There are endless resources available for the mariner on the web but which ones are most useful? I've compiled a list of that I find helpful in cruising on the ICW.
2023 ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423 provides over 100 charts of shallow areas of the Atlantic ICW and how to safely navigate around them along with chapters on how to prepare your house and yourself for long-term cruising. Also included are educational chapters on what you must know in traveling the ICW.
Updates to the Guide Since Publication. The ICW Cruising Guides are published every July 15th but how can you keep them up to date? You can always check with the Waterway Guide Alert icon to see the current status but now there's another way - a PDF with change pages.
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook has a chart for every 5 miles of the Atlantic ICW from Norfolk, VA to Miami, FL in full color with 259 pages in 8.5 x 11 inch format. Many side charts are also included along with insets for further details on selected areas. All verbiage in the NOAA chart margins is included.
2024 Atlantic ICW Chartbook is an updated and expanded version of the Chartbook described above. The ICW section now covers from Norfolk, VA to Key West, FL in 5 mile steps. Also added are the charts from St Lucie to Ft Myers (both the shore route and across Lake Okeechobee) and down to Key West although the last part is across open water and not in 5 mile steps. The major inlets along the ICW are also included. The chartbook consists of 385 charts, a Table of Contents, an index for a total of 409 pages.
ICW Cruising Guide Facebook page is the go-to place for up-to-the-minute shoaling conditions on the Atlantic ICW. With over 19,000 members, surprise shoaling doesn't stand a chance, it's reported first here along with bridge and lock delays.
Waterway Guide is the standard for comprehensive on the water information, updated yearly.
- Guide books cover the Great Lakes, along the coast from Maine to Texas, Cuba, and the Bahamas in both spiral bound and digital formats for PC, Apple, and Android devices, updated yearly.
- Chart Viewer with USACE Surveys and Waterway Guide icons for marinas, services, anchorages and free docks, bridges and locks, navigation alerts, and diesel and gas fuel. Great for planning.
- Weather Viewer giving the latest NOAA Coastal Forecast and an inset of the Windy forecast
- Fuel Price Reports are updated regularly and can be sorted alphabetically or by mile marker. It's great for finding the best fuel price on your route.
Aqua Map Mobile Chartplotter is a navigation app for both Apple and Android devices. It's the only app that displays Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) depth surveys ready for navigation and has many other unique features. For a PDF list of special features see Aqua Map Unique Features.
Bob423 Download Site has over a dozen topics of interest to the cruising sailor that include:
- How to Download Tracks and Routes
- Bob423 Long Tracks has four tracks covering from Norfolk, VA to Miami, FL, free for downloading. Many other side trips are also available.
- How to Record and Share Tracks and Routes with your friends or for future reference.
- GPX Routes of interest are available
- How To Videos on the Use of Aqua Map
- Track Splitter for Garmin chartplotters and other devices that place a limit on the number of track points in a track. A long track can be split into smaller segments with this tool.
- Crowd Source Bathymetry and how to use it to download tracks with included depths
- CSB2GPX converter accepts the link produced by a query to NOAA's CSB database and outputs a GPX file with embedded depths that can be read by Aqua Map.
NOAA Chart Viewer allows you to see and download the latest chart for an area.
Locat Notices for Mariners (LMNs) provide the latest Coast Guard announcements
Coastal Text Forecasts are the same forecasts you'll hear over VHF but in text form for easy reference.
Coast Guard Navigation Center is where you report a navigation (hazard, ATON damaged or off station, or other on the water problem). The first response should be to call the Coast Guard over VHF but it's a good idea to follow up with a formal report here.
Cruiser's Net is another source of real-time ICW news
Wally Moran's Sail to the Sun ICW Rally is a yearly rally led down the ICW by Wally which is great for first time boaters on the ICW.
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