Things We Wish We Knew Before Cruising the Intracoastal Waterway | Episode 27 Sailing Ecola

In November, we set off on our first trip down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). While it was a great trip, there was definitely a learning curve and we wanted to share the nine things we wish we'd known before setting out that could have made the trip even better.

We have been living aboard our 1965 Alberg 30 Ecola since May 2020! We are so excited to be traveling on our home full time! Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to see our journey!

[lizmccafferty-seanachai]

"slow down, enjoy the trip"..."current is going to switch...not in your favor all day"..."you will drive yourself crazy if you try to plan more than 3 days out"...all excellent advice no matter how long the cruise is. Thanks for a great video.

[woodside]

There are many differing opinions on cruising/navigating. Some experienced sailors told us, when we were starting out cruising, "Keep your head out of the boat!". Their advice was that electronics should be backup to the actual world around you; first, pay attention to sounds, ATONs, other boats' tracks, color of the water, etc. Over years on the ICW, we met a few sailors who cruised with only paper charts, compass and depth sounder. In our Maine-Florida ICW travel, we used a chartplotter (Garmin) and paper charts for backup and planning ahead, along with Active Captain and other online sources for info on trouble spots. With 5.5' draft, we had to call Towboat US twice in 10 years for running aground.

[SharonHerring-kx]

Thank you so much for the great advice. Heading out from NY in October and will be taking your advice.

[craigallan]

I live in Southport NC and you nailed it. We have seen a few boats have to turn around as they fight the current in the Cape Fear river. Be safe.

[OldPapaBear]

Good advice. There is a tendency to over plan and rush too fast. Slow down and enjoy the stops along the way.

[judsu]

This is helping me with a part in a novel I'm working on where the main character is crewing a yacht delivery! Thank you!

[LawrenceBroussard]

Very interesting view point. I have been on the ICW near Vero Beach and that area is beautiful.

[danielpearson]

I drove a semi the legal DOT drive time of 10 hrs. Covered 700 miles a day. In my sailboat I do 10 hrs day and 50 miles a day. Off shore about 120 miles a day. By the way I sail solo. This spring sailing the ICW with a sailboat I purchased in Portland ME. I will not be stopping in cities to look around as I despise cities. They are very dangerous now.

[terramardelrey]

Great videos! Just discovered your series by searching YouTube for items relating to the NJ portion of the ICW & watching your Episode 21. I am an older Barnegat, NJ native but long time Arizona resident since the late 1970s. I have a younger brother who works at the Pursuit Boats factory in Fort Pierce, FL which you guys went right by. I own a trailerable Albin 25 shallow draft Swedish built antique 6.5 knot pocket trawler that we have transported over the road to & cruised both Chesapeake Bay and portions of the Inside Passage among the islands of NW Washington State & British Columbia Canada. Friends of ours have a Southern Cross 31 cutter up on the Great Lakes that are planning to sail to the East Coast this coming summer to as far south as they can get, at least to Chesapeake Bay or further south if possible. Your experiences and tips are invaluable. We are looking at trailering out boat out to western NY and launching at Tonawanda near Buffalo and meet them as they get to the Erie Canal some time in the August time frame and cruise with them the rest of the way to the Chesapeake and then for us dock somewhere, rent a car or catch a ride a ride back to get our truck and trailer, haul out from where ever we end up & then drive on back home to Phoenix. Who knows, maybe we'll cross paths somewhere along the way as you make your way back north? Search '72 Terramar Del Rey" for my YouTube postings for some of our earlier trips. We did Desolation Sound, BC in 2018, but have not put together any videos or blogs on that one. Cheers! ___/)

[deankoch]

I did the east coast 2 times solo. I averaged sailing and motor sailing to one gas station to the next at an average of 60 miles a day. Of course i kept my shit bucket in the cockpit. It averaged 10 hour days. Then I wake as the gas dock opens.

[cindyrodger]

This was very eye-opening! Thanks for sharing.

[bobsargeant]

What kind of heater did you get for Christmas? Could not copy from text. One must, of course, adapt to marine safety. I only have 12 volts available.

[bosun]

We are just starting to look at the ICW. Your video was a great starter. We are retirees on the West Coast and plan to buy a power boat up North and sell in the South. Questions 1. You talk about currents. If you had only a 6 knt boat is it easier to go S to N, or vice versa? I always thought N to S was "Downhill" 2. I gather you anchored out a lot. Are transient dock costs daily prohibitive? Obviously they would vary but did you do any dock time? Are there places you just wanted to blow thru because of cost, lack of scenery, etc...? 4. Does autopilot help on the ICW or is it a waste?

[motorvN]

Thanks for the tips guys. Wouldn’t have thought of grocery delivery to the ramp! Do you have videos on the specifics of tackling the ICW on a sailboat? We’d need to buy a boat for the trip and it seems to me a buck goes further on sailboat purchases than powerboats. I’m an experienced boater and comfortable piloting either but figured the hassle factor of a mast and keel would be off the charts for that trip. Maybe not?

[ianmankersen]

Commercial towing vessels all use Rose Point Coastal explorer. If you have a way to keep an actual computer on board, I highly recommend using this for navigation. There is a mobile version but my experience with mobile was lackluster.

[Reagae-fvcp]

I would love to know the costs involved

[rmfrmf]

Thank you for the information. Very helpful. How do I get the army Corp of engineers nav charts?

[TheRichardmay]

I drive 5-6 hundred a day 6 days a week. Sailing for 10 hrs would be vacation. I drive 3 weeks on and one week off. Boat refit fir now on time off.

[spandananallapati]

You guys are great. Going to go binge your videos now. We're just starting out as sailors and plan to stick to the Atlantic ICW to get our sea legs!

[claypass]

I am planning to do the ICW via Dismal Swamp to Albemarle Sound this summer. Where do you find places to anchor overnight? It looks like the canal through the swamp is so narrow.