Favorite stops in the south

B

B&B Burks

New member
Hi fellow brats, we are back with a new boat to us, C-Pearl, and are going
to finish the great loop. We started this trip in 2011 and will finish it this
year. The remaining part of our trip will start in Columbus,Ms and finish in
Norfolk,Va. We should be on the water in late March if all goes as planned.
I’m asking for some help to loosely plan the trip. It will all be new water
to us and I know you all have favorite places to see, things to do and overnight stopping locations. Favorite beaches, marinas, restaurants,old forts,
what have you. Any help would be much appreciated. Don’t be afraid to
share your special places, only all the brats and others will know about them.
You can always PM them to keep them semi private. Thanks a head of time
and we will share some of the adventure with you.

Bob and Betsy
 
Hey Bob and Betsy, good to see you on the site and back on the water.

My favorite place in the south, Anywhere it is warm and they don't have snow. And it's OK, you can broadcast that. But we did make it up to about 40 today and the snow is leaving.

Best to you in your loop trip.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

1_10_2012_from_Canon_961.highlight.jpg
 
There's folks on here with a lot more knowledge than us, since we only moved to the south 2 years ago from the PNW.

We are familiar with the remote and undeveloped Georgia coast, and a little sliver of north east florida coast.

We like Amelia Island. The Marina is not in perfect shape right now due to hurricane Irma, but they do still accept transients. There's a great little historic downtown located next to the marina, with lots of great restaurants and shopping.

Just north of there is St. Mary's Georgia, which is a wonderful little stop. many of the houses are well over 200 years old, and there is restaurants and antique shops. Its quiet but we like it. You'll likely need a dinghy because most of the docks were destroyed and they don't have them fixed yet.

Cumberland island you cant miss. You can hike all over the island, there's wild horses, tabby ruins from Spanish missionaries, ruins from mansions built in the 1700s. Its worth a stop for a day or longer. Its pretty remote though, bring everything you might need.

Darien GA. One of our favorite little spots. You can moor there for free for a couple days at a time. This is Georgia's main seafood port. Theres great restauarants, my favorite being skippers fish camp located right on the dock. Get the oysters and garlic shrimp.

Don't miss Sapelo Island. The Geechee people are warm and welcoming. Hog hammock is the main community there and theres a restaurant or two. You can dock at the ferry terminal and explore the island. Probably best if you have bikes, but you can hike or hitch a ride pretty easy.

Theres a great seafood restaurant and marina at Marker 107 of the ICW at Kilkenny. That's where we live and base a lot of our exploring out of. There's some great beaches nearby, my favorite being the north end of St Catherines island. If your lucky, you might spot ring tailed lemurs and zebras on the island, its a sanctuary for exotic animals. We also like Ossabaw island, on the north side, for its beautiful and remote beach. While in this area of Georgia, don't be a stranger. We'd be happy to show you around.

Fort Mcallister marina on the Ogeechee river would be a good spot if you need any services for the boat. They have a haul out sling and mechanics. They also have a great restaurant and helpful staff.

North of here, I can't be much help. It becomes more hustle and bustle due to Savannah and we have not explored it except by car. I've heard you can boat right into Wormsloe, which is really historic and beautiful. The site of many movies. The historic area of Savannah on river street is great as well. You can moor on the Hutchinson island side of the river at the fancy hotel and take the ferry across to river street and explore. It leaves every 15 minutes.
 
Hi Harvey, we don’t have to go east for warmth, 70 today and 75 tomorrow.
Not rubbing it in,but Arizona has good weather.
Paul thanks for the information on the Georgia coast, those places look
like good cruising grounds, we will definitely go to many. You made quite a
move to your new home area, we know what that is like. We are looking
forward to finishing loop trip and hope to see friends on the way. Thanks again.
Bob
 
B&B,
St. Augustine, Florida would be a must stop for sure. Also we found Jekyll Island, Georgia very interesting and the marina had loaner bicycles. Also, you have to stop in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, S.C. or your lives may never be complete. We look forward to reading about your trip, have fun!
 
Band B I hope you guys keep us informed so we can meet up somewhere in SW Florida . If you need some RandR you can stay in Naples for a while let us know Jim and Loree
 
It’s always great to hear from old friends and we are very fortunate to
have you in our pool.
Steve- we would love to stop at your dock at the end of the trip. It was
a highlight of our first trip and will be at the end of our second. Thank you
for the invite.
Russ- we will definitely do what you suggested, and as an aside it was fun
to see you and Tony this winter.
Jim- you guys are definitely on our list of people we want to see on the
voyage. We will keep you informed on our time table as we get close
and we very much hope for a time with you guys.
B & B
 
B&B,
We live on the ICW in NC and will offer a stop over if we are here. There is short water anchoring and a wet slip next door. Hot shower, clean bed, food, adult beverages and tools.
Cape Lookout is 1.5 hrs. farther on and is a great place to see. :lol:
Benton & Ann
 
I’m new to the long distance cruising world.
But I had an amazing first adventure at Isle of Hope Marina this weekend.
It’s just a few miles south of Savannah. It’s a sleepy marina with great security, nice clean bathrooms, loaner cars, and bicycles.
The marina sits on a stretch of the river with many pre civil war summer homes on a bluff. Just a short ways up the road are some really good restaurants, coffee shops, etc.
What an eye opening experience, awesome place!
 
Thanks to both of you and will check out and get in touch during our trip.
We have just finished up sea trials and have more work to do on the
boat. Do have a question for our group, should I replace the refrigerator
or get a portable freezer/refrigerator? The old unit does nor work and a
fix must be made. One more question is radar needed for a long run in
the South?
Bob
 
Thanks to both of you and will check out and get in touch during our trip.
We have just finished up sea trials and have more work to do on the
boat. Do have a question for our group, should I replace the refrigerator
or get a portable freezer/refrigerator? The old unit does nor work and a
fix must be made. One more question is radar needed for a long run in
the South?
Bob
 
Bob and Betsy,
Looks as if we will miss you by a day in Columbus. We saw you drive in today, and the manager indicated later you would be putting in tomorrow after we've departed. We're taking a short trip from Demopolis up to Florence, AL.

We don't have a great deal of experience south of here, but based on our last three days from Demopolis:
- We stopped and visited the Tom Bevill Visitor Center and Snagboat Montgomery (just above the Bevill Lock) and enjoyed that stop. There's a small dock that you may use. They're open Wed. - Sat.
- We anchored off Pickensville State Park and on the Tombigbee Oxbow (just below the Heflin Lock). The Oxbow is one of the few protected anchorages between that lock and Demopolis.
- We also stopped at the Sumter Recreation Area, which is a very nice anchorage. There's a wall next to the ramp with enough water to use as a dock; we stopped to let the dog off and use the flush toilets.

Enjoy the next phase of your adventure!

Les and Kel
 
Sorry we missed you. We have had a time getting to Columbus.
With weather, boat and truck problems we are a little behind
schedule. It would have been a special treat to see other Brats
to ease our pace of problem solving. We are on top of the situation
but still need time to finish the solutions. Thanks for the info on
stops. From here we are going to take our truck and trailer to Norfolk
and leave it in storage there until we “ cross our wake” there. We are looking forward to seeing our friends Steve & Joan, fellow Cbrats while being in Norfolk. Then renting a car to get back here to begin the last part of The Loop. Hope you are enjoying your cruise and again too bad we missed connections but sure appreciate you taking the time to write us.
Bob and Betsy
 
B&B Burks":4i2jwxwl said:
Thanks to both of you and will check out and get in touch during our trip.
We have just finished up sea trials and have more work to do on the
boat. Do have a question for our group, should I replace the refrigerator
or get a portable freezer/refrigerator? The old unit does nor work and a
fix must be made. One more question is radar needed for a long run in
the South?
Bob
Click to expand...
Sorry not to have responded further (surgery got in the way and I missed the question.

I have the chest type, and in our next boat, we will probably have both. The chest type for freezer, and the front open for the refer. Actually we have two chest type now. The disadvantage of the chest type is that you often have to take things from the top out, to get to needed items at the bottom. This is canceled by being more efficient and not dumping all of the cold air when you open it. If you are going to get fresh food every few days, then the front opening. If you have to keep a lot of frozen food, then the chest. We have used the chest in the cockpit--vs the pull out from under the seat--the latter probably works better, and less clutter in the boat.

Radar: There is some chance of fog, but it is minimal. The only overnight trip you will do is across the Gulf of Mexico from Carrabelle (Dog Island) to Tarpon Springs. We have done this a couple of times, both it was clear, and radar not necessary. If you are intending on any other night running, then it might be useful. We have been up and down the Atlantic ICW and have only needed radar a couple of times--and that was North of the Hudson River. Fog is possible, but starting this time of the year from VA--probably unlikely. Radar is not an essential. Sit the day out, or start later, pull in earlier if you get fog.

If we are home, we would love to show you the Pensacola area. Could arrange a dock near down town, or at Camp Thataway, near the head of Perdido Bay, where C Brats are always welcome. We have a dock, boat lift and probably a trailer which would fit a 25 if necessary. In our specific area, we like to think the Blue Angels are special. They do practices often over our home--and along the ICW. There are good places to view the practices, if they are going to be giving a show in the South, every Tuesday, and some Wednesdays. The museum is also a wonderful place to visit for aviation history. Lots of good eating and fun places to stop along our part of the Gulf, from Pirate's Cove, about which Buffett wrote Cheezeburger in Paradise---I don't think it is much changed since he wrote the song--he grew up a few miles away. Apalachicola, is always a fun town, and hopefully the Oyster harvest will have improved. Some of the best in the World.
 
Bob...Bob Austin beat me to the invite...

Hi Bob!
Agree you don’t often need radar for this trip.
Much of the southern ICW can be thought of as a 9 foot ditch with tugboats and barges that have a 10 foot draft plowing through it. There are no fast ferries etc. Get out of the way by going just outside the ICW channel. Receive-only AIS is a $200 black box I rec’d over radar as you can talk directly to targets (which show up labelled on your plotter) by name or direct MMSI call to their bridge.
Don’t travel at night, you’re on vacation.
I’m sure you’re aware of the dearth of marinas/fuel between Demopolis and Mobile (no marinas in Mobile either).
If you haven’t resolved your fridge issue yet, when time is short the easiest option is to replace it with the same new model. That way you know it will fit in the cavity, and it’s only 4 screws and an AC and DC plug to plug in and voila, new fridge is working.
Do you have military ID? (I notice you’re starting in a small USAF town and ending in a big Navy town). If so the PNS NAS Navy Bayou Grande marina has hot showers, no fuel (Sherman Cove is right on the ICW but no showers, but has 88.5 ethanol free gas @ $3.50/gal). Directly across is Ft McCrae cove, a protected deep anchorage since 1648. If we’re here (no plans now) we’d be glad to give you a ride to WalMart or West Marine or bx or other shopping.
See reviews of Marriott Point Clear Marina on East side of Mobile bay, not many transient spots but you can use indoor heated pool and public areas, great restaurant with sunset views. After Mobile bay, see reviews of LuLu’s (Jimmy Buffett’s sister’s place), The Wharf marina, Pirates’Cove burgers, and The Oyster Bar at Perdido. If winds are gentle and from the North (or if you’re casting off at dawn) consider going out Perdido Pass into the Gulf and hugging the sandy Gulf shore up to Pensacola Pass. The last portion is 6 miles of pristine Gulf Islands Natl Seashore. Due to shorebird nesting this time of year, you mostly can not walk across from the Gulf to ICW sides except at boardwalks which don’t show on your nautical maps but do on Google Earth. Ends at Ft McCrae ruins and the ‘cove’ there.
Onboard NAS PNS you can visit/climb the historic lighthouse and visit the Navy Air Museum with civilian ID. See

http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/attr ... ue-angels/

for the current Blu Angels practice schedule.
If winds are North and gentle, again you can venture out Pensacola Pass and hug the shore over to Destin Pass, along many miles of USAF owned pristine Santa Rosa Island doing 6 MPH at 3 feet you’ll see and can avoid the sugar sand bottom and 2nd sand bar.
After Destin, Sandestin Baytowne marina has a few transient slips (many million$ boats) but great food and free trolley to the beach and pool access. Call ahead.
Panama City has 2 nice city marinas, the eastern one with bus transport to the mall. TAFB marina has no transient slips or power.
If you like hiking long pristine beach islands, St Joe Penn State Park is the next one, or St Joe Marina the alternative. Next up St Vincents Island, very difficult, very shallow, fast tides and no nav info, take the pontoon ferry and island bike tour instead.

Next up Dog Island, private but sandy beaches. Don’t tie up at ferry or seaplane docks, run aground out of the way.
That gets you to the Big Bend and the end of our familiar areas until Tampa.

Dog Island to Crystal River I'd think of as a 'jaunt', not an 'overnight', but of course that depends on on your speed and time of departure. 30 MPH @ dawn on April 10 and the math says 'no problem, man'. Even if you leave 6 hours after dawn. No problem, man.

Have a great trip, email me for info johnhighsmith9@gmail.com.
John
 
I've never been through the ICW in Ga but I've heard its beautiful, hopefully we'll see it now. In the past when sailing South it's always been easier to do it on the outside. As far as SC, I've heard Dafuski island is a great place to visit, although I can't speak from personal experience. Beaufort is a great little sleepy town, as is Georgetown, both are pretty much right on the ICW though and hard to miss. A great ~20 ish mile cruise off the beaten path is up the Waccamaw to Conway, it's a beautiful stretch of fresh water to a small town dock, hopefully we'll be doing this ourselves in the next couple of months and will report back. I guess I'm partial as we live in Charleston, but it is an amazing city, there's a good anchorage or two and a few good marinas, lots to do. Plus if you need anything while you're here just shoot us a message. Also in the North Santee, if you head upstream several miles, just under the hwy 17 bridge to starboard there is an old plantation house that has a restaurant and tea room. I really wouldn't miss that, there's a boat landing right before the bridge where you can dock and walk over. There use to be some rickety docks at the plantation, you may be able to land a dinghy, but I think the last flood really tore them up, not sure if they are repaired yet. They have good food.

Have Fun,
Brandon
 
Not sure why John left out Dog River, but this is the usual stop, just South of Mobile AL from Demopolis.

I would advise against going outside from Pensacola to Destin. Interesting coast inside, and only one short "no wake zone" (after Perdido Key) in the Fort Walton Area. Hopefully John's comments were tongue in cheek.

We are more anchor out folks--and there are a number of great anchorages all along the Gulf Coast ICW.

Don't know your cruising speed, range, or plan for crossing the "Big Bend"--but there are any number of alternatives, depending on the weather and range. There are a number of stops from Steinhatchee River at 66 NM, 120 NM at Crystal River to about 150 miles to Tarpon Springs--I would not consider doing any of this at 30 knots in your 25' C Dory,
 
Thanks everyone for the help. We will arrive back in Columbus Ms tonight after dropping off our truck and trailer in Portsmouth Va , so far we have been doing a lot of driving. We did take a side trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway and it is a treasure. Did not make the whole Parkway but we would recommend it to everyone. Now it’s time to get everything on the boat ready and start the voyage. Will post more as we travel.
 
Back
Top