What is the Intracoastal Waterway?
The Intracoastal Waterway, or “ICW” as you’ll hear some old salts refer to it, is a term you’re likely to hear a lot when visiting or living in Southeastern North Carolina. It’s a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are man-made canals. Parts of the waterway that stretch from Virginia to Florida, including the section between Beaufort and the Cape Fear River, are natural. But many sections were dug out during the 1920s and 30s as both a jobs-development project during the Great Depression and to provide a safe passage for shipping that was decimated by German U-boats during World War I. Snows Cut, living up to its name, was slashed through the soft sandhills of southern New Hanover County. And much of the waterway in Brunswick County was dug in the 1930s to connect existing inlets and rivers. Although originally built to serve commerce, the waterway in North Caro
Answering that question is perhaps harder than learning to tie all of those boating knots. Officially, the Intracoastal Waterway starts at the Annisquam River north of Boston and runs down the East Coast and across the Gulf of Mexico coastline to Brownsville, Texas. But what most people mean (including the authors of cruising guides and chartbooks) when they refer to the ICW is the section between Norfolk, Virginia, and Miami, Florida. In fact, Norfolk Harbor marks Mile Zero (0) of the ICW, while Miami s final market is Mile 1,095.0. What to Expect The ICW from Norfolk to Miami is generally a protected inside passage. Many Beacon readers home ports are on larger open bodies of water in the Northeast, the Great Lakes, and along the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, the idea of cruising some narrow, shallow, and busy channel with lots of opening bridges can be a bit disconcerting. It doesn t help that the chartbooks reveal places like the Dismal Swamp, Mosquito Lagoon, Alligator River, and Cape Fear
Related Questions
- I have heard there is a law in place that prevents North Topsail Beach from annexing or exercising ETJ across the Intracoastal Waterway. So, how can this possibly be a threat to Sneads Ferry?
- Are there any Equestrian Communities by the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Beach County or Martin County?
- What are the rules for mooring boats near the Intracoastal Waterway?
