Coinjock is otherwise mostly about staging for crossing the Albemarle Sound... which can be very pleasant... or very snotty.
I think it is precious you are trying to plan so specifically all your stops and days.
Ray covered it pretty well. I will add that if you are in a hurry (and it looks as if you kinda are), a lot of where you stay in the towns along the way will be inconsequential. With 50-60 mile days and such short amounts of daylight this time of year, you will be up early and into your next stop just before dark.
You're definitely going to face some cold weather. Don't let it ruin the fun. You have a good heating system on the boat and I'm sure you have some great cold weather jackets. Still get out and explore. Most places don't shut down and sometimes to be in a popular area outside of tourist season carries some added benefits.
Make your trip a relaxed one. Cruise as much or as little in a day as the mood strikes you. Stay longer or shorter based on your mood of the day. If you're thinking "I'd really like to sleep in tomorrow" then do so and spend another day there. The beauty of your situation is there are no rules. You don't have to be anywhere at any given time or do anything specific. You make the rules along the way. Find things that really peak your interests.
And, don't worry that you miss things, don't see it all. That's best. That way you need the next trip and the next and the one after the next after the next.
Way better suited for dinks, but I think I read you are travelling without.
In fact, we try to avoid GA and run offshore from south SC to Fernandina. If you have never seen the GA ICW, probably worth seeing it once. One and done for me, lots of miles wasted on switchbacks.
One over-arching thing I haven't mentioned is to read the weekly LNMs! Important info there. Also learn how to pull up the USACE surveys as others have mentioned. Especially if you have older charts.
We always stayed at Thunderbolt Marina if we were docking in the Savannah area or needed work on the boat at the fantastic boatyard there, which offers great yacht (and I mean YACHT porn on display. I think they still supply fresh Krispy Creme donuts and a newspaper to your boat every morning.
Georgia is a gunkholer's paradise in our opinion; the Whaler put a lot of miles in exploring. Very beautiful. Got a whole bunch of other anchor spots and side trips, on request. We considered Georgia a cruising destination more than a place merely to pass through. Great, beautiful "wilderness" anchoring and exploring.
Do you have a bus heater connected to the engine cooling Loop to heat the boat while underway?
New River marina often the lowest price for diesel on the whole trip. Though a poor spot to spend the night due to being on the ICW with no protection. If not using the online Waterway Guide fuel list....it's very good.
Cheaper than Osprey?
New River Marina: Great fuel stop for diesel. Plan on stopping there with tanks low. Last I was there (two months ago) it was like $2.18 plus 7% tax if you are not commercial. Not a great place to stay the night.
Planning for singlehanding I think requires far more attention to detail than when you have another dependable hand at hand.
Good points, Rich, and we've done much the same thing. Including some spreadsheeting and some auto-calcs.
In our case, we do some winging-it about time, distances, shallow areas, bridges, tides, speeds... and likely overnight stopover points...
And then my Admiral flies the route beforehand, usually the night before we start a segment... which in turn makes navigation almost trivial -- for me, while we're actually underway.
-Chris
BUT I found that perusing the guides/Active Captain with a blank Excel spreadsheet in hand was helpful. Like you I imagine a doable distance and then begin to look for overnight locations. I place each in a row with pertinent info spread across the columns. .
Northbound we stayed at River Forest, less expensive, more exposed, and the docks are a bit long in the tooth these days. We stayed there once back when it was under the earlier ownership, and it was still an active Inn (I put my crew for a couple nights) and it was very pleasant... but some of that was about the personal treatment (owner invited us to his birthday party)... and the docks were getting a bit tired even then. Viable now, but not as protected as the downtown place. They do give you a golf cart for downtown runs...
I do have a dink, but it's untested. it's a round bottomed hard shell affair with not a lot of freeboard, and I suspect it may be a bit too tippy for my big clumsy ass. It may turn out to be a good setup, but I haven't launched the thing yet, or taken it for a spin. I don't know if 'Ol' Three Horse Johnson' even runs.
Having an admiral willing and able to do that must be a wondrous experience.
Oriental - Unknown marina, suggestions welcome. No idea what's here yet, but I've heard good things about the town.
Oriental has 5-6 free docks right inside the harbor, protected and in the middle of the action. The town regulations are confusing: one set of docks has different regs than another but commensurate with the town's vibes, forget about them. You will be fine for two days at least.
The town has a half dozen or so restaurants and bars, ranging from the Tiki Bar within spitting distance of the free docks, the local coffee hang out The Bean to Silos up the road.
Lots of good stuff here, thank you David. I didn’t realize that the Oriental town docks were free. Sounds like a good stop.
True about the no genset running at Oriental free docks which in winter is silly on several levels and people do run enough to charge batteries.
Oriental is a nice stop and we go there a LOT. Town docks are free and will be empty this time of the year. Even so, there is a nice little anchorage behind the breakwater if you feel the urge. However, for an easy single night stay without going into town, River Dunes is a nice place. We haven't been there in years, but still hear good things about it. You may also choose to anchor in Cedar Creek at the north end of Adam's Creek.
Oriental has a harbor cam to see if the free docks are open, if not, Adam's Creek just a few miles further south has some anchoring spots.
Thence, in your case, Oriental. Free town dock or marina. Mind the weather coming and going the Pamlico Sound and Neuse can get darn nasty with steep fast 2-3 foot chop or more.
Yep, New River was still $2.189/gal PLUS tax when we came through in mid-Nov. Our buddy boat stopped there to take on a load; they agreed, not a great place to stop over, otherwise. Apparently the marina pumps boatloads of diesel (a good thing) given the commercial fleet there.
FWIW, here in the JAX area, Lamb's diesel price was $3.259/gal the other day when some boat neighbors went over there for a load, and Mandarin Holiday Point (slightly further up (south) the St. John's River) is at about $2.449/gal.
Beaufort - Most likely Homer Smith Docks if available. (Is this the one that's pronounced Beaufort, or is it Beaufort that's pronounced Beaufort? )
at Beaufort docks i only come in and leave at slack tide.
Beaufort is quiet this time of the year. The Beaufort Town Docks are very expensive and you get almost nothing for it except proximity to the town. Nice for sure, but for what they charge, I would expect more than bathrooms from the 1970s. I would send you to Morehead City instead. The Yacht Basin is an option, but it is a tad pricey too. Still, if you need fuel, Mike is your guy.
Beaufort NC: Worth it to spend one night at Beaufort docks. Probably about $100. Lot of cool places to walk to from there, and in Jan it won't be busy. My girl and I run the boat up there for the weekend just for fun a couple of times a year. Cost be damned.
Georgetown is a great little town. Pluff mud though. Hard to hold. Couple of good marinas and I also have a dock for rent on the boardwalk. Great restaurants and bars. I rent by day, week, month. Floating dock includes electric and waterI just posted this thread looking for recommendations for the Norfolk area yesterday. After several helpful posts, I thought maybe I should expand the scope of the thread, and open up my larger plan to your thoughts, recommendations, and suggestions.
So, based largely on previous posts in other threads by folks like Ranger42c, OCDiver, and countless others, these are the pins I have tacked into the chart for my first trip south:
Annapolis - Start point. Departing sometime in the first week of January (Theoretically)
Solomons - Anchor
Deltaville - Anchor
Norfolk - Waterside Marina, may take a day or two off here, depending on weather and how I feel.
Coinjock - Unknown marina, suggestions welcome
Alligator River - Anchor at Deep Point
Bellhaven - Not sure if I'll anchor or dock. Suggestions welcome.
Oriental - Unknown marina, suggestions welcome. No idea what's here yet, but I've heard good things about the town.
Beaufort - Most likely Homer Smith Docks if available. (Is this the one that's pronounced Beaufort, or is it Beaufort that's pronounced Beaufort? )
Mile Hammock Bay - I'd like to anchor here and hang out with the Ospreys, but based on mixed reviews about the holding, it may be weather dependent.)
Wrightsville Beach - Unknown Marina, suggestions welcome.
Southport - Unknown Marina, suggestions welcome. Southport marina looks like an option.
North Myrtle Beach - Unknown Marina, suggestions welcome. Thinking maybe Lightkeepers or Harborgate.
Georgetown - Not sure about this one. Worth a stop?
Charleston - Likely City Marina. Probably going to stick around here for several days. I've never been, but I'm looking forward to spending a little time here. I have friends in the area as well.
Beaufort - Not to be confused with Beaufort, which is pronounced Beaufort. I think I'll tie up at the free wall during the day if there's room, and anchor out overnight. Lady's Island marina is also a possibility if I decide to stay longer.
Savannah - Unknown Marina, suggestions welcome. It's likely I'll stick around here for a few days, maybe a week. I have good friends in the area here too, and It's another place I've never been and have always wanted to check out. Thunderbolt looks like a top contender here.
Beyond this point gets pretty hazy. I'll have to reevaluate when I get farther south. It all depends on how long I dilly dally along the way. I have a reservation for the Ft. Pierce rendezvous, but it looks like my company meeting will be happening around that time. I'd like to get down to St. Augustine, but who knows if I'll get that far this year.
I've never been to ANY of these places. I have little to no idea what I'll find there. If any of them are swirling toilet bowls of disappointment, feel free to say so! If there's somewhere in between these places that I really couldn't possibly miss, I'd like to hear it. Is there a sweet BBQ joint, or world's greatest ice cream in one of these places? Maybe the world's largest ball of twine? Let me know!
Also, as I mentioned in the other thread, I do have a couple of guide books, but I left them on the boat, lol. I've been scouring Active captain, TripAdvisor, and various other sources as well, and will continue to do so along the way.
Thanks gang!
It was mentioned, closed for the beginning of the year for maintenance.Haven't seen mention of the Dismal Swamp route.
Any reason?
It is by far some snowboarder's preferred route.....
I am not asking about the route as I know it by heart, just why no one else mentioned it or Wayfarer's input on it.
I just don't see any compelling reason to stop there unless time is at a premium and your day ends there, as was our case this time.
Wrightsville Beach - Unknown Marina, suggestions welcome.
Southport - Unknown Marina, suggestions welcome. Southport marina looks like an option.
North Myrtle Beach - Unknown Marina, suggestions welcome. Thinking maybe Lightkeepers or Harborgate.
For good information on AICW from folks going up and down year round, I'd recommend the ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423 FB group. Almost all the people are very friendly (yes, there are a few trolls, just can't shoot them fast enough) and the knowledge and experience level goes from just retired/bought a boat/heading south tomorrow, to seasoned cruisers and delivery captains/crews who have done the ditch so many times it's almost second hand to them. The Admiral and I have relied on the group for voyage planning for several years.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ICWCruisingGuide/?ref=bookmarks