Our thanks to Skipper Newsome for responding to a Nav Alert posted last year by a longtime resident of Jekyll Harbor Marina, Sonny Reeves. As Sonny would tell us, the channel through Jekyll Creek seems to shift a little with each tide and, as Skipper Newsome advises, “finding” the deep water at low tide is key to a successful passage at low tide. SSECN still recommends mid to high tide passage for this Problem Stretch. See other recent reports and further advice at /?p=148121 and /?p=144895.

Passed through this area on 10/25/15 an hour past low tide and saw no less than 7-1/2′. Assuming there is at least 1′ more water an hour into the flood, this means there was at least 6′ to 6-1/2′ of water at low tide. And there was a negative .2′ tide yesterday that I’m not taking into consideration. A dock hand at Jekyll Island marina told us prior to passing through that there is at least 6′ of water in Jekyll Creek. We confirmed this with our readings.
The key to passing through here near low tide is `finding’ the water. Skippers reporting less than 6′ of water obviously aren’t in the deepest area of the channel. I draw 5’8’³ and still wouldn’t pass through here at dead low, but I feel pretty confident making the run through here an hour past low, assuming there’s not a huge negative low tide.
James Newsome

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s “AICW Problem Stretches” Listing For Jekyll Creek

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Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s Georgia Marina Directory Listing For Jekyll Harbor Marina

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