Blog

Places, Stories, and Thoughts of the Atlantic ICW Georgetown, SC to Mile Hammock Bay Camp Lejeune, NC

June 1-June 11, 2018 11 days. 88 days since start. 144 nautical miles. 873 total since start. Georgetown to Prince Creek 22 nautical miles. 751 since start. 4 hours motoring Soon after leaving Georgetown harbor heading north on the ICW, Winyah Bay begins to shrink down until it flows between the banks of the beautiful Waccamaw River. We motored a short distance through the tall tree lined dark water river then turned off the ICW onto Prince Creek. Prince Creek winds for a few miles and then connects back with the ICW. The relatively narrow creek is deep enough for …

Continue Reading

Places, Stories, and Thoughts of the Atlantic ICW Beaufort, SC to Georgetown, SC

May 23-May 31, 2018 9 days. 77 days since start. 121 nautical miles. 729 total since start. Beaufort, SC Mooring Field to Toogoodoo Creek 37 nautical miles. 645 since start. 6.5 hours motoring Continuing up the Lowcountry, the ICW here is similar to Georgia in that it follows small creeks that empty into larger rivers running into the Atlantic. Again, we would go down the large river for a while before hitting another small creek on the other side. The scenery is different from Georgia’s marsh land but just as beautiful. The banks of the rivers are covered in oak …

Continue Reading

Places, Stories, and Thoughts of the Atlantic ICW St Simons, GA to Beaufort, SC (including half way ICW stats)

May 12-May 22, 2018 11 days. 68 days since start. 122 nautical miles. 608 total since start. St Simons Island to New Teakettle Creek 24 nautical miles. 510 since start. 5 hours motoring Leaving St Simons, we entered the area of coastal GA that is dominated by marsh land. The Georgia marshes are vast areas of tall grass etched with winding rivers created by the strong ebb and flood of the tidal flow. Tides in this area are a huge 7 to 9 feet with current to match. When the tide is high the grass is partially submerged, and you …

Continue Reading

Places, Stories, and Thoughts of the Atlantic ICW St Augustine to St Simons, GA

April 28-May 11, 2018 14 days. 57 days since start. 103 nautical miles. 486 total since start. St Augustine Mooring Field to Little Marsh Island St Johns River Jacksonville 35 nautical miles. 418 total since start. 5.5 hours motoring Favorable current through this stretch so we were moving along good. Monitored a diesel leak that seemed to be getting worse around the injector lines coming from the high pressure pump. Approaching St Johns River we watched for any large ship traffic in this busy shipping port area but didn’t see any. We opted to come up the St Johns a …

Continue Reading

Places, Stories, and Thoughts of the Atlantic ICW Ft Lauderdale to St Augustine

April 10-April 27, 2018 18 days. 43 since start. 253 nautical miles. 383 total since start. Las Olas Marina Ft Lauderdale to Lake Boca Raton April 10, 2018 19 nautical miles. 149 total since start. 4 hours motoring Beautiful huge mansions line the ICW here. Lots of draw bridges that had to open for us. Anchored 6 nights This was an unexpected stop for us. At the draw bridge just south of Lake Boca Raton, the bridge tender informed us that the Southern Blvd draw bridge a few more hours north was closed for construction for the next 7 days! …

Continue Reading

Places, Stories, and Thoughts of the Atlantic ICW Boot Key Harbor to Ft Lauderdale

March 16-April 9, 2018 25 days 130 nautical miles Boot Key Harbor Marathon to Jewfish Hole Fiesta Key March 16, 2018 28 nautical miles 5 hours half motoring, half motor sailing Traveled west to center of 7 mile bridge before going under and heading back east on Florida Bay side of Keys. Anchored 1 night Ate with friends Andy, Sarah, Chad, Michelle, John, and Michelle at Lobster Crawl just next to anchorage. Afterward played ukulele and sang with the group on Holiday.   Jewfish Hole Fiesta Key to Tarpon Basin Key Largo March 17, 2018 30 nautical miles. 58 total …

Continue Reading

Holiday’s 2018 Summer Plan and Musings on Different Cruising Plans

Last year for our first summer living aboard Holiday, the original plan had been to cruise up the ICW and tour the eastern coast of the US. Our thinking was to ease into our new life before tackling big passages, see a bunch of cities we had never been to before, and hide in the Chesapeake or further north from hurricane season. After watching many friends leave Boot Key Harbor last winter and spring for the Bahamas and beyond, we changed our plans and decided to head for the islands. We had even made all the preparations to continue into …

Continue Reading

2 and a half months in Boot Key Harbor Part 2

One very important aspect of cruising is upkeep and maintenance. Keeping the boat floating, the systems functioning, and repairing/replacing old broken parts/systems is a constant endeavor in the harsh salt water environment. Ignore the “to do” list too long, and at best you end up with an overwhelming amount of tasks in the way of ever having fun while cruising. At worst….well, something really important will probably fail at the most inopportune time. Even with a ship shape, well maintained boat failures like this will happen. Best to swing the odds in your favor. So, with plenty of time on …

Continue Reading