ICW, bridges, and schedules

Wayne again. Of course, each time I go to write something Michele has beat me to it, but I thought I would add a few thoughts anyway.

So far we have traveled about 200 miles in the ICW (IntracoastalWaterway) since leaving Norfolk. I had hoped to avoid some of the ICW by going outside in the Atlantic. By going outside, I can avoid bridges and shoals. Shoals are submerged sand bars that shift with the currents, and reduced funds for dredging has made the problem much worse in the last several years. The soft grounding Michele referred to on Monday was caused by shoaling. I had turned away from the sand bar and slowed down as the depth quickly dropped, but still caught the edge, which is why we were lucky enough to get off with a little help from a rising tidal current.

As far as going outside (in the Atlantic), sometimes that option gives us a shorter distance and we are able to go faster. Of course, going outside has it's own set of problems, the primary one being weather, so I have to constantly look at the pros and cons. I was hoping to go outside tomorrow to save time, but the weather is not cooperating, so we will take the ICW.

About those bridges! They have been a concern since before we left the marina in Bayfield. It is very scary to go under a bridge that is only one or two feet taller than your mast. It looks like you are going to hit the bridge until you are under it. There are also navigation lights that usually hang down from the bridge that I have to avoid hitting. I need to watch tide levels and currents. It is much easier now that we have gone under several of these, but I will still approach with caution!