Georgia is a difficult state if you are using the ICW. There are many shoal passages and the ICW tends to wander all over so sometimes you are going south instead of north. The shoal passages require you to time your passage so that you are getting some "tide help", usually half to full tide before passing (the tide runs about 7 to 8 ft). That shortens the distance you can travel because sometimes you are just waiting for the water to rise.
Another issue is the bugs. I took a photo of the anchorage area I chose for tonight. As you can see I am in a very big marsh which is typical of most of the ICW so far in Georgia. The guide book puts the description "buggy" in nearly all of the remote anchorages here. I was warned of the "No Seeums" but no one said anything about the mosquitoes and the horse flies. You don't sit out in the cockpit at dusk here! I'm not saying the horse flies are big and tough but I did see one last night that was so big it was pulling a little sign behind it that said "OFF, Breakfast of Champions"! Wow, this place needs a good freeze!
Another thing you must watch out for is the shrimp boats. Many of the shrimpers live on these rivers so you must anchor so that you don't block their way out to the ocean. Often you must use two anchors, one bow and one stern, to keep you from swinging too far into the river.
Did you see any Buba Gump Shrimp boats? Are the shrimp boats shallow bottom? Is that why they live on the ICW or is it just to keep away from the big storms that wiped out all the shrimp boats in the movie? What size of crew does the shrimp boat have? With the wet spring they are already selling saddles for the mosquitoes they expect around here.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see Buba Gump boats but there are many shrimpers around here. I think the rivers give them a safe harbor so that is where they live.
ReplyDeleteThere are big shrimp boats and smaller shrimp boats and I would guess they need to catch a big load of shrimp to just pay the fuel bill. It doesn't look like a real lucrative career when you look closely at the condition of the boats. I have no idea how many crew members it takes to catch shrimp except on Summer Snow it only takes one (and a trip to HyVee).