The ICW for the first time. It’s a great journey, that’s for sure.

For several years prior to our departing on Pandora to make the run to Florida and winter in the Bahamas, Brenda and I spoke to everyone that we could find that had done the run down the ICW to get their thoughts on the trip.  How long should we allow for the trip?  Should we make the run inside all the way?  What about shopping for food?  Laundry?  What does it cost?  What were their must stop places?   As y0u would expect, there were just about as many different answers as there were those with an opinion.

With all of our questions and often conflicting answers, what’s a cruiser to do?

For now, I’ll tackle the issue of leaving the dock.

The only really universal answer that we heard was something like, JUST DO IT!!!  Yes, the advice from everyone was to cast those lines off and go.   As I used to say to my boys when their rooms needed to be picked up “now’s a good time”.   As we have often heard, “you are never any younger or any healthier” which gets you back to the “now” part.

As I look around at all of the non-cruiser folks we have met, many with much bigger boats than Pandora, often mortgaged to the hilt, it’s easy to see how they will never be able to make the plunge.  One basic truth is that the more “stuff” you have the harder it is to leave.  When we moved from NJ to CT we tossed a ton of stuff that we had accumulated over the years.  Unfortunately, we still have tons left.   Oh Well.   Someone once said that you spend the first 50 years accumulating stuff and the next 50 trying to get rid of it.  In our case, the accumulating part seems to be a lot easier than the disposing part.  Why is that?  However, I am still cautiously optimistic as we are only early in the second half (I hope).

So, I’ll set aside the issue of stuff for now.  Many of the folks that we met along the way, perhaps most of those that cruise, have chucked the shore-side attachments and moved aboard full time. We met plenty who have been living aboard for a decade or longer.   Some were taking a year off to see the sights with the plan of heading back to shore after they spent their cruising kitty or had used up all of the good will from a patient employer that granted them a leave of absence.   However, the vast majority have retired, many at a fairly early age.  Perhaps the choice of boat and home verses boat alone is often a matter of economics. It’s painful to pay all those bills for the shore home when you are afloat.

Having the ability to maintain a home and boat can work although it’s much more complicated than just tossing all your stuff and casting off the lines.  For me and Brenda, we will be splitting our time between Pandora and our home in Essex CT.  Of course, for us, the $64 question is what the balance of time will be between our time afloat and on the hard.   As is so often the case, the guy (me) in this equation wants to spend more time aboard.  However, I have learned that there is truth to the saying, “when the Queen is happy, there is peace in the kingdom”.  So…we will have a more reasonable split of shore verses afloat.   Got it?  Of course, getting a good definition of “reasonable” will likely take some time.   Patience is a good thing.

One common theme that we also observed in the couples that had been cruising together for years is that, as a rule, they seem to get along very well.   It’s possible to spend a two week vacation with someone that you don’t get along with that well but it’s entirely different kettle of fish to spend many months in a small space together if your thoughts turn dark too often.

Thinking of the short time folks, I am sure that you have seen, rather heard, guys screaming above the wind, at their partner up on the bow, when they are anchoring.  Those are probably not going to be long term cruiser types.   It seems to be a badge of honor among the cruisers we have met to use hand gestures,usually subtle, but not always, and never (well mostly never) raise their voices.

Another basic truth in cruising is that your biggest enemy is your calendar.  The ability to wait a day can make a huge difference in how enjoyable a trip is.  Motoring into 20kts on the nose is a lot different than sailing on a broad reach in the same breeze.  Happily, wind direction changes on nearly a daily basis so a flexible calendar makes for happy cruising.  I have some cruising friends who almost never sail with wind ahead of the beam.  They just wait a few days till the wind clocks around.  Yes, that’s the true cruiser or at least the mark of someone who’s not in a hurry.

Before I break, I’ll touch on a few of our favorite spots along the way.  We loved the Dismal Swamp Canal.  Meeting the ever friendly lockmaster Robert was a particularly special treat.  He was clear that he wanted us to bring him back a Conch shell to add to his already prodigious collection.   Here’s a link to my post about our experience with Robert. The canal’s primeval look and remoteness was a special treat.  We highly recommend it.  And, don’t forget to stop at the visitor’s center near the southern end of the canal. We also loved seeing the landscape change as we headed south including the live oaks that graced every place that we went.  Perhaps some of the best examples that we saw early on were in Charleston where we spent a week.  There area  few key things that cruisers look for, beyond other cruisers to hang out with.  These include access to groceries, laundry and great spots to dine.  There are plenty of spots that fit these criteria but perhaps none that fit the bill like Charleston.   Beyond having a great grocery, there is plenty to say about Charleston, that’s for sure.   We were most impressed with the gardens and many of the details of the architecture, especially if you like doorways.

We loved so many places along the way it’s hard to say which cities were the best.   It was also an eye opener to see how much of the ICW is still fairly wild with it’s barren remoteness. Perhaps this was most typified by the abandoned rice fields near Myrtle Beach and the meandering channels heading through Georgia.  I’d also recommend a visit to Brookgreen Gardens, as we did, although you will need to rent a car to get there.

Georgia is much maligned for it’s shoaling but we had not trouble because we were able to time our trip to coincide with rising tides.  With a 9 1/2 foot tide, there is plenty of water at least half of the time.  I do not recommend trying Georgia when the tide is low in the middle of the day.  As annoying as the winding channel can be, the views are worth it with soft grasses in every direction.  While some said that we should avoid GA at all costs, others said it was great, perhaps their favorite part of the trip.  We loved it.

I have to say that a list of favorites could go on and on but perhaps it’s best to leave it at that for now.  If you have considered doing this trip, I’d say that “now’s a good time”.   Just go.

Besides, where else could you be treated to sunsets and sunrises that rival those you can see when aboard?   It’s hard to say what was our favorite part of the trip.  Perhaps it’s less about the individual places that we visited, and more about the journey itself and such a journey it has been.

So, what has been our favorite part so far?  It’s hard to believe but I expect that the best is yet to come.  Bahamas?  I’m thinking that’s gonna be pretty good.