FORUM ARCHIVES

Adams Creek, NC to Great Bridge, VA The Trawler Beach House continues along the upper reaches of the Atlantic ICW, visiting some of the most beautiful waterways of this trip.

Locking Procedures - What NOT to do! Find out here.

Southport, NC to Adams Creek, NC Lousy weather, a pleasant chance encounter, strong currents, the military and new anchorages. Just another day on the ICW...

Waterway Law Major July 1, 2010 change in Florida Boat Tax

Cruising Lake Michigan Here is an excellent summary on cruising Lake Michigan written by our Cruising Editor, Bob Kunath

Myrtle Beach, SC to Southport, NC As Chuck and Susan continue north on their ICW shake down voyage for their trawler Beach House, weather, bridges and job interviews slow their progress. But it does not dampen their enthusiasm.

Georgetown, SC to Myrtle Beach Chuck and Susan make the repairs to their Trawler Beach House and after a fair delay, head north. Their progress takes them through arguably some of the most beautiful sections of the ICW and moves them just a little closer to their ultimate destination.

Keys  Chris and Ginny Cantrell, aboard their 1984 Californian 34, "Scooter" make an impulsive decision to cruise the ICW from the Chesapeake to the Florida Keys after 4 years of modifying and updating the boat. Chris is a semi-retired corporate pilot and Ginny is a cook extraordinaire, and in the words of Chris, a fearless navigator and also a semi-retired computer tech. Chris and Ginny are former sailors with a "just do it" philosophy. We find Chris and Ginny at their destination in Key West and the turn around point in their recent cruise.

Still In Georgetown  More delays and issues keep our travelers at the dock for a little while longer.

Minim Creek to Georgetown, SC  Chuck and Susan have found that living and cruising on a boat is not for the faint of heart or anyone with a lack of perseverance or good problem solving skills. That is unless you have large sums of money to afford a crew, engineer, and full time mechanic. For them it is perseverance and ingenuity and not much else. On a boat it is almost never having just one problem. The issues just keep coming, aboard Beach House.

Stono River, SC to Minim Creek, SC  Our travelers, Chuck and Susan aboard the trawler Beach House, spend their second day under way in South Carolina on their journey to the Chesapeake. A pleasant anchorage and great days run was the menu for the day, but at the end of the day, as with all things boating they have a little surprise issue.

Fuel Polishing, Fuel Cleaning, Fuel Tanks: Another Inconvenient Truth  For all of us that have ever suffered from fuel issue onboard our boats and especially those that have had these issues at the worst possible time (when else do they happen?), Mike Schreck of EMD Fuel Systems Services offers us some sound advice to keep those engines purring away and ready when we need them.

Beaufort, SC to Charleston, SC  Here you will find the first part of an eleven part chronicle of Chuck Baier and Susan Landry, aboard the trawler Beach House on their relocation cruise from Beaufort, South Carolina to Pasadena, Maryland in the Chesapeake. This first offering begins after shoving off the dock on a newly purchased and untested Marine Trader 34. Take an armchair tour of the Atlantic ICW and wet your taste for some cruising of your own after this long hard winter.

Changes in the ICW:  Chuck Baier and Susan Landry reflect and comment on the changes they have experienced along the Atlantic ICW ten years after their first trip as a participant in the annual Cruising Migration from the Chesapeake Bay to the Florida Keys. Read this interesting perspective and give some consideration to what the trip might be like now and how is was not so long ago.

 Waterway Law, featuring attorney J. Dirk Schwenk of the Annapolis law firm of Lochner & Schwenk, looks at legal issues facing boaters, including state taxation. The Firm has been active in maritime and Admiralty law since 1999. It is based in Annapolis, MD, and focuses on issues of concern for vessel owners, marine businesses and those that live, work and play on the water. Go to Waterway Law.

 On Florida and living aboard: East Coast cruiser Jim Healey has contributed this insightful description of the status of liveaboards in Florida waters. It is one of the most articulate we have ever read. The explainer in its entirety. Posted in February 2008.

Cruising state to state, reciprocity issues: Veteran West Coast delivery captain Mike Maurice has authored a book to help multi-jurisdictional cruisers deal with bureaucracies. The book is called "A Yachtsman's Guide: Smuggling Your Boat Out of Jail - The Foreign & State-to-State Maze of Cruising Regulations - Avoiding the Snares & Traps." The title, though tongue in cheek, pretty much summarizes the author's premise. Maurice has agreed to share this brief chapter with Waterway Guide readers, followed by a short explanation. Posted in January 2008.

Did the Army Corps pull the plug? Great Lakes group says 2.5 billion gallons a day being lost due to manmade drain hole. New Research asserts that Lakes Huron and Michigan draining three times faster than originally thought. Read the story. Posted in October 2007.

More Florida for cruising: Transportation officials recommend replacing low bridge on the St. Johns, opening 110 miles of river to thousands of sailboats. Click here to read the article in its entirety. Posted in September 2007.

Run down by a freighter: An exclusive account from Christine Bukruian, a singlehanded sailor whose boat was run over by a freighter. The name of the freighter has been changed to "Cargo Ship" in compliance with Bukruian's non-disclosure agreement with "Container Shipping Company." The account is unique in its description of how her dog reacted to the crisis and how that played out during the rescue. Read more.