Thoughts on stops as we head south?

[SVRocinante]

Good day all!

Well, it's that time of year for us - we're starting to put together our itinerary for our trip south and would love some thoughts from fellow cruisers.

In the past we've hit Elizabeth City, Oriental, New Bern, Charleston, Jekyll, St. Simon, Vero Beach, St. Augustine, Ft. Lauderdale, Key Biscayne, Marathon & Key West.

We prefer to explore smaller towns, hike, etc. but also enjoy the occasional stop in larger cities. We've sailed outside and also motored the length of the ICW; yep, including Georgia and loved it, so don't worry about inside or outside when making suggestions.

I'll worry about access etc, but just in case you are already aware of specific geographical limitations, we draw 6' and have a 64' air draft...

BTW, while not opposed to marinas, we'd like to spend the bulk of the time at anchor.

Thanks again,

[Vasco]

Cumberland Island.

[hobopacket]

Peanut island just north of west palm beach is a nice stop. Snorkel areas. Clean restrooms. Nice about 3/4 mile walking trail.

[Hoosiersailor]

Cape Lookout bight

[Hoosiersailor]

Ocracoke

[Tellie]

I understand the Ft. Lauderdale area has some great beer places and that if you invite the right CF member, uh, hmmm, I don't know,...me, to a few places you'll be regaled with all the salty stories in my mind, most of which get better with time and more beer.

[Cheechako]

At Biscayne just go to the Bahamas. Far better than anything you'll find in the Keys. Especially since you like to explore.

[Suijin]

Manteo is an interesting down although a bit off the beaten cruising path.

Beaufort NC is a nice town. One of the 3,000 or so that claim themselves to be "America's coolest small town." lol Worth a stop if only for the Backstreet Pub and hunting down the wild horses in the Rachel Carson Reserve.

Southport is a cozy little town but precious little anchoring options, which sucks because it's a good jumping off point for going outside south of Cape Fear.

The whole stretch of the ICW north of Isle of Palms, through the dozens of little barrier islands is a wonderful area to drop your dinghy and go exploring, but you've been through there already no doubt.

[SVRocinante]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Cumberland Island.

Thank you - amazingly enough, we've meant to stop, but never have... on the list.

Originally Posted by hobopacket

Peanut island just north of west palm beach is a nice stop. Snorkel areas. Clean restrooms. Nice about 3/4 mile walking trail.

Thank you - it is nice, we hit it once on the way back north, but just as an overnight before heading outside... if we go that far south again, we'll give it a try for a longer stay.

Originally Posted by Hoosiersailor

Cape Lookout bight

Thank you - looks like a great spot... will look into it!

Originally Posted by Hoosiersailor

Ocracoke

Thank you - from the photo, it looks exactly like our cup of tea, will look into it!

Originally Posted by Tellie

...if you invite the right CF member, uh, hmmm, I don't know,...me, to a few places you'll be regaled with all the salty stories in my mind, most of which get better with time and more beer.

If we make it that far south, I'll give you a shout!

Originally Posted by Cheechako

At Biscayne just go to the Bahamas...

Thank you - we made the decision to spend the next 2-3 yrs exploring what the east coast of the USA has to offer... then we'll head off to other shores.

Originally Posted by Suijin

Manteo is an interesting down although a bit off the beaten cruising path.

Beaufort NC is a nice town...

Southport is a cozy little town...

The whole stretch of the ICW north of Isle of Palms, through the dozens of little barrier islands is a wonderful area to drop your dinghy and go exploring, but you've been through there already no doubt.

Thank you - will have to look into Manteo; "off the beaten cruising path" is what we tend to like. We've done one night stops in both Beaufort & Southport, so didn't really explore... sounds like it might be a good idea to stay a bit longer.

Believe it or not, while we've been "through", we've not explored the area north of Isle of Palms... sounds like it's a definate for this year!

Thanks for all the great suggestions!
Please, keep them coming!

regards,

[AJ_n_Audrey]

Cape Lookout Bight. And Beaufort is a cool town.

There's not a lot of anchoring (like almost none) at Southport, but there is a spot over by Bald Head Island northeast of the entrance to the marina. Bald Head has a good restaurant (Mojo's - not cheap though), and you can hang out on the fuel dock for a few hours to have dinner for about $20 if I remember right. There are many more restaurant choices at Southport, though.

From Southport to Myrtle Beach on the ICW is not that interesting, but once you get past Osprey Marina, the part of the ICW on the Waccamaw River is really beautiful - cypress and water tupelo forest with lots of wildlife. Or go outside from Cape Fear River to Georgetown lighthouse and anchor at the lighthouse.

If you are really adventurous, you can go in Doboy Sound and anchor by Sapelo Island, but only transit the inlet at high tide - the depths on the chart are way wrong, like 5 to 7 feet wrong, and stay dead center of the inlet. Sapelo Island and Duplin River is a beautiful spot - we saw more dolphins, turtle, bird life, etc there than any other single spot we anchored.

Camachee Cove Marina is great, with a good restaurant, and close to St Augustine.

Harbortown Marina Ft Pierce is nice with a nice restaurant, and good boatyard services if needed.

[SVRocinante]

Thank you!

Originally Posted by AJ_n_Audrey

...There's not a lot of anchoring (like almost none) at Southport, but there is a spot over by Bald Head Island northeast of the entrance to the marina.

We spent a night at the Southport Marina, but that's about it.

Originally Posted by AJ_n_Audrey

From Southport to Myrtle Beach on the ICW is not that interesting, but once you get past Osprey Marina, the part of the ICW on the Waccamaw River is really beautiful - cypress and water tupelo forest with lots of wildlife.

Yep, loved that section!
Here's a picture taken around day break from our VERY secluded anchorage on a side branch of the Waccamaw River!

Originally Posted by AJ_n_Audrey

Or go outside from Cape Fear River to Georgetown lighthouse and anchor at the lighthouse.

If you are really adventurous, you can go in Doboy Sound and anchor by Sapelo Island, but only transit the inlet at high tide - the depths on the chart are way wrong, like 5 to 7 feet wrong, and stay dead center of the inlet. Sapelo Island and Duplin River is a beautiful spot - we saw more dolphins, turtle, bird life, etc there than any other single spot we anchored.

Both sound like they deserve a look - thanks!

Originally Posted by AJ_n_Audrey

Camachee Cove Marina is great, with a good restaurant, and close to St Augustine.

Yep, have stayed there - very nice!

Thanks again,

[AJ_n_Audrey]

By the way, at Doboy Sound (Sapelo), I never had less than 3.5 feet under the keel at high tide, and I draw 5.5 feet.

Have fun!

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by SVRocinante

Yep, loved that section!
Here's a picture taken around day break from our VERY secluded anchorage on a side branch of the Waccamaw River!

I'm pretty sure I've anchored in that very spot. A small horseshoe on the west side of the river? That was a magical little spot...sort of eerie and primeval.

When I said Manteo is "off the beaten path" I meant that it is pretty far to the east, off the ICW, and you have to go out of your way to get there (down around the island and up, due to mast height and the causeway). It's not exactly untravelled, in general.

Southport...there is not a lot there, but it's cute. If you draw six feet your anchoring options are pretty limited. There's a little town "harbor" that will accommodate literally one or two boats and that's about it. There's another "anchorage" up a "river" to the west, but it's shallow getting in and the bottom is rock right through there. Location wise Southport is a great place to stage if you're heading offshore because it's right at the mouth of the river. There is a really nice marina right in town, but it can add up if you're waiting on a weather window.

Last time I went down the ICW I used Active Captain for the first time. Holy cow, it was useful. Very detailed and current information/reviews about anchorages, marinas, shoaling, etc. I discovered a few anchorages using it that I would have never tried/found otherwise.

[Jameshalpin]

Second Mateo, town dock is right downtown, and there is a place to anchor as well. You can uber around the outerbanks or rent a car at enterprise. Isle of Hope near Savannah was a nice stop too, and they have a loaner car for use. Oxford in the Chespeak Bay was nice, you can anchor, or stay at the Brewers marina- but it is off the beaten path.... unless you go throw hh the C and D canal and the bays. Wilmington NC too, but not sure if there is a good anchorage there. Wilmington was a pleasant surprise for a small city.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Do you plan to head north for the hot months & hurricane season, or something else?