Palm Beach, Fl
We arrived sometime around 11:30 this morning. Internet and phone reception was perfect the entire way.
So now would be a good time to go over the last topic:
What worked.. and what didn't.
The Verizon internet card USB760 with optional external antenna - I was very impressed by the coverage, and quality of the service from Verizon. Very few times was I unable to connect with the card alone, and serval of those times I was able to plug the antenna in and connect again. Only twice was I completely out of service; and then only for a couple of hours.
The iPhone - great to have for tide carts, and that amazing app that Tom introduced me to: Navionics. Navionics is a chartplotter app and covers all of the eastern coast including the ICW - all for $10! It also has tide AND currents built in! It is not a fully featured chart plotter and I would not trade my Garmin for it.. but it came in handy several times on this trip.
However, the reception was crap until we hit Florida. And there were points when I could be on the internet with Verizon but not talk on the phone with AT&T.
Cruising Guides & Flip Chart - I will not do this trip again without a couple good cruising guides and the flip chart. The flip chart, which has each leg in order - page after page on a spiral binder - was REALLY nice. We only had a guide for Georgia and while we were there it helped immensely. I purchased it as an after-thought in SC.. I wish we had gotten guides sooner.
I recommend the Doziers guides:
I also recommend you also consult the Doziers website:
and click on the area you are traveling on the left. It seems to be very up to date.
Garmin NUVI GPS with touch screen - Ron has a new Nuvi touch screen. I do not recommend this gps.. the touch screen is terrible and doesn't work well in this environment. I really missed my old reliable Garmin 182C on this trip. I have a nuvi for the car - so I am not totally against these.. just against them for use in a boat.
6 foot draft - Bad, bad, bad. If that is what you have, try to go around Georgia. Buy cruising charts. Get local knowledge whenever you can.
Seatow - Great, especially if your draft is 6 feet. I use BoatUS Tow.
Boat Preparedness - I was very concerned with this topic when this trip began. When I did my trip from MA to MD I spent many hours and thousands of dollars on safety and gear. I don't think anyone has spent a minute or a dollar on Ron's boat. We spent the trip battling fuel leaks and water leaks.. I didn't know where the life jackets were, if there were any at all. There wasn't a dingy, let alone a life raft. Ron seldom had the radio on, or on channel 16 - I'm pretty sure there wasn't a spare handheld. What I learned from this is basically: if it floats, and steers, it can make it down the ICW. Some of the other boats we passed looked like they barely even met that criterion.
Not waiting until November - We had the waterway basically to ourselves until Florida. That was very nice - no fighting for space at marina's, and not being waked repeatedly. However, the weather was very unstable the entire trip. I think next time we do this we'll leave at the same time to avoid the crowds, go slower, and once I hit SC, wait until a weather window opens and run outside. After SC going inside gets really old, really fast.
Privacy - No privacy for 21 days. Bad, bad, bad. If I ever do this trip with guests or as a guest it will be in a boat with at least one private stateroom!
As I think of more things, I'll add them. In the meanwhile, why don't you checkout our boat blog: http://svsanuk.wordpress.com/ and see if we have posted anything yet :D
As I think of more things, I'll add them. In the meanwhile, why don't you checkout our boat blog: http://svsanuk.wordpress.com/ and see if we have posted anything yet :D
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