At the intersection of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and the Okeechobee Waterway, Martin County, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, is a hub of boating activity and of events of interest to boaters.
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Fishermen’s Village Resort and Marina, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, is absolutely the most event active marina on the Gulf Coast for all seasons. With year-round family friendly celebrations, you will feel right at home on your visit to Punta Gorda, also A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, on beautiful Charlotte Harbor.
Hook Kids on Fishing
Source: Anglers for Conservation
March 13, 2017–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Mike Conneen, (321) 759-3585
mike@anglersforconservation.org
Hook Kids On Fishing
In partnership with the Fisherman’s Village, Anglers for Conservation (AFC) is coordinating AFC’’s Hook Kids on Fishing program on Saturday, April 29th from 10am-12 Noon The Hook Kids on Fishing program will take place at:
Fisherman’s Village Center Court
1200 West Retta Esplande
Punta Gorda, Fl. 33950
Kids ages 6 to 16, are welcome along with their parents. The first 80 kids registered may receive a free rod and reel. Registration is mandatory by calling Ralph Allen Kingfisher Fleet at
941 639-2628.
These conservation-minded Hook Kids on Fishing programs teach casting, fishing safety, knot tying, the tackle box, catch and release tactics, fishing habitat and conservation; and are taught by professional guides and knowledgeable anglers. Parents and kids bring your smiles, positive attitudes and patience along with you!
Parent or guardian must accompany attendees.
Additional community sponsors include the Anglers for Conservation, Fish Florida Foundation, Coastal Angler Magazine and Aylesworth’s Fish & Bait.
The Hook Kids on Fishing program is a product of the Anglers for Conservation, a non-profit-501-C3, whose mission is to inspire new generations of marine stewards through education, conservation, and community outreach.
Volunteers are needed and donations are greatly appreciated.
If you’re interested in volunteering for, or sponsoring this event, please contact Mike Conneen at mike@anglersforconservation.org or visit the website, www.anglersforconservation.org
Kathy Burnam
Marketing/Events Manager
Fishermen’s Village
mkting@fishville.com
1200 W. Retta Esplanade #57A
Punta Gorda, Florida 33950
P 941 575-3007
M 941 258-1327
F 941 637-1054
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Fishermen’s Village
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of the Punta Gorda Waterfront
Great work on behalf of young people. Wishing you much success.
SSECN is proud to be an associate of Brad Pickle as well as a supporting member of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association whose efforts toward improving navigation conditions in the Waterway are invaluable.
NEWS From BoatUS
Boat Owners Association of The United States
880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria VA 22304
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: D. Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com
(L to R) Brad Pickle, Executive Director, AIWA; David Kennedy, Manager, BoatUS Government Affairs; Mark Crosley, Chairman of the Board, AIWA, and Executive Director, Florida Inland Navigation District
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association Campaigns for the 1100-Mile Waterway on Capitol Hill
Hazardous shoaling reduces depth to less than 5 feet in several sections
WASHINGTON, DC, March 13, 2017 – The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the famed 1100-plus mile coastal waterway stretching from Norfolk, Virginia to Miami, Florida, is getting “thin.” Shoaling has created hazardous conditions in some areas with depths reported less than 5 feet – which reflects a remarkable 7 feet of water depth lost in the waterway’s authorized minimum depth of 12 feet. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA), a waterways interest group, recently gathered in Washington, DC, to ensure the Department of Transportation-designated marine highway M-95 is a top priority for Congress and the Trump Administration.
AIWA members are requesting legislators allocate $50 million for additional dredging needs to come from within the US Army Corps of Engineers operating and maintenance budget. AIWA members also pressed the case for continued allocations for operations and maintenance of navigation projects.
An estimated 13,000 recreational boaters, or “snowbirds,” make the annual boating migration from the Northeast to Florida each year, averaging $300 per day in spending supporting small-business jobs along the way. Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), a charter member of the AIWA, has concerns about boaters potentially forced to take more hazardous offshore routes due to ICW shoaling. BoatUS’s on-water TowBoatUS towing responders in South Carolina and Georgia report shoaling to be an on-going issue in some locations.
“The waterway is critical US infrastructure and important to recreational boaters,” said David Kennedy, Manager of BoatUS Government Affairs. “We vigorously support efforts to improve navigation and waterway access.”
Brad Pickel, executive director of AIWA, said, “We appreciate the high level of support by the Congressional delegation along the entire waterway. We look forward to ongoing investments in Marine Highway 95 as part of the infrastructure and jobs focus in the new administration.”
Additional AIWA members include the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association, Florida Inland Navigation District, Waterways Journal, and the National Marine Manufacturers Association, as well as state and local agencies, marinas and commercial shipping businesses, tourism groups, publications, associations, dredging companies and tug and maritime businesses. For more information about the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association visit atlanticintracoastal.org.
This report of shoaling at Marker #162A in Snow’s Cut comes from Robert Sherer’s Cruising Down the ICW 2017 blog, March 12, 2017. Snows Cut is a 1.5 mile cut connecting Cape Fear River with the east coast Waterway at Carolina Beach.
Western end of Snow’s Cut, survey 11/8-9/2016
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Marker 162A
Jacksonville Landing is on the north side of the St. Johns, midway between the Main Street Bridge and the Acosta Bridge. This complex is a downtown shopping mall/food court with a stage area for special events and concerts and normally features its own dock for visiting pleasure craft. Now experienced cruiser, David Burnham, reports very limited dockage due to damage from Hurricane Matthew.
Update 3/9/2017:
Arrived at the Jacksonville Landing to find no docking signs posted as the floating docks have not been repaired since last October’s Hurricane Matthew.
Only a very small section, east of the river ferry dock section, and nearest the Main Street Bridge was available for docking while waiting for the bridge to open.
I arrived after 4:30pm and had to wait until the next opening at 8pm instead of 6pm. Best to call the Main Street bridge tender to find out the latest opening schedule.
Update 3/9/2017: After October 2017, Hurricane Matthew ruined most of the floating dock space at the Jacksonville Landing and only a very small section close to the Main Street Bridge remains open for docking now.
David Burnham
Intracoastal Yacht Sales, a long-time SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR, offers full service brokerage representation from three locations, Wrightsville Beach, NC, Little River, SC and Charleston, SC. You will want to see these new offerings!
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST OFFERINGS FROM INTRACOASTAL YACHT SALES
This reported shoaling from experienced cruiser, John Wampler, is northwest of Nassau Sound. Thanks you John!
Shoaling in South Amelia River at position N30* 33.1 W081* 28.0 south of Marker 42 mag bearing 172* at 0.4 miles. +1.2 feet above Fernandina tide datum. Charted depth is 11 feet. Published course goes right over shoal. Bumped while floating over shoal. Draft 3.4 feet. Reported to USCG ANT JAX.
John Wampler
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Shoaling
Derelict and abandoned vessels are a huge factor in the increasingly restrictive anchoring regulations in Florida. See Derelict Boats Accumulating along Central Florida Coast and Funds Available for Derelict Vessel Removal in Florida. The Marquesas Keys are a group of islands about 17 miles west of Key West.
Monroe County to remove 32 derelict boats from Marquesas Keys
$61,200 project begins Sunday, continues through April 1
By Peter Burke – Local10.com Managing Editor
Posted: 4:10 PM, March 09, 2017
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT from NBC News 10 Monroe County
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 BTC data rates” plus 1 more
New BTC data rates
Posted: 09 Mar 2017 01:55 PM PST
Appears BTC has changed their data rates again.
500mb $2.49 1 day
1 GB $7 10 days
2 GB $10 30 days
3 GB $20 30 days
4 GB $30 30 days
All +vat
Long Island Update
Posted: 09 Mar 2017 05:36 AM PST
Good news not only for the Long Island Rally heading for Salt Pond from George Town today but also for all cruisers to the Thompson Bay area. The former Pirates of the Caribbean, on the north shore of Thompson Bay, has reopened to offer several important services to yachts in the Bay. It is now called Tiny’s Hurricane Hole and boaters can take their dinghy there to enjoy a meal at the restaurant, use the WiFi, and even do laundry while relaxing with a beautiful view. Two of the cottages are available as well for those who want to bring guests to the island.
Long Island Petroleum is fully operational with plenty of water at the new dock. However, a word of caution: the dredging may have left a little silt at the channel entrance, but it is easily manageable at high tide.
Every now and then a fellow cruiser goes out the way to correct a situation that poses a hazard to other boaters. Joe Plunkett is just such a Cruiser Helping Other Cruisers. Joe’s efforts chronicled below have caused the USCG to relocate markers in a shoaling zone that has existed for years. Hats off to Joe Plunkett! This is Seamanship at its best.
Gentlemen:
This is the e-mail I sent to the USCG back in December in response to the request for public comments. It is gratifying to see that a problem of long standing is now being addressed.
Joe Plunkett
From: Joseph T Plunkett CPA
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2016 10:57 PM
To: D07-SMB-DPWPublicComments@uscg.mil
Subject: CG 7th District LNM 07482016
To whom it my concern:
I wish to comment In regard to the proposed elimination of Fernandina TRUB 2 and establishment of Fernandina Beach Daybeacon 2 (LLNR 37988) in position 30-38-54.689N/081-29-03.486W (30°38.9115N / 081°29.0581W, 30.648525 / -81.484302) .
On September 4, 2016 at approximately 13:30 hours I ran aground in the Amelia River while piloting Happy Hagar, my 40’ Burns Craft Sun Deck Motor Yacht. The point of grounding was in the vicinity of 30-39-104N/081-29-089W (30°40.7333N / 081°30.4834W, 30.678889 / -81.508056) . Time was approximately 1.5 hours after high tide. The shoal in this area is unmarked. The USCG Station at Jacksonville, Florida should have a record of my contact on that day. The grounding resulted in the loss of our portside prop shaft and prop, bending of a prop strut and a bent port side rudder post. I was successful removing the boat from the shoal and stemming the flooding from the loss of the shaft. I anchored my vessel and waited approximately two hours for a tow from Towboat US from Brunswick. Total damage including yard repairs and towing may exceed $20,000. The missing shaft and prop are on the bottom of the Amelia River somewhere in the vicinity of the grounding.
While awaiting the tow I observed an outboard powered boat run aground in the same area. The outboard powered vessel was able to free itself from the unmarked shoal by trimming up their motor while throwing up a rooster-tail of sand. I have no information as to what damage, if any, that vessel may have incurred.
The Towboat US operator informed me that the problem shoal has been present for at least nine years. I have attached a photo of my chart plotter showing Happy Hagar’s track up to the point of grounding, at anchor after the grounding and while under tow heading toward Fernandina Beach Marina. The chart plotter image is shown as course-up with the top of the picture being SSW. The end of my track extending furthest south would be the point of grounding. The chart indicates a depth of 12-15 feet at that point. I have also attached a photo of a sailing vessel that grounded in the same area taken by Towboat US, date unknown.
I ask that you consider relocating Daybeacon 2 to the vicinity of 30-39-104N/081-29-089W (30°40.7333N / 081°30.4834W, 30.678889 / -81.508056), the point at which I grounded, subject to conducting your own survey. The existing Fernandina TRUB 2 could be replaced by a semi-permanent Daybeacon 4 in position 30-38-54.689N/081-29-03.486W (30°38.9115N / 081°29.0581W, 30.648525 / -81.484302) .
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of my comments.
Joseph T. Plunkett
M/V Happy Hagar, Official Number 660256
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