In This Issue
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I. Florida's Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) Enforcement Officers Continue to Aggravate and Endanger Cruisers
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II. Praise for City's Loaner Bike Program, Punta Gorda, FL, Charlotte Harbor
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III. Bogue Inlet/AICW Intersection Problem Stretch to be Dredged, Statute Mile 227
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IV. Take Action to Reduce the Ethanol Requirement
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V. Hawk Channel Plagued with Crab Pots between Rodriguez Key and Marathon, FL
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VI. Web Cams Up and Running in Flagler County, FL, AICW Between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach
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VII. Cruising Western Florida's Big Bend Region
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VIII. NOAA Announces The Magenta Line will Stay, and (Hopefully) Be Improved
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IX. Blu Mangrove Grill, Now Open at Riviera Dunes Marina (Manatee River, off southeastern Tampa Bay)
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X. Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center Needs Your Assistance!
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XI. Shem Creek Dredging near AICW Intersection, Lower Charleston (SC) Harbor, Statute Mile 463
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XII. Expect Longer Delays at Las Olas Boulevard Bridge, AICW Statute Mile 1064
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XIII. Specials and Events Around the Marina- Regatta Pointe Marina, Manatee River - Palmetto, FL
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XIV. "The Professor" Sets Sail For Another Island
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XV. Upper Waccamaw River Cartographical Aids
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XVI. Southport Marina Wins "Marina of the Year" Award from "Marina Dock Age" Magazine (Statute Mile 309)
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Western Florida
II. Praise for City's Loaner Bike Program, Punta Gorda, FL, Charlotte Harbor
SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSOR, Punta Gorda now offers visiting cruisers a FREE bike rental service. Wow, talk about a cruiser friendly Floridian community getting even chummier with mariners!Punta Gorda's FREE loaner bike program, described in the below linked article by Nancy Johnson, CEO of Team Punta Gorda and Lorah Steiner, Director of Tourism, is a real boon to transient cruisers! Bikes are available within easy walking distance of the Punta Gorda waterfront anchorage public dinghy dock located just off Gilchrist Park, which is between Fishermens Village and the twin Tamiami Bridges. Biking is a great way to visit nearby attractions and to stretch your legs after several days on the water. Another excellent service-to-boaters provided by the city of Punta Gorda!Note that we have just appended a full color map of downtown Punta Gorda to this article, which shows exactly where the free bikes can be found. ANYONE planning a visit to charming Punta Gorda will want to spare no effort to fully peruse:http://cruisersnet.net/?p=133102
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North Carolina
III. Bogue Inlet/AICW Intersection Problem Stretch to be Dredged, Statute Mile 227
The Bogue Inlet/AICW intersection near Swansboro, NC has been a shallow water, AICW Problem Stretch for months now (and years before that), and the dredging project announced in the below linked article is very welcome news indeed! It will be completed in time for the spring, 2014 transient season!
By the way, dredging of the AICW is going forward along various sections of the AICW in North Carolina for two reasons. First, the state is now partially funding dredging through a new law passed in 2012, and there are some Federal moneys available due to 2012 storm damage.
This is in marked contrast to South Carolina and Georgia, where NO AICW DREDGING is expected to take place in 2014. We'll have far more to say on this subject within the next two weeks or so Full details on the Bogue Inlet/AICW dredging at: http://cruisersnet.net/?p=133805
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Attention All Cruisers
IV. Take Action to Reduce the Ethanol Requirement - Submit Your Comments!
The Nation Marine Manufacturers Association (http://www.nmma.org) Action Alert linked below, regarding ethanol enriched gasoline, went out to NMMA members this past Wednesday. Last month, NMMA testified before the EPA explaining the unintended dangers of the Renewable Fuel Standard and its impact on the marine industry. NMMA will also be submitting written comments this month. But, the voice of the cruising community is critical to the overall success of this effort.
If you want the EPA to reduce the ethanol mandate, to modify the RFS and protect marine engines, then follow the link below WITHOUT FAIL, and submit your comments!
Please visit:
http://cruisersnet.net/?p=133792
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Eastern Florida
VI. Web Cams Up and Running in Flagler County, FL, AICW Between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach
Flagler County, south of St. Augustine, and north of Daytona Beach, now boasts eight live webcams along the Waterway as it flows through this county. These sites also include current weather conditions.
It's really an impressive system. Follow the link below, and you will discover how you can look at a web site which shows all eight cameras. Slick!
Please visit:
http://cruisersnet.net/?p=133597
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Western Florida
VII. Cruising Western Florida's Big Bend Region
I have often said, but it's worth repeating, that if you get six veteran cruisers together, and ask their opinion about the best way to cruise the waterwayless "Big Bend" region of Western Florida, moving north from Tarpon Springs and Anclote Key to Dog Island and the charming village of Carrabelle (or the other way around), you will get eight different opinions. On the one hand, some argue for "cutting the corner" and heading directly from Dog Island straight for Anclote Key or Clearwater. There are a whole set of issues around this strategy such as what time of day (or night) do you depart, and the presence of crabpots and fish traps as one approaches Anclote Key.
The other strategy is to follow the Big Bend Coastline, keeping WELL offshore, to avoid the large shelf of shallows which jut out from this portion of the Florida coastline. This plan allows visits to the Big Bend rivers, which pierce the coastline at regular intervals, and are joined to the Gulf's deeper waters by marked, dredged channels. Following some of these passages can be a real navigational challenge, and some of these stream's entrance cuts carry only 4 to 4 1/2 feet of water. Others are somewhat deeper, but none are a proverbial walk in the park.
Linked below, you will find an impressive string of messages about the best way to cruise the Big Bend waters. Some originally appeared on the "GL" (Great Loop) mailing list, but SSECN readers have now chimed in with their own points of view. As you will see, a full spectrum of opinions is on display here. Check out:
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AICW
VIII. NOAA Announces The Magenta Line will Stay, and (Hopefully) Be Improved
Back on 10/2/13, the SSECN, as well as many other nautical publications, reported that the NOAA charting folks were seriously considering doing away with the infamous "magenta line," which is supposed to, but often does not, mark the route to keep to the best depths on the AICW, and other USA Waterways (see http://cruisersnet.net/?p=124482). In fact, it seemed like an almost "done deal" that the line was going to disappear from future editions of NOAA charts.
Not so fast. The cruising community responded with a barrage of e-mails to NOAA, and on 1/14/14 it was announced that the magenta line was not only going to be retained, but an effort was going to be made to relocate it to better indicate where the best depths are to be found.
All this makes for very interesting reading at:
http://cruisersnet.net/?p=133527
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Western Florida
IX. Blu Mangrove Grill, Now Open at Riviera Dunes Marina (Manatee River, off southeastern Tampa Bay)
We have very pleased to note that SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSOR, Riviera Dunes Marina, now boasts a new, on-site dining establishment, the Blu Mangrove Grill (941-479-7827). Don't read the message linked below if you are hungry, unless, of course, you are in striking distance of this new dining attraction! Lots and lots more info about this new dining spot at:
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North Carolina
X. Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center Needs Your Assistance!
The Dismal Swamp Canal Welcome Center, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSOR, is located on the east shore of the Canal at Statute Mile 28. Free overnight dockage is provided for visiting cruisers. For all of us who have been fortunate enough to cruise down the coffee colored waters of the Dismal Swamp Canal, and visit its wonderful Welcome Center, you already know this facility is well worth fighting for. State budget cuts now threaten its future existence. So click on the link below and register your support for continued funding of this wonderful Waterway service. Director, Donna Stewart, asks your support: http://cruisersnet.net/?p=133796
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South Carolina
XI. Shem Creek Dredging near AICW Intersection, Lower Charleston (SC) Harbor, Statute Mile 463
Shem Creek, a popular DINING destination for cruisers, is found on the lower, north side of Charleston Harbor. The LONG entrance channel intersects the Waterway at marker #130.
FINALLY, the channel into Shem Creek from Charleston Harbor is being dredged. When complete, cruisers should once again discover good depths all the way into the southern mouth of Shem Creek, and it's then just a hop, skip and a jump to the several restaurants on this stream which feature dockage for their patrons (particularly "RB's").
The initial dredging already underway is found north of #130 between markers #1 and #2, and will progress northward into Shem Creek. Waterway navigation should not be affected by the dredging operations.Read the full, official announcement describing this dredging project at: http://cruisersnet.net/?p=133294
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Eastern Florida XII. Expect Longer Delays at Las Olas Boulevard Bridge, AICW Statute Mile 1064, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
The Las Olas Boulevard Bridge with a closed vertical clearance of 31ft crosses the Waterway at Statute Mile 1064, south of AICW marker #8.This span in now undergoing extensive repairs, and its opening schedule is being significantly altered.
Get the full skinny at:
http://cruisersnet.net/?p=121544
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Western Florida
XIII. Specials and Events Around the Marina- Regatta Pointe Marina, Manatee River - Palmetto, FL
We have just received a wide ranging announcement from SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSOR, Regatta Pointe Marina about a whole bevy of special activities taking place here within the next month or so. This fine facility guards the northern banks of the Manatee River, just west of the Highway 41 Business Bridge, and hard by the community of Palmetto, Florida.
Find out all about it at:
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Goodbye to An Old Friend
XIV. "The Professor" Sets Sail For Another Island
It was with much sadness that I read the announcements linked below on the St. Augustine's Cruisers' Net ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/staugustinecruisersnet/), about the passing of actor Russell Johnson, best known as the "Professor" in the 1960s TV sitcom "Gilligan's Island." Like Captain Tarlecky (follow link below), I think this show helped inspire my life to be associated with the water and cruising. According to CNN.com (see http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/16/showbiz/russell-johnson-obit/), Johnson, "died Thursday, his agent said. Johnson was 89." Farewell "Professor" Johnson and godspeed on your journey!"
See what our fellow cruisers in St. Augustine are saying about this passing at:
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South Carolina
XV. Upper Waccamaw River Cartographical Aids
Back on 12/24/13, the Salty Southeast Cruisers' Net (along with many other nautical publications) made the sad announcement that the USCG would be removing all aids to navigation on the upper portion of the Waccamaw River, abandoned by the AICW (see http://cruisersnet.net/?p=130563). As SSECN Senior Editor, Captain Larry Dorminy, commented at that time, "While depths in the Upper Waccamaw are reported to be good, the removal of these daybeacons and buoys will certainly make this side trip upstream to Conway, SC more difficult."
Then, HAPPILY, we received some homemade, but genuinely useful maps outlining the route along the upper Waccamaw to Conway, courtesy of veteran cruisers, Captains Jim and Peg Healy. The entire cruising community owes a debt of gratitude to this cruising duo for supplying such quality info. Check it out for yourself at:
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North Carolina
XVI. Southport Marina Wins "Marina of the Year" Award from "Marina Dock Age" Magazine (Statute Mile 309)
We are very pleased to report that SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS' NET SPONSOR, Southport Marina, has just been awarded the coveted "2013 Marina of the Year (Large Marina)" distinction by "Marina Dock Age Magazine" ( http://www.marinadockage.com) We are not at all surprised. The facilities, the management, not to mention the on-site Zimmerman Marine repair yard, are all absolutely FIRST RATE operations. Please follow this link to learn much more:
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