Running from NC to FL - advice on hotels with docks?

[wahoo33417]

I'll be running our Grady from New Bern, NC back home to South FL via the ICW next week. There seems to be quite a few small hotels with docks in NC, but not so many south of Beaufort, SC until Florida. Anyone know of small places that capture local flavor in that stretch?

Okay, my wife says this is crazy, but I'm hoping it will be fun boating through different areas - and a climate a bit different than we're used to. Hence the need to plan for hotels. Could be quite cold and we turn the heat on when temps in the house get below 70!

To share the plan, the trucking firm that delivers Gradys to south Florida, and doesn't want to go back empty, will carry our boat back to New Bern. After making our way to Beaufort or Moorehead City, NC, I'm figuring that we can easily cover 100 miles a day down the ICW. Unless of course there are extensive slow speed zones as there are in south Florida. If the weather is mild, we'll stay on the boat. But I'm planning for weather not so mild.

Any suggestions from local boaters is appreciated!

Tx, Rob

 

[wrobinson]

Here is a list of places I have stayed some hotels with docks others walking distance from a marina:

Myrtle beach yacht club just south of the little river inlet has a holiday inn right there. If you like garlic eat at Umbertos at the hotel.

Georgetown SC - Hampton Inn at Georgetown Landing Marina or walk to the Harbor House B&B from Hazzzard Marine up the Sampit River. The wife will like the Harbor House.

Isle of Palms Marina - Great marina just north of Charleston. If you can stay on the boat they have spotless shower rooms with Saunas and a great restaurant called Morgan Creek at the marina. Very friendly staff. No hotel at the marina but somebody will give you a lift if needed.

Charleston SC - Charleston Harbor Marina has a hotel. The City Marina in Charleston has a free shuttle service to local hotels and restaurants. There is a good restaurant at the marina called The Variety Store.

Beaufort SC - Downtown Marina easy walk to the Best Western or the Beaufort Inn. We just pull the dock carts to the hotel and bring em back when we are unloaded.

Savannah Ga. - Westin resort up the river about 5 miles from the ICW. Pretty pricey. (Watch the current if you try and dock on the inside.)

Amelia Island (fl) Yacht Club - You have to call a cab to the Hampton Inn. The Ritz Carleton will send a car for you. Again the wife will like the Ritz.

Ft. Lauderdale - Pier 66. The Pelican Bar offers the opportunity to drink a Kalik beer overlooking the waterway.

An updated waterway guide will have info on places between Amelia Island and Ft. Lauderdale. There are a bunch of them. Have a great trip!!

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Rob,
The ICW in SC and GA is pretty and not loaded with manatee zones like in Fla. I have not spent a ton time in either. Just south of St. Augustine is a really nice b&b I have stayed at twice... Marker 38 (I think it is the name, they named after a nearby channel marker). There are also very nice b&Bs in New Smyrna Beach as well.

I would suggest getting one of those ICW cruising guides.

I do have one question...are you now in New Bern NC and no longer in south Fla?

Sounds like a very fun cruise...wish I could join you...I am getting worn out this winter with all the snow we have had and next week it is supposed to be another good storm..

 

[wahoo33417]

wrobinson and Bob: Thank you both. You both gave me suggestions that I did not find online or in the waterway Guide. Thanks!

Bob: I'm still in West Palm Beach. We just got this notion to do a different boat trip. And the idea blossomed when the local dealer said the truck goes back to NC empty.

I hope we don't freeze - but I think it will be a blast!

Rob

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Rob, pardon my lack of clarity here. So, you are driving to New Bern towing your baby, splashing her, cruising back home and then putting her on a flat bed trailer, heading back to New Bern and then towing her back home again?

Would it not be cheaper to leave in her in Fla and rent a car to go fetch your rig? :hmm

Either way, I would love to do this trip with you if I had the time.

 

[Daman858]

Gimme a shout when you cross under the US 17 bridge on the ICW just north of Georgetown. I'll meet you for lunch or something. You can put in at my marina....Boat Shed in Georgetown. Fuel available.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Dave, are talking to me? :mrgreen: Kind of in the voice of Joey Saprano...are you talking to Rob? We are thinking about a weekend away this summer either near you at Huntington Beach State Park or down south at Hunting Island State Park...have you been to either?

 

[Daman858]

Actually, I was talking to either one of you....anyway, I live 10 minutes from Huntington Beach State Park and it is very nice and have been to Hunting Island many times. Also very nice...lots of great fishing but you can get lost in those creeks down there..GPS a must have. Big tide changes too.