As Ebb Tide II sits in Atlantic Yacht Basin awaiting haulout for bottom painting, I copied the following info from our Ship's Log:
During our trip to Key West and back, we ran for 195.6 engine hours and covered 2265 nautical miles (2605 statute miles.) We left Taylors Landing Marina on November 27, 2007 and stopped at Atlantic Yacht Basin (35 miles from our marina), on March 22, 2008. For the entire trip, we used 1857 gallons of diesel fuel. Fuel was far more expensive than we had expected - the average price southbound was $3.39; the average price northbound was $3.71.
During this trip, we lived aboard for nearly four months and it was a delightful experience. We are very pleased with our boat's performance. Through some very nasty weather, our Cummins 450C diesel engine always purred reliably. Our Duffy37 rode wonderfully in heavy seas and kept us safe and comfortable, whether underway or in-port.
Will we do a long cruise again? Yes - but with a caveat. We plan to head north this summer; maybe to Lake Champlain and Canada or to New England.
Would we go south on the ICW again? DEFINITELY NOT!!
Until the Army Corps of Engineers dredges the deteriorating waterway's many shallow spots, I wouldn't go through Georgia or South Carolina waters. It is just not worth the gut-wrenching angst of never knowing when you will run aground - because you will run aground!
Except for Georgia, there is some hope for the ICW. For 2008, the Corps received it's first dredging funds since 2002. Funding amounts include: $5.5 million for North Carolina; $2.18 million for South Carolina; $1.87 million for Georgia and $3.74 million for Florida. Immediately after the money was made available, the Corps announced that 161 miles of Georgia's waterway between M/M 552 and M/M 713 had "no commercial application" and will not be dredged. That is the WORST PART of the entire ICW!!!
We'll limit our cruising from North Carolina's waters northward. There is much to see and do in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds and in our home-waters of Chesapeake Bay. And new adventures certainly await us further north!
Ebb Tide II underway
