Crew Wanted: Annapolis To St Mary's

[sailingunity]

My wife and I just purchased an Olympic Adventure 47 in Annapolis and will begin our new life afloat soon! Step one, for us, is relocating it from Annapolis to St. Mary's, GA (or other nearby location), around the end of September or beginning of October. The plan is mostly ICW, with some outside depending on weather and just how comfortable we feel.

I am 31 and have been sailing since about the age 6 on my dad's various sailboats (lake sailing and Galveston Bay), ranging from 26 to 40 feet, so I "know the ropes", but there is a lot left to learn and I have never captained my own boat. My wife (same age) has a little sailing experience, and we will also have our three young daughters (6 mos, 2 and 5) with us, which will keep her mostly busy we believe. As such, this is why we feel it would be good to have another person on board to help out. This has been a huge faith step for us, God has been faithful and has brought us a long way in the last 7 months (since making the decision to move aboard). We've spent the last 4 months cramming as much as we can about navigation, piloting, reading charts, sailing technique, etc, but I still feel like we've only scratched the surface!

We're open if you do or don't have experience, but it would be nice to have someone who could teach us the basics of navigation and piloting; sailing on the bay didn't require much!

We're also open to paying for expenses and experience, but are open to being blessed as well! Please contact me via PM if you want to know any more details. Thanks.

[bvander]

My suggestion.
ICW is pretty forgiving, excellent place to gain experience. Do it your self, learning curve a bit higher, but will learn a lot making your own way down the ditch.
Here are some suggestions
-Take your time, don't rush, do small legs, especially at the outset.
-Use Active Captain. Alternative is get Skipper Bob book on anchorages on ICW.
-Talk with fellow cruisers, especially ones going your way, don't be scared to ask questions.
-Get TOW Boat US with unlimited coverage. You will run aground and if you cant self extract, its very cheap insurance.
-Our first time down the ditch was scary, especially once leaving Portsmouth and heading S. But at the same time exciting and once we got to Oriental were so proud of ourselves for achieving that.

[Wing_nut]

Interested, would like to know more details.
Sail_carib@yahoo.com

[sailingunity]

Thanks for the advice bvander. We're giving ourselves 2 weeks to get there, so hopefully that should be enough!

[Wing_nut]

Originally Posted by sailingunity

Thanks for the advice bvander. We're giving ourselves 2 weeks to get there, so hopefully that should be enough!

Interested, contact info Sail_carib@yahoo.com

[bvander]

Two weeks is not a lot of time, biggest mistake cruisers make is trying to stick to a schedule. When they do they tend to push weather, cross shoals on a falling tide and other things that can get them into trouble. Here is an outline timeline.

-Annapolis to Norfolk is best done in three days, Annapolis to Solomon's to Deltaville to Norfolk. Alternative is an overnighter Annapolis to Norfolk.
-Norfolk to Oriental for newbies would recommend 5-6 days. Bridges, a lock, Ablemarle sound are all reasons to take your time.
-Oriental to Southport another 3-4 days.
-Southport to Charleston 3 days
-Charleston to Isle of Hope (Savannah) 3-4 days
-Savannah to St Mary's 3-4 days

[rsailorbob]

Wish I had time to make the trip. Bvander is right about the time. Allow even more if you want to really enjoy. The ICW is one of the great recreational resources in the US. OpenCPN is the best for trip planning. Download free, charts free. MXmariner is great on phone or tablet. $ 10 and free charts. Has the active captain database incorporated (you have to register for active captain) for use offline. Both can be backup nav systems. Make sure your systems are working before you leave, esp lines, bilge pumps, and nav lights. Practice low speed maneuvering esp backing in the harbor so you don't have to learn backing out of a slip in adverse conditions. If you are beating southward in the Cheaspeake, it can be surprisingly choppy. Little Choptank, Ingraham Bay and Piankatank River have good anchorages. Anchorages everywhere in the ICW. You will need extra time along the way for provisioning, laundry and perhaps repairs. Best Wishes.

[DJLRAL]

Dump the time frame and enjoy. The last thing you want is to push,it's your home and family you have under you. Boat US insurance is great,it's not will you run aground but when you run aground. Slow,study and take time to appreciate the view. Good sailing and motoring.

[Scrimshaw4]

I think you should check with your insurance company about being that far south before the end of "Hurricane Season". I'd also suggest that you forget about a hard schedule and take the ICW south. Once below Beaufort (Hatteras) you can go outside on day legs if the weather is ok, ie. NW wind. Hurricane Kate came up out of the Florida straights last year in Nov. It's best that you have access to safe harbor / storm anchorages during that time of year, particularly as a novice with a young family aboard. JMHO

[geoarch9]

The Olympic 47 is a nice boat. What year is it. I would also like to be considered for your added crew. Your departure time of late Sept. early October works with my schedule. Please send your contact information to geoarch9@msn.com so I can send info on my sailing experience.

[Rock Kart]

I am interested, I have ICW & Ocean experience. rockkart@aol.com

[sailingunity]

Thanks everybody for the replies! Your advice to not stick to a schedule is well noted. I actually have 3 weeks to make the trip, but with boat prep (before and after), was figuring the actual transit time might be closer to 2 weeks. And while it is my hope to get to St Mary's, I'm also of the mindset that "we'll get as far as we get".

Bvander, thank you for that accurate breakdown of the days required between each point, this is the first real world feedback I've seen on this and it is much appreciated! As of right now I'm expecting that we might run outside from Oriental to Masonboro, saving us some time and giving some experience outside, but we'll see where the weather takes us there. If that works well, we would consider more outside runs as I've heard GA and SC ICW has some issues with shoaling (and we draft 6').

As for the insurance company, we are with BoatUS and there are no exclusions which I was surprised to hear. We'll be watching the weather keenly though and not taking any chances.

[SVCASSANDRA]

HI GUYS: WOW - WHAT AN ADVENTURE YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE. ICW IS VERY GOOD CHOICE. ALL OF THE SUGGESTIONS GIVEN ARE EXCELLENT AND SHOULD BE FOLLOWED.
BUT - I WOULD NOT SET OUT WITH THE TIME TABLE, THIS IS NOT LIKE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY.
I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST THAT YOU NOT ATTEMPT THE ICW OR OUTSIDE ON AN OVERNIGHTER!! THIS IS YOUR FIRST FAMILY VOYAGE AND UNLESS YOU HAVE A FULL EXPERIENCED CREW, WITH RELIEF CREW, OVERNIGHT CAN BE DANGEROUS AND TOUGH. NOT ONLY FOR YOU BUT FOR OTHER BOATS OUT THERE---THOSE WHO ANCHOR WITH NO ANCHOR LIGHTS -ETC., THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTION FOR EXPERIENCE AND TIREDNESS CAN CREEP UP ON YOU. I WISH I HAD THE TIME.
ALSO YOUR PLANNED TIMETABLE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HURRICANE SEASON AND IT APPEARS FROM THE PRESENT REPORTS THAT THIS MAY BE A BUSY SEASON. ALSO, THE ICW IS AN AWESONE EXPERIENCE. TAKE LOTS OF TIME AND ENJOY - EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO DELAY THE DEPARTURE. YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY. PLUS YOUR SAILING MATE IS GOING TO BE VERY BUSY WITH THE 3 YOUNGUNS.
REMEMBER, ATTITUDE IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORDEAL AND ADVENTURE. WE HAD "ADVENTURES" FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS BEFORE MY HUSBAND WENT HOME TO THE LORD. MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU AND YOURS AND KEEP YOU IN THE PALM OF HIS HANDS ALWAYS.

YOUR FRIEND IN JESUS
CAPT. CARROLE WARD

[scottydaum]

I am interested as well. Evidently too dumb to figure out how to PM. Please send details to scottydaum@gmail.com
I have experience.
I agree with some that it "is doable" on your own but with your draft it could get pretty touchy in a few places.
Also this time of year the weather can change quite fast, and afternoon thunder boomers, which can call for swift changes, and your Family Crew don't seem to be geared towards that.
Many of the inlets are not as friendly as one would wish due to shoaling and inattention by the Army Corps of Engineers. Plus it is actually shorter/faster to either stay in or stay out because the entrances to many places are miles in and out.
I hope to hear from you, but either way wishing you a great adventure.

[rsailorbob]

ICW navigating: The channel markers appear point to point but they are actually marking the edges of a curve. If you visualize he curve and follow it, you will be less likely to run aground in shoal waters at the edge of the channel. When you are in the rivers in SC, GA, remember, the channel is scoured on the outside of a curve and shoals on the inside. Favor the outside slightly and you are less likely to find the bottom.
It is doubtful you can make Beaufort to Masonboro in daylight, much less Oriental. A better choice is Beaufort to Little River with a one overnight. then you can go the Charleston with a one overnight. Besides, Beaufort NC is too delightful to be missed. Once you get that far, I would be more than happy to assist with an outside voyage or two. US Navy retired.