"tt" wrote in news:1168810072.961060.210860
@s34g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Does anyone have first hand knowledge of the current condition of the
intercoastal waterway from the Cheasapeake Bay to Central Florida. .I
would like to plan a late spring or early summer trip from myrtle beach
either north or south depending on conditions. Small ( 19ft. )shallow
draft centerboard sloop.

I just did the trip from Deltaville, VA to Ft. Lauderdale in Oct/Nov. You
can find extensive trip logs and photos at http://www.GeoffSchultz.org/ in
the 2006 section.

You're going to have a SLOW trip with a 5 HP motor once you hit the tidal
areas of the ICW, which is the area after Beaufort, NC. There are strong
currents in this area and despite the fact that the currents are supposed
to even out, it always feels like they're against you or when they are with
you, you have to slow way down so that you don't get to the next bridge too
early.

We headed out at St. Helena Sound and ran down the coast of FL to St.
Augustine and then to Palm Beach and then to Ft. Lauderdale. Friends of
ours who stayed in the ditch ran into a lot of shallow water in Georgia and
southern FL. To be more precise, they didn't run into shallow water...they
ran into the stuff below the water! :-)

Good luck on your trip. Bring WARM clothes as you're leaving quite late
and it will get COLD.

-- Geoff