Joy Smith's Blog

Traveling the ICW

If the thought of putting your boat to bed for the winter gives you the chills, head south young man (or woman), where the sun waits to warm your body and your soul and your boat can blissfully bob in its summer splendor. Just hop on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) and join the 13,000 recreational boats that traverse its waters each year—but before you do so, be sure to check the latest information to determine if any areas have been declared impassable (if such is the case, you will need to circumvent them by going on the outside ocean). While the US Army Corp of Engineers is responsible for keeping the ICW channel a clear 7- to 12-feet deep at Mean Low Water (MLW); funding is an ongoing issue, leaving untended areas that have filled in or are riddled with shore debris.

Also known as ”The Ditch” or “Boater’s Route 66,” the ICW is a toll-free inside passage that has been operating since 1920. This string of natural and manmade rivers, lakes, sounds, bays, streams, swamps, and canals affords mariners a safe, comfortable passage and enables them to bypass turbulent offshore seas. The Atlantic ICW hugs the east coat of the United States; but its branches extend to Brownsville, Texas and Apache Bay, Florida, on the Gulf Coast.

Although it begins in Boston, you won’t get the feel of being on the ICW until you’ve passed through the Chesapeake into Norfolk, Virginia, where the waters tame to river-like calm and the highway numbering begins. Mile markers set along the ICW measure distance in statute miles, which are 796 feet shorter than nautical miles.You’ll find mile marker #1 near nun # 36 in Norfolk; you’ll have passed 1,095 of these by the time you’ve reached Miami. These mile markers will help you both to navigate and to plan your travel day--you can literally walk your fingers along them on the charts. Be advised that the Coast Guard and Marine Environmental Police patrol limited speed and no wake zones in the residential areas, bridge approaches, and in manatee protection areas.

Before you leave…
Check your insurance. We left late September, after working out a plan with our insurance company. Some companies will up your coverage rate if you travel south during hurricane season, between June 15th and November 15th. Unfortunately, the end of hurricane season brings winter weather and, coming from Long Island Sound, you’re apt to travel many icicle-laced miles before reaching the springtime of the Carolinas. Our insurance company requested a copy of our itinerary and information about our boating experience before allowing travel. The extra cost to travel ahead of schedule bought us the conveniences of very available overnight facilities, light boat traffic, and summer sun all the way to Florida.

Explore the litany of charts and books available. We relied on at least six sources, which included area-specific electronic and paper charts, the popular flip-over ICW chart book that covers Norfolk to Miami, and a similar one from Chartracker. Use only the most current guides and charts. You’ll need marina and anchorage information, as well as bridge detail.

A good set of binoculars will help you identify navigation aids and afford a close view of the shore life. Along the way, you’ll need a working marine radio to monitor VHF 16, used for hailing and distress, at all times; and to be prepared to communicate on VHF 13 whenever you are near a bridge or a large vessel, such as a barge, tanker, or dredger.

Bring money and food. Whether you are a powerboat or a sailboat, you will blast through fuel, as you will be motoring most of the way. A high-speed powerboat may require fill-ups several times a day. The most efficient way to refresh fuel, water, and selves is to check into a full-service marina.

To locate overnight facilities, we relied on the Atlantic Coast waterway guide and Chartracker, which is a combination chart and facilities book. Yet, detail was minimal. A separate waterway guide for each state would’ve been more comprehensive, though expensive.

Begin your trip with a well-stocked larder. There are few good wayside markets within walking distance of many of the marinas, so it will be difficult to replenish supplies. Typically, we ate breakfast and lunch underway, and then tried our darndest to overnight berth at a marina claiming a restaurant. Most eating establishments on the waterway are casual and through the Carolinas and Georgia you can get some good down-home southern dishes and fabulous fresh seafood. Forget your diet. We gorged our way through crab cakes, popcorn shrimp, fresh fish, and hushpuppies—all fried to perfection.

Plot your course
Plan your trip, and time your legs to coincide with interesting and picturesque harbors having good facilities. Most sources suggest that you plan to travel 50 statute miles a day on the ICW during the hours between dawn and dusk. The majority of ICW traffic is one way, depending on the season.

For a problem free passage, pay close attention to your charts and the depth, stay within the channel, and keep an eye on the “road” fore and aft of you. Watch for local boats: tankers, barges under tow, dredgers, draggers, shrimpers, and small pleasure boats that skitter about every which way.

As you pass through the naval zones throughout Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, you may see Homeland Security at work. On our trip, which was shortly after 9/​11, armed guards patrol corded off naval shipyards and Securite’ announcements on VHF 16 warned us away from naval ships and cruise liners. Listen for announcements concerning practice bombsites in your travel area; the Camp Le Jeune Area (gratefully) closes the ICW during artillery firing practice.

Rest Easy…
As you plan your mileage for the day, also choose your overnight stop. Before committing to a marina, consult your sources to be certain it can accommodate your boat. Do you have to travel up an out-of-the-way inlet to reach it? We were stuck circling for over an hour outside of a drawbridge closed for rush hour traffic; it was sunset before we made it across to our marina. Many wayside marinas are small and fill up fast. Be prepared to contact them via cellphone (and hope for a signal) to reserve a slip, as some don’t monitor their VHF. During prime season, failing to make advance reservations for a slip can mean anchoring out.

While there are designated anchorage areas on the ICW, you’ll be disappointed if you expect the cozy coves we enjoy in the northeast. One night, when we couldn’t reach a marina before dark, we anchored in a “swamp” in Bear River. It was lovely, framed in yellow-green marsh grass, but humid and buggy. That night the winds howled so loud we thought we were being buzzed by an airplane. We sat up all night anchor watching, for fear we’d wake up beached on the marsh. As much of the water is shallow on the tributaries that make up the waterway, you’ll find few moorings.

Make time
The best way to enjoy this trip is to meander--stopping here and there for a few days to relax, visit relatives, and to sightsee. The problem is that few of us working folks have six to eight weeks to spare, which turns a pleasure cruise into a boat delivery. Here, having a fast boat will buy you some time, but it’s difficult to avoid delays due to bridges, shallow snaking passes, restricted speed zones, and boat traffic.

While it’s impossible to shorten the miles traveled, you can pack more miles into a day by pushing beyond the 50-mile recommendation. Begin your day on the water at first light and finish at dusk (which in the fall arrives around 6 pm). If you are willing to stand night watches, put in a 24-hour day with a few short offshore legs when sea conditions are favorable.

Keep a sharp eye...
Throughout the trip, your eyes will be glued to the depth sounder, as well as the army of buoys and range markers intended to march you through the dicey areas. Heading south, green is usually to port. At junctions, where there are several buoys, your charts will tell you which indicate continuation of the main waterway, and which lead to small inlets. You’ll see red and white striped range markers in areas where shallow water closely abuts the channel. There are usually two; line them up, one behind the other. Use either navigation charts or common sense to negotiate unmarked areas. When in doubt, keep to the center and run parallel to the outsides of curves to avoid the shoals.

On the ICW, we found few areas where we could sail without concern about going aground. If an area appears shallow, it is. Keep a sharp lookout for clumps of marsh grass, twigs, tree roots, and other floating debris that threaten to jam your prop. A hoisted sail also obstructs vision of important channel markers and restricts maneuverability in narrow channels. Should you come across an obstructed area, your only choice is to turn back and exit the waterway at the nearest inlet, and reenter where the ICW reopens for passage. Be aware that not all inlets are viable. Some are so treacherous that waterway guides warn against using them; be sure to do your homework.

If the current is going your way, it will speed you along; but be vigilant about checking your wake to make sure it hasn’t coaxed your boat out of the channel—the most popular way to run aground. If you’ve a powerboat with no keel and smugly think running aground is of no concern, you’re wrong. One morning, we heard the same two powerboats hail towing service, twice. With our 5-foot keel, we were fortunate to have completed the trip with nary a call to towing service. We did, however, touch bottom a few times, which is less serious.

If you are aground, you risk damaging your hull: if the bottom is sand, reversing hard may wedge you in further or pump sand through the engine’s intake; if it’s rocky, you may harm the hull by reverse action. Keep in mind that the further south you travel the lesser the tide differential; you can’t always count on the tide rising high enough to float you off.

The first time a powerboat slowed down and chugged by without slamming us with the customary wake, I gasped in disbelief. This consideration is unheard of in our home cruising grounds, where boaters conveniently forget they are responsible for their wake. Bone up on nautical lingo, so you’ll know the difference between a one whistle (port) and two whistle (starboard) pass, as it will be embarrassing to clarify this over channel 16.

“Sailboat going south, we’re comin' up on you. We’ll give you a nice, easy, one-whistle pass, if you’ll slow down.”
“Thanks for the slow pass, captain.”

It’s customary to switch to a non-commercial channel for conversation—but not all boaters do. There are no secrets on the waterway. Everyone hears who’s calling towing service and who’s just delivered a horrendous wake.

Travel through an ICW channel is needfully slow. A wakeless pass prevents stirring already shallow waters, making them shallower, and causing a boat to go aground. In the above instance, the sailboat would pull back the throttle to idle speed to allow the boat to pass. Otherwise, the overtaking boat would need to speed up to pass, creating a greater wake. Once the pass is complete and both boats resume speed, we found that, as the overtaken boat, we could avoid being jostling, by turning into the wake of the boat in front of us.

Watch those bridges...
Be prepared to gnash your teeth over those X%#$**/​ bridges, especially if your boat has a high rig. Use the bridge information chart to determine the bridge name, type, height, and opening schedule. The ICW criterion for fixed bridges is 65 feet clearance at MLW, but we found the Pungo River and Lake Worth inlet bridges, a bit shy of this. Also, a 50-foot fixed bridge near Miami inlet bars some boaters from using the ICW between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

There is always current around bridges, so don’t crowd other boats passing through. Boats traveling with the current have right of way. If you’ve a low-riding boat, simply lower non-structural items, such as antennas, if necessary, to pass under. The tallest part of the bridge, barring a construction defect, is at the very center. Aim your bow towards the “dangle” that marks this spot. You should see a set of tide boards marked with numbers--65, 63, 62, and down— flanking the entry area. These denote the present clearance, based on high or low tide. Here’s where binoculars come in handy. Numbers rub off, or gather sea crud so they are not always legible.

Some drawbridges open on demand; others at scheduled times. If a bridge has an unscheduled opening for commercial traffic, you may be able to sneak though. Contact the bridge tender on to request an opening, to verify the next opening time, and to advise him or her of your approach. Once you get inside the half-mile mark, the tender should acknowledge you and hold the bridge. Keep communications flowing, so he or she knows you are doing your best to get there. A bridge tender may decide to delay a scheduled opening in order to balance car and boat traffic, or to accommodate all of a convoy of approaching boats.

Should you miss a bridge, there’s little to do except pirouette outside it until the next opening. This means paying constant attention to the current flow, the shallow surrounding areas, and the other waiting boats that pile up around you.

Overall, the ICW is a not-to-be-missed educational experience. You’ll gain confidence in navigating shallow waters strewn with gnarled logs that floated like dead bodies; and snap endless photos of air, while trying to capture diving dolphins and eagles with spread wings. Like me, you’ll learn not to cringe as you slide under a fixed bridge that appears shorter than your rig (and to duck when your mast light and antennas drop off).

Most of all, once you reach your destination, pat yourself on the back for having completed one of the most deceptively challenging cruises of all: The Intracoastal Waterway.