Browsing: ICW

Destinations
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Beaufort, SC: Charm on the Waterway

To my mind, the Low Country, the winding, tidal flats and marshlands that run through the southern part of South Carolina, is the best part of the Intracoastal Waterway. You can’t be in a hurry; there are so many S-curves that you can think you’re cruising back on yourself. But that’s the point. Everything is virtually at sea level, with an absolutely golden hue at the beginning and end of the day, so it’s easy to relax and feel peaceful about the world. Dating to 1711, Beaufort is one of the most inviting spots there. You can choose from several…

Destinations
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Hampton, VA: A Cruisers’ Treat

For snowbirds heading south soon, an overnight (or longer) stay in Hampton, Virginia, offers one of the better treats on the entire trip. As the real estate people say, it’s all about location, location, location. And here, Hampton is pretty much at the top of the list. It’s almost next to Norfolk and Mile Zero of the ICW (the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami is at Mile 1,087), and it also offers a rich variety of marinas, history, museums, parks, restaurants, and things to see and do. By boat, Hampton is easy to get to. It’s a natural harbor at…

Cruising Life
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New Challenges to Georgia’s “Draconian” Anchoring Regulations

Here’s the latest on Georgia’s controversial new anchoring restrictions, which went into effect on January 1. Ron Stephens, a veteran cruiser and a Georgia State Representative, has filed a bill in the General Assembly to address the worst of the restrictions. His bill would take away the power of the state’s Department of Natural Resources to determine where boats can anchor. And it would change the rule that prohibits anchoring within 1,000 feet of structures, including public and private docks, wharves, bridges, piers and pilings except in areas near marinas. His proposal would change that distance to 150 feet. As…

Cruising Life
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Georgia Spells Out New, Restrictive, Rules for Anchoring Overnight

Georgia’s new anchoring rules went into effect on January 1, and they spell out where you can – and where you cannot – anchor overnight there. These rules, spelled out by the state’s Department of Natural Resources, will affect many cruisers traveling through Georgia on the Intracoastal Waterway or as part of the Great Loop. (You can see the DNR’s entire administrative order, as well as an interactive map showing anchoring areas, below.) The new rules basically prohibit anchoring within 1,000 feet of any structure, although they create new “marina zones” between 300 feet and 1,000 feet of a marina…

Cruising Life
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Great Dismal Swamp Canal Closed for Three Months

The Army Corps of Engineers has closed the Great Dismal Swamp Canal for repairs, and it will remain closed for about three months. The original announcement, below, said the canal would be closed starting Jan. 6, but the Corps found a mechanical problem at the South Mills Lock and they closed the Canal ahead of schedule. If you’re cruising north or south on the ICW, you can take the  Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal through the Great Bridge Lock in Chesapeake, Virginia. Operators monitor Channel 13. VA – ATLANTIC INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY (AICW) – DISMAL SWAMP CANAL – CLOSED TO NAVIGATION On…

Cruising Life
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Fort Pierce, Florida: A Historic, Boater-Friendly Stop on the ICW

If you’re cruising through Florida, you may want to think about stopping at Fort Pierce. It’s a major boating center right on the Intracoastal Waterway, and the Fort Pierce Inlet gives easy access to the Atlantic, if you want to go outside, or to the Bahamas. Hutchinson Island, the long, thin barrier island, separates the Waterway from the ocean there. Fort Pierce is called the “sunrise city,” because of the clear view to the east. One of the oldest cities in the area (with roots dating to 1567), it’s on Florida’s Treasure Coast, so-named because of all the tons of…

Boat Reviews
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New, Prize-Winning, Dutch-Built Linssen 40 Sedan: All Ready for the ICW or the Great Loop

The new prize-winning Linssen 40 Sedan, named the European Power Boat of the Year in the Displacement category at the Düsseldorf boat show in January, is a Dutch-built, salty-looking, steel-hull cruiser. It was designed for cruising Europe’s coast and vast inland waterway system, but it would be equally at home in the U.S., cruising on the Intracoastal Waterway or along the Great Loop. It will be introduced to the U.S. at the Annapolis Powerboat Show in October. The Linssen 40 comes in an aft cabin and a flybridge version, but the basic sedan version has a large forward stateroom, with…

Cruising Life
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Good News: Dismal Swamp Canal To Open by the end of September

Here’s good news if you’re heading south this fall. The Dismal Swamp Canal, the 22-mile cut of an alternate route of the Intracoastal Waterway through parts of Virginia and North Carolina, will reopen by the end of September. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will be able to complete dredging of the canal to a 6-foot controlling depth by then. The Corps closed the canal after Hurricane Matthew last October, and has cleared more than 350 trees from the waterway since then and dredged shoals as shallow as one foot. The oldest operating man-made canal in the U.S.,…

Cruising Life
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Army Corps Says Great Dismal Swamp Canal Won’t Reopen Until Late Summer

If you’re planning on the Great Loop or just cruising on the East Coast this summer, you’ll have to wait a while to go through the Great Dismal Swamp. The Army Corps of Engineers, which closed the Great Dismal Swamp Canal after Hurricane Matthew in October, now says it may not reopen until late this summer. The 22-mile-long canal dates back to George Washington, who visited the Great Dismal Swamp in 1763 and suggested draining it to create a waterway connecting the Chesapeake with Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. After the canal was dug, mostly by slave labor, it opened…

Cruising Life
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A Washington, D.C. Couple Take Their First Cruise to Florida on a New Prestige 550

When last seen, Jonathan Murray and Desiree Van Welsum, from Washington, D.C.,  were just leaving Annapolis on their new Prestige 550, heading south to Florida, even though they’ve only been boating for about a year. They’re now in Palm Beach, after a great cruise down, and are planning to head over to the Bahamas. Here’s a look at their trip so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss_Gi6JlaVg

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