Bob423 Guides Publications

There are four Bob423 Guides publications: 

• 2026 ICW Cruising Guide covers the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) from Norfolk, VA, to Key West, Florida, but also includes routes from New York to Norfolk in 300 pages and is also available from Landfall Navigation. 
• 2026 ICW Cruising Guide, Waterway Guide digital version 
• 2024 Atlantic ICW Chartbook includes 385 color charts in the NOAA paper chart format of the Atlantic ICW from Norfolk, VA, to Key West, FL, across Lake Okeechobee to Ft Myers, and down to Key West in 409 pages. A spiral bound version is available from Landfall Navigation. 
• 2024 Long Island Sound Chartbook covers from the Hudson River near New York, across Long Island Sound to Block Island in 209 pages of charts in the NOAA paper chart format. 
• Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook covers the ICW from Norfolk, Va to Miami, FL. If you want all the way to Key West or across Lake Okeechobee, you want the 2024 Atlantic ICW Chartbook instead. 

What’s new?

• Know your chart symbols! Do you know what SG-SY means for a daymark? Do you know the symbol for a missing or off-station buoy? Do you know how to tell if anchoring is prohibited where you want to drop the hook for the night? The answers to all this and much more are in the new chapter 11.
• 178 hazard charts have been updated. The one constant on the ICW is change! 2025-2026 was a record year for dredging, but the ICW still has a plentiful supply of shallow areas.

Contents:

• Chapters 1 – 3: Cover getting your house and boat ready for the trip south and your affairs for an extended stay away from your land home.
• Chapter 4: Cooking on the ICW, what’s needed, what works
• Chapter 5: Staying informed. What apps and sources are most useful
• Chapter 6: Basic Knowledge of the ICW – the fundamentals for those new to the ICW
• Chapter 7: ICW University – Going beyond the basics for cruisers of all experience levels
• Chapter 8: How to ICW-Proof Your Engine by Max Parker of Zimmerman Marine – long distances at slow speeds are not best for your engine; how to compensate?
• Chapter 9: Introduction to Weather Apps by Bob423 – Some forecast better than others
• Chapter 10: ICW Navigation Requires New Skills – a must-read before you start your ICW adventure
• Chapter 11: What do all those chart symbols mean? You could study the 134 page NOAA Chart 1 book but who has the time to do that? I cover the symbols that will affect your cruising and boating safety. It’s a must for those going south.
• Chapter 12: Provides charts of shoaling areas by mile marker and shows how to avoid grounding. Also included are the anchorages and marinas conveniently spaced for traveling south. Not every marina or anchorage is covered, since there are many books available for that purpose, most notably the Waterway Guide Series of guidebooks. I wanted to focus on the places I found the most convenient, and in the case of anchorages, those with shore access for pet relief and spaced at convenient stopping points.
• 25% off coupon. Aqua Map Master should be your first navigation app investment. It’s a bargain that can’t be beat. You will find a coupon in the guide for 25% off the initial purchase price of Aqua Map charts, so be sure to take advantage of the offer if you don’t already have Aqua Map.
  There are many other features not covered in this brief outline.

The 385 color charts in the chartbook cover the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) from Norfolk, Virginia to Key West, Florida, and also across Lake Okeechobee to Ft Myers, and major ICW inlets. Chart notes have been retained and, in most cases, inserted in appropriate locations on the chart or in some cases, compiled at the end of the chartbook for reference. In addition to a detailed Table of Contents ordered by mile marker, an index is provided at the end of the chartbook to allow finding charts by familiar location names.

The 29 NOAA charts used in this chartbook were current anywhere from 10/2022 to 11/2023, depending upon NOAA's schedule for sunsetting their paper chart format. Most of the charts used have been cancelled with the remaining due for cancellation in early 2024. A detailed list of NOAA chart numbers used and update level is included in the chartbook.

The charts are printed in color on 22 lb paper in 8.5 x 11 inch format with each page covering a 5 mile segment of the ICW. The coverage is continuous, there are no gaps except where noted in Contents below. The chartbook comes bound along the long edge but the inside margin has been extended to 1 inch to allow room for a spiral binding if desired from a store like Staples for less than $10. The chartbook totals 409 pages.

Contents:

• Northern Approach to Norfolk VA
• Norfolk VA to Albemarle Sound
• Dismal Swamp to Albemarle Sound
• Albemarle Sound to Key West, FL
• St Lucie, FL to Ft Myers, FL (both the shore route and across Lake Okeechobee are included)
• Ft Myers, FL to Matanzas Pass, FL
• Matanzas Pass, FL to Key West, FL (not in 5 mile increments)
• Inlets along the ICW (17 major inlets covered)
• Compilation of chart messages appearing on charts)

The 2024 Long Island Sound Chartbook contains paper format charts (Raster Navigational Chart or RNC for short) for the Hudson River by New York City, through the East River, Long Island Sound, and on to Block Island. The northern and southern shores of the Sound are covered, including Fishers Island Sound, as are the bays around Shelter Island, Threemile Harbor, and Montauk. 28 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) source charts were used, each with many detail insets, resulting in 204 pages of charts. These are the last charts that NOAA will publish in the area since NOAA decided to retire all RNC format charts by 2024.

Detailed insets are shown for select areas:
• Oyster Bay
• Cold Spring Bay
• Lloyd Bay
• Huntington Bay
• Northport Bay in 5 detail charts
• Port Jefferson in 4 detail charts
• Around Shelter Island in 6 detail charts
• Gardiners Bay in 6 detail charts
• New Haven in 4 charts
• Harlem River in 5 charts
• New London up the Thames River in 8 charts to Norwich
• Connecticut River in 6 charts to Hamburg Cover
• Housatonic River in 5 charts to Shelton

All NOAA Chart Notes have been converted to clear text and displayed

• General area notes
• Specific area notes
• Tide and current tables
  • Dates of soundings (some are pre 1900s)
  • A chart finder graphic
  • Table of Contents
  • Index
  
  

• The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Chartbook is a compilation of nine NOAA paper charts (RNC format) covering the ICW from Norfolk, Virginia to Miami, Florida.
• Each page of the Chartbook shows a 5-mile segment of the ICW resulting in 239 pages of charts. All NOAA comments in insets are also included.
• All charts have been updated by NOAA to 10/25/2022.
• There are no gaps, every mile of the ICW is covered and the NOAA inset charts are also included for added detail in busy areas.
• The book is published through Amazon which does not support spiral binding.
• Staples will spiral bind your book on either the side as a book or at the top for a flip chart format for $8.00 (the margins allow for spiral binding)
• I have a pending agreement with Landfall Navigation who will also sell the book and provide a spiral-bound version.
• The book is printed by Amazon using 90 GSM white paper which is the same weight you can buy at Staples for your copier in the 20 to 24 lb range.

I would recommend you consider the ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423 as a companion publication. It focuses on the specific problem areas of the ICW along with lessons learned from 13 years of traveling the ICW (and 38 years of boating). My motto is “I make all the mistakes first so you don’t have to!” The book is available at Amazon.com by searching “ICW Cruising Guide” by Bob423. The Waterway Guide series of guidebooks are excellent in covering marinas and things to do along the ICW, both books are recommended.