Noonsite Guide to the Intracoastal Waterway and the Great Loop
While Noonsite predominantly covers only coastal ports, we’ve come to realise via feedback from international cruisers that there is little information out there regarding the ICW and Great Loop specifically for international visitors to the USA. Therefore we have put this introductory guide together, exclusively for Noonsite members. We welcome any feedback from cruisers who have done any or all of these routes, especially as an international cruiser.
Published 8 years ago, updated 10 hours ago
Noonsite Guide
The Intracoastal Waterway and the Great Loop
The Intracoastal Waterway (commonly referred to as the ICW) is an intricate, well-established, well-charted system of waterways that surrounds the entire eastern and southern seaboards of the United States. Combined with major inland rivers and canals, it is possible to take a circular route from Florida to the Great Lakes and back to Florida, circumnavigating the eastern half of the United States entirely by water: this is known as the Great Loop.
This introductory guide, particularly aimed at foreign skippers visiting the US, covers everything you need to know about navigating the ICW and planning for the Great Loop, Mini Loops or even just a short section of the ICW.
This guide covers:
- An explanation of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW)
- An explanation of the Great Loop
- ICW Intel comprising: Inlets, Navigation, Towing, Anchoring, Using a Dinghy, Rules, Government & Law Enforcement Jurisdictions, Radio Etiquette and Contacting Vessels, Bridge Procedure, Provisioning and Facilities and Security.
- Can my yacht do the ICW? Or even The Great Loop?
- Useful Links
- Related Reports & News
- Publications
How to access the Guide
This comprehensive guide is available exclusively to Noonsite Members.
- If you are a Member, log in and follow this link with instructions on how to read the full guide.
We welcome any feedback from Noonsite members who have done any or all of these routes, especially as an international cruiser.
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If you plan to travel the ICW you will find it very rewarding, but some areas can be a challenge without local knowledge. There is generally plenty of water in the ICW even at low tide, but the trick is finding it. Charts of the ICW historically showed a center line, or as it was called the Magenta Line, based on the color. Even though you will still see the Magenta Line on some chart areas it does not necessarily mark the deepest water.
Thanks to the efforts of a gentleman who travels the ICW twice a year we now have a source for tracks showing the deepest water in all the Atlantic ICW. Robert Sherer, or better known as Bob423, shares his tracks and makes them available for download to your favorite navigation app or chartplotter. Just visit his website https://bobicw.blogspot.com/p/bob423-long-tracks.html and follow the instructions. You can also follow Bob423 and ask questions on his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/ICWCruisingGuide
Already listed in Useful Links above are Waterway Guide and Cruisers Net. Both are excellent sources for information and have apps for use on your favorite phone or tablet. If free docks are your thing, then also listed is an online guide to ICW Free Docks at https://www.icwfreedocks.com/. I publish this guide and make it available at no cost for users. If you have any questions, there is a contact form on the website. You can also message or discuss free docks on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/icwfree. I will try to answer your questions or point you in a direction for help.
Thanks so much for this great feedback!
Posted on behalf of Bill Willmann, S/V VIVA:
I’m planing to do the Great Loop in 2018 and am in the process of collecting all the information I can. Your article emphasizes the rules, laws, and regulations and makes it sound like a cruiser will be dealing with authorities day and night. An international cruiser (17 years), I did the ICW a few years ago from the Florida Keys to the top of the Chesapeake and back. It took five or six months, and albeit that I’m a courteous and experienced cruiser and fly an American flag, I was only stopped once by the authorities, and that was to ask for proof of dinghy ownership because a similar one had been lost/stolen in the area.
I understand you have to prepare your readers for what could happen, but my fear is that your article will unnecessarily discourage sailors, especially non-Americans, from seeing the real America and learning that we aren’t what they see on the news, etc. Every European I’ve met who has ICW and/or Loop experience has had a very positive, glowing experience, in awe of the navigational aids and friendliness and helpfulness of the people, including the authorities.
Thank you for Noonsite – it’s a great resource for all of us.
Nov 2018
We motored down the ICW from Hampton, Virginia to Charleston South Carolina, we popped out at Beaufort and back in at Georgetown. Then we continued on the ICW until Charleston.
We didn’t have any problems with our draft of 5 ft (1.52M) and our mast height of 55 ft (16.76M) and although there was debris, we managed to avoid it. I also joined a Facebook group called “ICW Cruising Guide by Bob423”. It’s run by Bob Sherer. You can check our website for our route: http://www.untilthebuttermelts.com
Please remember that flood waters from Florence and now from Michael will have lifted tons of debris into the Waterway channels and submerged hazards can do serious damage to your vessel. See Waterway Guide for the latest updates – https://www.waterwayguide.com.