ICW FROM MILE 0 (PORTSMOUTH, VA) TO
MILE 310 (SOUTHPORT,NC)
NOVEMBER 5-12, 2017
Navigating
the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) requires some planning. There are bridges that are only open during
designated hours, railroad bridges that close whenever a train is due, swing
bridges that stay closed if the wind exceeds, 30 miles per hour. Then one has to choose an anchorage or marina
for the evening. Many of the places
along the ICW are too narrow for safe anchoring and prevailing weather
conditions. We figured that we could run
50-60 miles per day at an economical cruising speed of 5 kts. We were usually underway by 0800 hrs in the
morning and anchoring by 1700-1800 hrs in the evening. Once the vessel gets into the Albemarle and
Pamlico Sounds weather becomes increasingly important. Both of these Sounds have long fetches and
can kick up a nasty sea; also, the Neuse River deserves respect. In navigating these waters, Active Captain is
a dedicated mariners information source.
All members of this website post information on hazards, marinas,
anchorages, cheap fuel, etc., etc. It
has been so successful that it was bought out by Garmin Charts and incorporated
into their charting programs. I use
Active Captain exclusively for navigating along the ICW.
We left
Portsmouth at 0630 hrs on November 5th. We went through the following bridges: Southern RR Lift Br (0642), Jordan Fixed Br
(0645), Norfolk & Western RR Lift Br. (0652), Glimerton RR Lift Br. (wait
35 minutes for train 0710-0746, Veterans Br., Great Bridge Locks (0854), Great
Bridge (0900), Centerville Swing Br. (0930), North Landing Br. (1034), Pungo
Ferry Br. (1143). After passing through
all these bridges, we had made 28 SM (statute miles). Our goal was Coinjock Marina at SM 50. We managed this and were all fast at 1500
hours. Coinjock Marina (36-21.0’ N;
075-56.880’ W) has a monopoly on this stretch of the ICW because there just
isn’t much to be had for anchorages. The
waterway is relatively narrow and shoal outside the day markers. Demand at the marina exceeds the dock space available
so advanced reservations need to be made the day before or in the early morning
during this time of year when moist yachts are heading South to warmer waters
and the Bahamas. Seizing the
opportunity, they increase their prices.
They have a good restaurant and some supplies, fuel, water and pump out. It’s a convenient place for the evening.
November 6, 2017
we departed Coinjock Marina after topping off with diesel and checking the
weather in Albemarle Sound. The first 25
SM of this trip is quite beautiful with lots of wildlife. Albemarle Sound is a long stretch of water
that is rater shallow but well marked with day markers. There are shoal areas but they are well
documented in Active Captain and on the Garmin Blue Charts which can be
overlaid with the Active Captain data base.
Our goal for today was another 50+ miles to the entrance of the
Alligator River/Pungo River Canal. The
weather was excellent with a light ESE wind.
At 1615 hrs, we dropped anchor to the East of Deep Pt in 10’ water depth
with 60’ chain out (35-39.638’ N; 76-01.893’ W). The anchorage is well protected from E-SW
winds but exposed to anything from the North.
WE had a light ESE’ly wind. This
anchorage put us in a good position to navigate the long narrow stretch of the Alligator
River/Pungo River Canal the following day.
It was a peaceful night in the anchorage.
November 7,
2017 we heaved up anchor at 0645 and decided to make as much millage as we
could under pleasant weather conditions.
The Alligator River/Pungo River Canal was cut straight through by
dredging in the 1950’s. Since it was cut
through cypress and pine forests, there are continuous stumps on both sides of
the Canal. Due to erosion from vessels, the banks have
collapsed and widened in many parts of the Canal. It’s about 25 miles long and offers no
possibility of anchoring anywhere along its length. Constant vigilance is required to avoid
floating debris from storms and falling trees due to erosion. It’s a pretty area with lots of bird
life. There is a USCG station in
Hobuchen, NC that gives weather reports of the Pamlico Sound. We managed to run 65 miles to the entrance of
the Pamlico Sound and at 1610 hrs, anchored off Vandemeer in the Bay River in
10-11’ of water with 70’ chain out (35-10-676’ N; 076-39.370’ W).
November 8,
2017 we heaved up anchor at 0700 hrs and got underway to Beaufort, NC. The Pamlico and Neuse Rivers are well known
for boisterous wind conditions. The Neuse
River has been described by locals as one of the meanest rivers along the East Coast. The Pamlico can kick up a mean chop due to
the fact that it has a long fetch. It’s
shallow so the seas that build up are short and vicious. On this day, the wind was out of the North at
15-20 kts. Since our course was to the
SW, we had a good sail under the jib. We
had an approaching Cold Front moving in so we decided to take a berth at the
Town Creek Marina in Beaufort, NC (34-43.546’ N; 076-39.928’ W). We were all fast by 1545 hrs and had made
good about 25 miles. The weather turned bitterly
cold during the evening but we had CruiseAir Heating so we were very
comfortable.
November 9.
2017. The Beaufort/Morehead City Ship
Channel is an excellent place to exit and take the outside route to Southport,
NC and beyond. It is weather dependent
and during this time of year rough. We evaluated the outside conditions and
decided it was best to stay in the ICW so we departed the marina at 0815 hrs
with a goal to make Mile Hammock Bay at SM 245.
This is the Camp Lejeune Marine Base but open to boat traffic. There are several bridges enroute: Atlantic Beach Bridge, Emerald Br., Onslow
Br. One of the big problems encountered
by boats is that many of these bridges only open on the hour and half
hour. They are fairly punctual and want
the through traffic to be very nearby. This
can be difficult for sailboats due to currents and wind. If you have an engine failure, before the bridge
opens, it can be catastrophic unless you can get an anchor down in time. I try to time it so that I’m quite near but
at the back of the line of vessels transiting.
At 1545 hrs we arrived at Mile Hammock (SM 245) and dropped anchor in 12’
of water depth with 90’ chain out (34-03.081’ N; 077-19.430’ W). This is a well-protected bay off the ICW with
room for many boats.
November 10,
2017. We departed Mile Hammock Bay at SM
245 at 0815 hrs enroute to to Wrightsville, NC at SM 285. There is an excellent anchorage off
Wrightsville Beach. At 1600 hrs, we
dropped anchor in 17’ water depth with 100’ chain out. There are a few unattended boats in this
anchorage that present a danger if they start dragging. This happened during the morning of November
11th when the winds picked up to 30-35 kts and one of the unattended
boats started dragging. When we are at anchor,
I always leave the VHF Radio on Ch 16.
If anything threatening or worthy of comment is happening, it will be
broadcast on VHF 16. I picked up one of
the boats calling the USCG at around
0100 hrs and telling them a derelict boat had drug into them and was continuing
to drag past. I went on deck and saw the
drifting boat off my port bow and monitored it for about fifteen minutes. After that, it appeared that it presented no
danger to us or other anchored boats.
Eventually, it drifted onto a sand spit and the anchor held it in place. I increased my anchor scope to 150’ and went
back to bed. It is these situations that
present the most danger to anchored vessels during strong wind and sea
conditions. Given the right Wx
conditions, Masonboro Inlet is another good place to exit the ICW.
November 11,
2017. We weighed anchor at 0848 hrs
enroute to Southport Marina at SM 310.
There is one area of this passage called Snow’s Cut. The currents are strong and there is a
continuous movement of sand and mud the produces shoaling. Snow’s Cut exits into the Cape Fear River
which is known for strong tidal flows and currents in addition to Wx
conditions. I wanted to take a berth at
Southport Marina because they offer the services of a former marine
meteorologist and an expert on vessels transiting the ICW South and North. A meeting is held daily at 1800 hrs in one of
the marina’s conference rooms. The
information given here is the most valuable for any cruiser heading south into
South Carolina and Georgia. After seeing
all the shoaling along this route, and the fact that my 6’ draft was just too
much to handle it without anchoring and waiting on tides, I decided to take the outside route and deal
with the NE’ly wind and sea. We have an
ocean going yacht, have dealt with much stronger wind and seas, and the wind
and seas would be on our port quarter. A
small craft advisory was in effect for NE’ly winds to 25 kts and seas 5-7’. By setting a reefed jib, we could safely sail
to Florida.
