As I recall...you didn't seem particularly worried about your liver at the time :) Of course, none of us were. Still remember you teaching everyone how to do knot work. That was fun!

and you were SO right!

Hey! How you doing? Where are you now?

thank you...

a laser measure doesn't really work because the way bridges are made, the gaps between the low girders confuse the units. Can't get a definite enough reading.

^^ listen to him folks! ^^

🙄

Those are all valid criticisms, but you not having had the experience of doing a rally, they are not accurate. I've had boats with 7 foot drafts and 64.25 high masts. Everyone got through without problems, BECAUSE of proper passage planning. In fact, there is an 8 foot draft small cruise ship that runs from Charleston to St. Augustine that does the ICW every week. So as I said, it isn't that hard, IF you know what you're doing. The only bridges that are timed to the next or previous bridge at all are those to the south of Palm Beach and through to Fort Lauderdale and Dania. There, you need to do 6.5 knots and again, if you time your passage so that you have the current behind you, it's easy. Again, that's part of the passage planning, because I don't care to hang out in front of a bridge either if I can avoid it. Yes, it's more expensive to stay in marinas. Of course, if you're dealing with a storm and a bunch of boats, it's also a lot safer and comfortable. You should join us - schedule or not, it's a great time.

It could be fun, but not much sailing in the ICW, it might be more fun in making some of the routes on the outside.

@@user-lq3ss9xf8c No, not much sailing on the ICW, but there is more than you would think. Outside is fine if the weather is suitable, but in the fall, a norther can come down on you very quickly and really spoil a day offshore if you're nowhere near a suitable inlet. We do actually get some outside travel in, especially for those who have never done the outside, to introduce them to the experience.

❤i😢

0:13

Would love some info on traveling the GIWW from FL panhandle to Kemah or even Corpus Christi. Anyone out there seen a video or have advice to share? Will be making the trip this fall.

Six foot is fine. Seven starts to get dodgy, but is doable. A 65+ air draft is an offshore boat. Anything up to 65 should be able to do the ICW, but at 64+, it involves more planning for tides, etc.

let's see now... you've done the ICW twice, you're antisocial and your advice is... not very good if I'm being honest. But we'll forgive you that since you like sailing and beer! :) There are numerous inlets that are perfectly good in NC and SC and GA that are not Class A inlets. The trick is to have the experience to know how to safely navigate them and/or to know where to find the information. That's why people join the Rally - for precisely that kind of knowledge. btw, marina slips are pre-booked so there's no jockeying for slips. And the only anchorages we use are ones that are suitable for the size of the rally.

For anyone coming from the Great Lakes, I'll coach you down the Erie Canal and through to the Chesapeake. All part of the service!! The Erie is a LOT easier than people understand, the Hudson is beautiful. The Jersey coast can be intimidating if it's your first time, and there are a couple of tricks to doing the Delaware that make it a lot easier. Feel free to ask.

some head on to the Keys, some to the Bahamas, some to the Caribbean, others turn around and go back north. One couple is currently in the south Pacific, Fiji if I remember correctly.

@@WallyMoran One-way to Paradise. Sounds great!

"Plenty of groundings"? Hmmmm.... you need to join the Rally and learn how it's done :)

lol... passage planning can be a challenge with a mast over 64.25 feet.

You could likely find a charter company in VA, but it would be very expensive. You might also find someone who would let you deliver their boat south for them.

What you've said is the whole point - seeing everything there is to see. I guarantee you, very few people know about the lemurs, the rum factory, the kazoo manufacturer, and lots of other events that I've learned about in nearly 50 trips on the ICW. As for "the best route" - there isn't another route unless you go offshore. The ICW is it. And as you note, conditions change, and I change the planning as needed to account for that.

So TRUE! That's why the Rally is two months long :) And the Waccamaw, especially in the springtime, is your reward for having gone through the commercial ugliness of Myrtle Beach.

My mom used to tell me, don't knock it if you haven't tried it. Might be good advice for you too.

@@WallyMoran Try what? Going down the ICW or going down the ICW in a gaggle? One I've done a dozen times, the other will never happen. With the resources available today, if you can't figure out the ICW on your own, you should stay home. Its just not that hard.

@@Mark-y5v I never said it was that hard. And it's not, but it's not easy either, even with the resources available now. Some folks actually ENJOY spending time with like minded people sharing the same endeavour. You're not one of them, that's fine. But does that mean you need to rain on everyone's parade, disparage other people's dreams? I had someone with your attitude on one of my rallies. Before we'd gone 200 miles, I handed him a cheque for his rally fee and wished him good luck with the rest of the ICW. He never even got to GA before giving up and hiring a captain to bring his boat south - where he sold it. YMMV.

Git 'em up doggies! Yee haw! :)

So what's your hurry? Seriously. Do you have appointments, a schedule (God forbid!)... enjoy the trip. That's a problem with society now - people are always rushing to things and we're conditioned that way. You're retired, there IS NO REASON TO RUSH.

@@WallyMoran it’s a combo. I’d like to make it down in a month, not two. Marina and restaurants every day is expensive.and more time in the Bahamas. Of course the group has many benefits as well. Each needs to decide for themselves

@@TheCornucopiaProject-bd5jk in that case, anchor out and eat on board. It's your choice. FYI, one month to do that trip means you miss everything there is to do because you're underway every single day. You've turned the trip into a delivery, and it won't be fun. You'll be tired and stressed out. And the Bahamas will be there whether you take 30 days or 60 days. Stop putting the focus on your destination. Enjoy where you are AT, not where you wish you were at, and you'll enjoy all of it even more.

Nobody's overdramatizing anything.... the ICW isn't as hard as some make it, but that first time isn't easy either.

uh.... that is NOT the experience that anyone has had in the last ten years. But please, feel free in your ignorance to criticize. There are a lot of Rally alumnae who will gladly tell you that you don't know what you're talking about.

well, who peed in YOUR cornflakes this morning? What's so nightmarish about spending 8 weeks with friends enjoying an adventure, exploring neat places, dining out, rafting up, sailing or motoring along a beautiful waterway? For new cruisers, this is part of the learning - and I do take time to teach the group so that they have a better understanding of what's involved when they head out on their own. As for your contention that a lot of the ICW can be done under sail, yes, that's true. IF you wait for the right conditions, you could do all of it under sail. I actually know of one person who did that - on a 14 foot daysailer - name of Frank Dye, wrote a book about it called Sailing to the Edge of Fear. I don't know of anyone who has done it in a bigger boat, but since you're clearly so knowledgeable, perhaps you can tell us. Explain how people sail through Myrtle Beach, or the Waccamaw for example. Tell us how, under sail at 4 knots, they get through Snow's Cut if the current is against them? How about Elliot Cut? Hell's Gate? Got any answers for us here? A lot of people don't have your level of confidence, whether it's misplaced or not I don't know but I have my suspicions - and they would like to learn at a pace that feels comfortable to them - not some internet rando who tells them how it's done. btw, nice sailboat you got in your thumbnail there.

@@WallyMoran I don’t eat cornflakes. I’m more a Grapenuts or Shredded Wheat guy. In the old days, there weren’t bridge tenders refusing to let one pass through their bridge under sail but I’ve sailed ninety percent in a 37 ft boat and a 31 footer. Some of the land cuts necessitate motoring unless you’re fortunate enough to have a Norther heading south for example. Folks that are educated by your “follow the leader” methods are the same ones that then jump off for the Caribbean in packs after reading “The Thornless Path” and are totally unprepared for the journey. As I said, different strokes for different folks but don’t discourage relatively inexperienced sailors by stating repeatedly how intimidating the ICW is. I’m not going to trade resumes here. Certainly not worth the effort with someone who chooses to berate my thumbnail because they can’t appreciate a vintage Ducati Paso. Sailing is a big part of my life but not the only thing in my life. Cheers.

@@jonathanlewis1352 For a guy who eats cereals that are meant to help with constipation, you sure are one plugged up dude. You might be more easy going if you switched to Cap'n Crunch. As it is now, you jump to a lot of unwarranted conclusions. But, since you're clearly so talented in all you do, I'll defer to your wisdom, expertise and superior knowledge from your two trips on the ICW as against my 49 or whatever it is now, I can't recall and it isn't important. FYI, most bridge tenders on the ICW still allow you to go through under sail. Out of curiosity, how long did those trips take you to get south? btw, I ride a classic Gold Wing, and my last car was an 81 280ZX, which followed a 74 TR6, so I "get" classics.

@@WallyMoran As I anticipated, you are incapable of having a discussion without name calling and inappropriate comments. Your interpretation of my response stating boat size, not the number of transits is indicative of your inability to comprehend. So you’re a forty-inner…how boring. I hope those that follow this thread draw their own conclusions and take your advice with a grain of salt before paying you to escort them.