12/15/2025
My wife and I live on our 50 ft Sea Ray in Savannah, GA and have traveled on the ICW for 1000’s of miles by now. Here are some things I’ve learned:
1. Set your depth alarm at twice your draft ( mine is 4 ft and my alarm is set at 10 ft)
2. If your alarm goes off immediately reduce speed and search for deeper water ( it might be right behind you)
3. Use previous tracks and markers as a suggestion. Read the water and learn how to spot shallower water.
4. Outside of curving rivers are normally deeper than the inside.
5. All of us run aground. Approach the sand bar, mud flat, beach or dock at the speed at which you wish to hit it. ( slower is better)
6. Bad weather, moving around your vessel, offshore passage, or night time boating put your auto inflatable live vest on. Strap on to your life vest a PLB ( Personal Locator Beacon ). Register it and test it regularly. Know how to activate it with your eyes closed. This takes the search out of the rescue as the US Coast Guard is notified very quickly via satellites once your PLB is activated. With information you provide when registering it they call phone numbers to validate the distress signal prior to spinning up a helicopter or dispatching a rescue vessel) EPIRB for a vessel is larger and transmits much longer before the battery dies). Not a bad idea to have both.
7. Purchase a VHF with distress button. Register your VHF and get an MMSI. Turn it on and leave it on while underway. Teach all crew members how to use it ( you might not be able to press that button if something happens to you)
8. Get AIS and use it. Commercial vessels are usually required to have this and transmit data. Recreational optional to transmit. ( data received can be from a barge around the corner or ship you are near in the Great Lakes when the fog rolls in that you cannot see)
9. Use your radar and learn how to read it. Use it in the day time to understand what it is telling you.
10. Leaving the dock is optional. Do not let a schedule place your vessel in a bad spot at the end of the day. Get weather data from various sources and know if wind or waves are forecast to increase this is a prediction. ( it might be much worse)
11. Get some type of towing coverage and know how it applies to you where you are located. ( some do not cover you if you are beyond a certain limit offshore)
12. Teamwork makes the dream work. Involve your crew when you need them. Explain your plan and discuss options prior to implementing that plan.
