to anyone but their regulars, it is a very nice location, it is very nice to visit but they need new staff and a new attitude, management take notice, it is a service business.
We are entering the next generation of navigational products. NOAA is developing new services for faster chart downloads, using more data from new sources, and providing more information for better decision-making. Here are the latest updates.
Beta testing of crowdsourced bathymetry
We are on the verge of acquiring a significant new source of data to improve NOAA nautical charts, thanks to an
Coast Survey Research Vessel Bay Hydro II collected about 123,000 soundings over 12 days to pre-test the efficacy of Rose Point beta test for bathymetric crowdsourcing.
enthusiastic industry and mariners equipped with new technology. Rose Point Navigation Systems is working with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and Coast Survey and others who are collaborating on an international effort to maintain crowdsourced bathymetry.
In a beta test released on May 13, 2016, Rose Point has added a new feature to Coastal Explorer that gives users an option to send anonymous GPS position and soundings data to a new international database managed by NCEI. After getting permission from users, Rose Point systems will generate data log files of positions, depths, and time, and automatically transmit the files to the data center, where Coast Survey can pull the data to compare it to nautical charts. The new sources of information will alert Coast Survey cartographers to areas where shoaling and other changes to the seafloor have made the chart inaccurate.
It is a major challenge – some might say an impossibility – to keep all thousand U.S. nautical charts up to date. But exactly how out of date is the chart data? Chart users will get a better idea now that Coast Survey is gradually rolling out a new chart feature called the zone of confidence, or “ZOC” box. It will replace the source diagram that is currently on large-scale charts. Source diagrams, and now the improved ZOC, help mariners assess hydrographic survey data and the associated level of risk to navigate in a particular area.
The first charts to show the new ZOC box are 18622, 18682, 18754, and 11328. They were released on April 7.
Charts are packed with symbols and abbreviations, some that might be unfamiliar to you. U.S. Chart No. 1 lists all of the symbols used on NOAA nautical charts, but sometimes chart users need a deeper understanding.
Coast Survey is now providing additional information about complex or particularly confusing chart symbols to augment what is available in U.S. Chart No. 1. The first three tip sheets help explain fish havens, anchorages and harbors of refuge, and virtual AIS aids to navigation.
Our thanks to Contributing Editor, Captain Jim Healy, for shareing his perspective on Beaufort and Morehead City, NC, home to SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, Morehead City Yacht Basin, located on the southern flank of the marked channel that runs west from Mile 203 of the Waterway, just north of the Morehead-Beaufort, Newport River high-rise bridge.
Beaufort, NC: This is a seaport town near Morehead City; it’s a very pleasant, laid-back, “chillaxin'” place with a small but well done Maritime Museum, many shoppes and some nice local restaurants. For those who might enjoy a short off-shore (maybe 10 miles) cruise, depart the Beaufort Inlet and head out the the bight at the Cape Lookout National Seashore. [See Claiborne’s article on Cape Lookout.] It a large, well protected anchorage, with access to the beach for campfires and swimming. The bight itself is well protected from winds and ocean sea states, but the trip out and back can be too much for some if the wind offshore is up. Plan accordingly. Jim Healy
Brunswick Landing Marina, a very popular facility with long term resident cruisers as well as transient cruisers, sits off the direct path of the Waterway, flanking the eastern banks of Academy Creek off Brunswick River, near the heart of downtown Brunswick, Georgia.
I love this marina! As a delivery captain and salesman, for Prestige Yachts, I stop in many marinas. Brunswick Landing is in a safe hole, with little boat traffic, easy fuel, FANTASTIC staff, free beer, and bicycles to pedal around town. The floating docks are great, the restrooms are very clean, ice at tge end of the docks, and coffee in the morning on the fuel pier. I’ll be back in a few weeks. Thanks for the hospitality. Brad Heil
Yep. I totally agree. One of the nicest marinas on the entire ICW, in my opinion, with great staff. Its also dog friendly! I no longer boat, but if I did, I’d still be there.
This wonderful expanded tour of the Albemarle Sound now includes five Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net Sponsors. And below, SSECN Contributing Editor, Captain Jim Healy adds his thoughts on the Albemarle Loop.
Press release for the Albemarle Loop The Albemarle Loop announces the expansion of its membership by three (3) to a total of nine (9) marinas for 2016, offering free dockage and pump outs where available. Members offer two days of free dockage along with many amenities including swimming pools, golfing, tennis, restaurants and other boating necessities that make your stay at these marinas an enjoyable experience. See details of where these amenities are offered at http://albemarleloop.com/Marinas.html . The new marinas for 2016 are:
The Manteo Waterfront Marina is located in a tranquil setting less than a mile from the Roanoke Sound. It is a small, deep, and well-protected harbor, and can accommodate vessels up to 150 feet in length. Take a stroll along over a mile of boardwalks on the Manteo Waterfront. Near this site the first English colony was born on American soil. Dock your boat in the protected waters of Dough’s Creek and enjoy all the amenities this quaint island village has to offer. There are approximately 20 transient slips and 33 slips dedicated to seasonal and annual boaters. All slips feature 30 and 50 amp power, cable television, and free wireless Internet access. The air conditioned comfort station located at the marina features separate men’s and women’s bathrooms, clean showers, and coin operated washer and dryer. Boaters come to Manteo for its coastal charm and relaxed atmosphere.
Everett Marine and Cypress Cove Marina is a boating and fishing community located off the Scuppernong River about a mile west of the Columbia Docks. One of only 2 Albemarle Loop members offering both diesel and gasoline fuel, marine supplies and the only member offering repairs and a boat lift. With a friendly southern hospitality they specialize in routine marine engine service and custom installation of accessories on new or used boats. Slips feature 30 and 50 amp power, and free wireless Internet access. The air conditioned comfort station located at the marina features separate men’s and women’s bathrooms, clean showers, and coin operated washer and dryer.
The Dismal Swamp Welcome Center is a NC DOT facility providing travel and tourism to both highway and waterway traffic. With the 150’ bulkhead, numerous boats are rafted up on their transit through the canal free for one night or more depending on weather. The Dismal Swamp Visitor Center has free wireless Internet access and comfort station featuring separate men’s and women’s bathrooms and clean showers. Located adjacent to the Welcome Center, the NC State Park provides numerous opportunities for eco-tourism with an exhibit hall that allows visitors to learn the natural and cultural history of the swamp. Rangers will guide you on exciting explorations where you’ll uncover fascinating natural surroundings, and make great discoveries about the world in which we live.
The Albemarle Loop is a non-profit organization that provides the boating public with an exciting opportunity to cruise and explore the protected waters of historic Albemarle Sound. Visit the friendly communities surrounding Albemarle Sound as you share your boating experiences with other families (at a very low cost) and in high-quality marinas. Contact the Albemarle Loop at 427 Albemarle Blvd., Hertford, North Carolina, 27944 or email info@AlbemarleLoop.com or call (252) 426 – 4037 or visit http://albemarleloop.com.
Jim Healy writes:
The Albemarle sound is a shallow body of water; the “deep water” range is 12′ – 18′. These waters are home to many crab fishermen; crab pot floats are to be found virtually throughout the sound. The sound lies geographically East-West, and the prevailing winds are from the West and Southwest. Winds greater than 15 kts can raise uncomfortable beam seas for North-South crossings. Winds greater that 20 kts can produce uncomfortable chop in all directions. While not technically part of the ICW, this “loop” is centered around the ICW Routes from Norfolk/Portsmouth to the southbound ICW at the Alligator River in North Carolina. The “Albemarle Loop” is a cruising route that touches some wonderful and oft-overlooked venues. On the Crystal Coast, the towns of Manteo and Ocracoke are excellent stops. On the Western Albemarle, the towns of Edenton and Plymouth are delightful. The history of the Albemarle dates to the earliest English colonists. At Manteo, visit the Lost Colony Plantation. At Edenton, visit the revolutionary period Chowan County Courthouse, St. Paul’s Church, learn of the ladies of the Edenton Tea Party, and visit many other historical sites. Here is a link to information on the Albemarle Loop: http://albemarleloop.com. Jim Healy
Some really superb information you posted. I was searching more for Boat lift but there is only few info about this. would like to read more stuff about Lake Boat Lift… Thanks…!!
Larry… just a short note to avoid any potential confusion on Manteo’s participation. Carl Jordan, dockmaster advises that “Visitors with loop coupons will be given dockage, a free pump out and water per the Albemarle Loop guidelines on a space available basis up to 2x per year. Bathroom, Shower and laundry access and full electrical, cable and wireless access are also available at deeply disounted rates for Loopers.” Contact Carl at 252-473-3320 for further details. Thanks!
Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Bahamas Chatter: New Fuel Dock in Long Island New Fuel Dock in Long Island Posted: 20 Jun 2016 04:33 AM PDT Long Island Petroleum in Salt Pond has rebuilt their fuel dock, which was destroyed in Hurricane Joaquin. It is a sturdy, long dock along the shoreline and will give yachtsmen easy access to fuel. The area in front of the dock has been dredged so it is deeper than indicated on the chart.
This story comes from reporter Anne Gettis in the Sun Sentinel.
A family of four and their dog had to bail out after their boat burst into flames on the Intracoastal Waterway Saturday evening. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue and police were called to the scene at Datura Court and the Intracoastal just after 7 p.m. Fire investigators were working late Saturday to determine what had caused the blaze.
Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Bahamas Chatter: New fuel and dockage survey, June 18 New fuel and dockage survey, June 18 Posted: 18 Jun 2016 06:19 AM PDT Fuel prices were up in this months survey with the exception of four marinas having slightly lower diesel prices and only one of them with a lower gasoline price. Lyford Cay lowered dockage to $4.50 and Treasure Cay raised moorings to $30 and now charges $20 to anchor in the harbour.
Long Island Petroleum has completed a new fuel dock with deeper access.
As always, we appreciate the individual reports you send us to keep this survey updated. Send an email to monty@explorercharts.com for any new prices you find until the next survey.
Equipment Leakage Circuit Interrupters (ELCIs) and the more familiar GFCIs, are part of a larger family of devices that measure current flow in the hot and neutral wires and immediately switch the electricity off if an imbalance of current flow is detected. ELCIs and GFCIs that are also Residual Current Circuit Breakers (RCBO) provide overcurrent tripping protection characteristic of a normal circuit breaker. Our thanks to Ken Bloomfield for his perspectives.
Hello all, and sorry if you are no longer interested in this info, let me know. Our marina has just implemented the much discussed ELCI electrical leakage circuit monitors with a 30 mA leakage trip point. This has caused cursing and screaming and hair tearing at our marina like you would not believe. Jim Healy has written a lot as well on this subject and is bang on. Maybe you are already ahead of me, if so I apologize.
One thing that has become apparent is that they truly will not allow a boat to have power with any on-board connection between the green safety ground and the neutral white wires of the shore-power system. This I know as my boat immediately popped the ELCI. It took me longer than I want to admit to find the issue. So, I am sharing what I found just in case you also run into the problem.
As you all know, there is a nice little “room for rent” under your lower helm station, and on the forward “wall” there is the buss bars and terminal strips for the wiring (at least on my 1984 model). There is a buss bar about central to the “wall” running vertical, and on it you will find both green wires (safety ground) and white wires and also the large welding cable sized wires from the battery negatives. All very neat, but co-mingling the AC neutrals (white) and the green grounds is a no-no for ELCI supplied power. The solution was pretty simple once found, and that was to simply move all the white wires to a separate new buss bar. Fortunately they were all pretty much together near the bottom of the buss, and I was able to mount a terminal strip (with all sections jumpered together to create a buss) and move the white wires there without the need to splice extensions on. Lo and behold, no more problems.
Hope that you don’t need to do what I did, but I suspect that Marine Trader and most other boats of that era considered that neutral and ground were the same voltage so “what the heck, ground them both”. They did so neatly and well, however despite 32 years of faithful service with no current going into the water, this no-no cropped up its ugly head.
I believe that the marina manager at Fort Pierce City Marina has addressed this issue and made significant improvements. His staff checks every vessel before hooking up to power to make sure all is correct. There are times when a vessel is denied hooking up to electrical because of potential problems. Skip Fowler
Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.
Bahamas Chatter: Crossing to Bimini Crossing to Bimini Posted: 14 Jun 2016 04:21 AM PDT Looking for boating buddy to cross to Bimini July 8th. Return date is flexible.
You only have to spend a short time talking with Randy Mims to know that he has the soul of a true sailor. Randy not only built his 27ft gaff-rigged cutter, Ideath, but each year he single-hands the cutter from North Carolina to the Northern Gulf Coast and back again. “Ideath” is pronounced Idea-th and loosely translates as “house of ideas”. Randy stops along the way to visit maritime museums and, indulging his passion for music, he volunteers to sing in church choirs along the way. He also takes time to share his travels with his friends and has agreed to allow SSECN to post his emails. For more photos and more on Randy, go to http://towndock.net/shippingnews/ideath?pg=1 from TownDock.net in Oriental. See previous installment: /156986.
Dear Friends, I am sending this update from LaBelle, Florida. It is located on the Caloosahatchee river in the Okeechobee waterway. I have crossed Lake Okeechobee numerous times both under sail and power depending on the wind. The first time, the wind quit completely and I anchored for the night. The next morning it was so absolutely calm that I spent half a day marveling at how quiet it was. When you are in the middle of a vast body of water and it is so still there is nothing to reflect sound , you can yell as loud as you can and as soon as it leaves your mouth it is like it is just absorbed by the universe. There are two possible routes to the a other side. There is the directly across way which I have always taken and what is called the rim route. Because of disastrous floods in the 1920’s, a channel was dug around the lake and the rock and dirt was used to build the “Herbert Hoover Dike”. This channel has always been too shallow to allow Ideath to try. This year I was pleased to learn that the lake is over two feet above the normal full pool. I have always wanted to experience this route even though it is eleven mile further. Many marsh islands and habitats dot the length of this channel. Near Belle Glade there is a park on Torry Island which is reached by an antique “hand operated” swing bridge. After calling the bridge tender and requesting an opening, a young man walked to the center of the bridge and inserted what looked like about an eight foot long metal tube into the deck of the bridge at about a 45 degree angle and began pushing it around in a circle. Obviously pretty hard to get moving, once he got it going it seemed pretty easy to get it all the way open. One added bonus was that during the entire operation no cars were waiting behind the swing arm barricades. I spent a wonderful day watching clouds of birds and aquatic flowering plants of all descriptions glide past. One of the best things about voyaging on Ideath is that no matter how long I have been doing it, there are always the opportunities to go somewhere or do something that I have always wanted to do but was prevented by some circumstance. Always be ready to take advantage of of an opportunity to do something or be someone when the universe makes it possible. I am starting to get close enough to the end of the voyage that I find myself longing to be there and wishing that it would never end. I hope your adventure is just as fantastic. Love and Peace to you all, Randy
S.M. Stevenson is looking for crew to assist a lengthy voyage north from St. Augustine. If you are interested, give him or her a call.
Looking for a method to find cruise mate for adventure up the east coast from St. Augustine to Canada. Already underway and leaving St. Augustine shortly. 52 ft. Sea Ray cell no. 636-751-8833
I am on Islesboro, ME. stop by when you are here. I am at Warren Landing on the North East side of the island. Free mooring and a grocery store near by.
Comments from Cruisers (2)
You can be at the resort when things are not in sync. But normally you will find Tween Waters a very nice place to visit. We docked there one night recently, having been there by boat numerous times. They were busy with other boats, so instead of waiting we docked ourselves. No worries. The food is good. The pool is fun. The town is just a stroll away. One of our favorite places. Dave Bell, Escapade, Nordic Tug
We had almost the exact same experience last year. Because of their location they are not inclined to be friendly to anyone but their regulars, it is a very nice location, it is very nice to visit but they need new staff and a new attitude, management take notice, it is a service business.