Cruising the ICW

[bobbosax]

We are Canadian sailing south, as most Canadians do at this time of year.
This is a new experience for us and have more questions than answers. Answers to the following would be most appreciated:

Is most of the sailing possible with only two person onboard?

What is the best place to leavethe boat over the summer months?

Is there a lot of anchoring spots along the ICW?

What are some of the favorite spots for stopovers?

We bought the whole east coast charts for the Garmin 2006. What do most people use for paper charts and guide books, if any? We also bought the Facilities guide 2008 and one of the Maptech Chart Kits, region 2 to New York. The Chart Kits are divided into areas ( region 2 - Gulf of Maine to region 7 - Florida) and consists of a set of flip charts on ring binder. Do you know of better guides and chart alternatives?

We are currently information hungry and any advice, recommendation or information on transitting the ICW will be most appreciated.

Thanks.

[CoralReefer]

Sail magazine just had an article in the October issue, ICW Top 10 Stopovers for Cruisers

[camaraderie]

bobbosox...search on ICW here for lots of discussions and helpful advice.
Try this one:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/cruisi...tml#post106626

[PBzeer]

Another good resource for the ICW is www.cruisersnet.net - Home .

[xort]

Skipper Bob

[sander06]

Make sure you have unlimited towing insurance and plan on motoring most of the time. Be sure to get a Skipper Bob guide(s). And have fun!!!! You only do the ICW for the first time once. For us, that was plenty.

[cmendoza]

Originally Posted by bobbosax

Is most of the sailing possible with only two person onboard?

Absolutely, you'll find that must crews doing this trip are couples... my wife and I did the trip 06'-07' we did a bunch of overnight runs; Rhode Island / Long Island Sound, NJ Coast, Chesapeake Bay and then long day runs south of Norfolk.

Originally Posted by bobbosax

Is there a lot of anchoring spots along the ICW?

Hard to say, we have a 6.5' draft and found it difficult at times to find a good spot... that said, we managed to anchor out, on average, about every other night.

Originally Posted by bobbosax

What are some of the favorite spots for stopovers?

Personal opinion of course, but here you go:
Newport Rhode Island
Northport, NY
Cape May, NJ
Annapolis, MD
Elizabeth City, NC
New Bern, NC
Charleston, SC
St. Simons Island, GA
Jekyll Island, GA
Vero Beach, FL
No Name Harbor - Key Biscayne, FL
Marathon, FL
Key West, FL


Enjoy,
Carlos & Maria
SV Rocinante

BTW, if you want to read a bit more about our trip or see some pics along the way, feel free to visit our website www.svrocinante.com