Earlier reports have indicated depths of 5.8 feet at dead low in this perennial “AICW Problem Stretch” south of Charleston, SC.
Abeam of “186” at 1137 and followed the magenta line around to abeam “185”, entrance to the Ashepoo-Coosaw cutoff, and depth dropped to as low as 8.1′, then bounced between 8.1′ to 8.5′ abeam of “184”. Low tide prediction: 1339, +0.14′-probably have at least 6′, + or -, at LT. Dredging would help. Michael J. Horowitz aboard ALTAIR
Old Roanoke River Lighthouse Now Set In New Edenton Harbor Home
The historic community of Edenton, North Carolina lies near the western extremes of often choppy Albemarle Sound. Edenton is actually the state’s oldest town, though Bath, NC makes that claim based on incorporation dates. Edenton plays host to a wealth of historic homes and structures. We always feel that a visit to Edenton is like stepping back into America’s Colonial and Revolutionary past. And as Jim and Talley affirm, a visit to this city is well worth any cruisers’ time and effort. Earlier, we reported here on the Cruisers’ Net that the historic Roanoke River Screw Pile Lighthouse had been restored, and was slated to be perched atop a series of pilings in the Edenton City Dockage Basin (see /?p=81847). Well, as you can see form the photo on the right of this posting, taken 5/15/12, while it looks like some construction is still ongoing, this old sentinel has now been set atop its new home! How utterly appropriate that this historic structure has been returned to its natural habitat, perched atop a series of “screw pilings!” And what are “screw pilings” you may ask. Well, they are simply pilings that have been “screwed” into the bottom strata!
If Manteo looks like Norman Rockwell, then Edenton looks like Walt Disney. This is the idyllic little town main street leading up from the simple little harbor. Something like you would expect to find forgotten in some New England fishing village. There are houses dating from 1750’s. There are monuments and statues celebrating battles before our countries revolution. Formal English gardens open to the public for all to see. There are a couple of back yards that go on forever. Everywhere you look you see residential architecture depicting taste and grandeur, not efficiency and mass production. This little town is anxious for the cruising community to frequent. They are improving the harbor, and restoring the old light house. They’ve moved it to sit atop new screw pilings as it was designed to be installed. Maybe the last square light house to sit on screw pilings. There is a large light cupola at the top of the house. With a good light in there, you will be able to see it from all over the eastern end of the Albemarle Sound and Chowan River. Great walk around town. There is a really outstanding hardware store. The dock master has a courtesy car if no one else is using it, and there is a Food Lion just a mile up the road. Ya got to come see this town. It’s great! Jim and Talley Powell
And just across from the lighthouse is the 1758 Cupola House Museum and Gardens. Please do come to visit!! sally francis kehayes cupolahouse.org
Cruising News: Recently the Roanoke River lighthouse was installed in its permanent home at Edenton harbor. A party atmosphere took over the town park while the crews readied for the transfer from land to a platform over the harbor waters. House moving is a slow and careful business so the crowd thinned considerably by the time the crew was ready. The house was rolled across the divide inch by inch on a sturdy network of girders. Allegria had a front row seat in Edenton’s terrific town harbor (first two nights free). Gregory Han aboard Allegria
We are very pleased to report that Swan Point Marina, located just south of the AICW/New River/New River Inlet intersection has reopened under new ownership/management. According to a telephone conversation I had this morning (5/17/12) with co-owner, Jason, transient dockage is available, complete with 30-50 amp power hookups and fresh water connections. Overnight transient dockage rates are a very reasonable $1.50 per foot, per night. Mean Low Water depths on the entrance cut run to 4 1/2 feet, but the interior dockage basin has just been dredged to 6 1/2 foot MLW soundings. One nearby restaurant will dispatch cars to retrieve cruisers from the marina, and then return them to the docks after dining. Note that neither gasoline nor diesel fuel is sold here now. So, all in all, it’s a really good thing that another transient friendly marina is now to be found between Swansboro and Wrightsville Beach. Stop by and give Jason some business, and tell him that you read about his newly reopened facility here on the Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net! If anyone has had occasion to spend a night or two at this new iteration of Swan Point Marina, PLEASE share your experience by clicking the “Comment on This Posting/Marina/Anchorage/Bridge” link below!
Back in February, of 2012, I visited the small, but surprisingly bustling community of Darien, Georgia by land yacht. I was impressed with the number of restaurants, the waterfront wine shop and the very welcoming attitude towards myself and cruisers in general. Now, with FREE 48-HOUR DOCKAGE, the city of Darien is making a real push to lure mariners along the 7 mile cruise from Darien River’s intersection with the AICW, to the town waterfront. And, with a well marked channel, featuring 12+ feet of MLW water, this is now a decidedly enticing proposition. We would LOVE to hear from fellow cruisers who have made the trek to Darien’s waterfront. If this accurately describes you, please click the “Comment on This Posting/Marina/Anchorage/Bridge” link below, and share your information.
Hello Claiborne, I don’t know how long ago it was that you were here but we have made a great deal of improvements and added a lot of businesses near the waterfront. We are going all out to provide dockage, information and assistance to the cruisers in Darien and this is a big step. We really appreciate this and I am looking forward to seeing it on the Cruisers Net. Thank you, Captain Phillip
Back in April (2012), we published several reports from fellow cruisers detailing the very welcome new, floating docks at McClellanville, South Carolina’s Leland Oil Company (see /?p=81422 and /?p=85795). I had always wanted to recommend stopping in McClellanville, as this idyllic village is a real throwback to yesteryear, with its moss shrouded lanes, and quaint homes that look as if they just stepped out of the early 1900’s. However, until these new docks were added, the roughness of Leland Oil Company’s dockage facilities were a real trade-off against the community’s other charms. Now, while no-one will ever mistake this facility for Fort Lauderdale’s “Pier 66,” we can recommend a stop here! Just a few minutes ago, the dockmaster at Leland Oil Company transmitted a series of photos detailing his new docks, You can see one to the right. Follow the photo gallery link below to check out the rest!
This has absolutely NOTHING to do with cruising, but if you are an animal lover like yours truly, and particularly if you or a loved one suffers from the scourge of cancer, then don’t dare miss this moving tale! As someone whose first-rate, first-mate has been, and still is, heroically fighting “never smokers lung cancer” for 4 years, I cannot read these words and see these images, no matter how many times they pass before my eyes, without getting choked up. Please go to: /?p=87742
One of the real advantage to our new ARGUS service, is that we receive advance warning of new shallow water reports directly from Survice Engineering. Be SURE to follow the “Chart View” link below to get a bird’s eye view of where this shallow spot is to be found. After following the link, turn on the new Argus layer by clicking in the “Argus (MLLW)” checkbox. As you will see, the shallow soundings in question seem to lie just north of the intersection between the Clearwater Pass inlet channel and the marked, northward running cut which leads to Clearwater Yacht Club and Clearwater Municipal Marina, between markers #2 and #4. We would WELCOME reports from local Clearwater area cruisers who have seen similar or dissimilar soundings along this stretch!!! Please click the “Comment on This Posting/Marina/Anchorage/Bridge” link below, and share your information. We are establishing a Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net Navigational Alert between markers #2 and #4!
Capt. Bill of Reality Check Sailing provides this report on the approach to Clearwater Marina. Capt. Bill noted water depths as low as 5 1/2 feet, confirming previous indications now available through Cruisers Net. John Hersey ARGUS Development Team SURVICE Engineering http://argus.survice.com
We ran aground between G6 and G7, less than 5 feet on that side of the channel. Favor R4 side in that area. Stealing Home
About 6 months ago I was in that area. Knowing the perennial problem, I did some sounding with my dinghy. I discovered that the shoaling between R4 and R2 had extended from the west clear across the channel. However, there is a deep streak (over 10 feet) just outside (east) the marked channel. When I later went through with our 5 1/2 foot draft boat I went very close on the correct side of R4, swung out of the channel, and then came back in very close to the correct side of R2. No problem at all. It appears that the channel may have actually moved from the charted and marked location. However, I did not verify the width of the `new’ channel, and it could be quite narrow. Gene Fuller Punta Gorda
Tarpon Basin is crossed by the FL Keys Inside Route, just south of Blackwater Sound and Dusenberry Creek. There are at least 3 good spots to drop the hook here, and creative skippers will find more. A couple of years ago, Monroe County established a pump-out boat serving vessels anchored in Tarpon Basin, and the locals chipped in with a dinghy dock on the nearby shoreline (see /?p=24226). Sounds like Captain Mary found the pump-out service very polite and most useful!
We used the free pump out boat at Tarpon Basin by the government center today. We told the guy that we had planned on pumping out at Gilberts Marina. He said they don’t have a pumpout, but he will go up there in his boat. I called Gilberts and verified that, and they said they don’t have a pumpout, but they have a phone number that you call for someone to come there and pumpout. The phone number for the Monroe County pumpout boat is 305-747-2388. I might add the Monroe County pumpout is FREE. The guy was very nice and said he usually works M-TH, but they try to be accommodating. I asked him how far he will go and he said he goes up to Gilberts Marina and down to Tavernier. He also said that eventually all of the Keys will have pumpout boats. Mary Dixon
We have just published a lengthy, but very interesting article, that reports the city of St. Augustine’s anchorage regulations, put in place as part of this city’s participation in the Florida Pilot Mooring Field Program, are being challenged in Federal court. ALL cruisers even remotely interested in the Florida Anchoring Right Struggle will want to check out this account.
May 9, 2012 The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net (SSECN), SURVICE Engineering, and EarthNC, Inc. announce an exciting new tri-partnership that will provide SSECN users with the benefit of 25 million soundings acquired and processed with the ARGUS (Autonomous Remote Global Underwater Surveillance) system. The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net is the FIRST web site to offer easy access to ARGUS data.
Effective immediately, users of the SSECN’s “Chart View” pages can click a simple checkbox, thereby opening a new ARGUS layer, set over up-to-date images of the NOAA nautical charts. Once selected, the ARGUS layer will display color coded markers which depict the tide corrected solution of soundings gathered by ARGUS cooperative research vessels. This new SSECN tool will be continuously updated as new ARGUS data is received. It will provide the Southeastern USA cruising community with yet another valuable resource to help make mariner’s time on the water a safer and more enjoyable experience.
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Ashepoo/Coosaw Cutoff
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To A “Navigation Alert” Position on the Channel from Clearwater Pass to Clearwater Municipal Marina
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