Jake;
I’ve been up and down much of the ditch from Norfolk to as far south as Port Royal, SC about 12 times over the years. Even with the 6.5 ft draft of Mistress, you should have little trouble. For the most part you will find at least 10-11 feet of depth in the ditch. In many stretches in North Carolina you will see close to 20 feet. Parenthetically, when I sailed in the Chesapeake in the 90s and early 2000s I often heard how shallow the Bay is. Then I moved to North Carolina – where the deepest spot in the 55 NM between me and the ocean is 24 ft. Down here 10 feet is a bunch of water. Though I did not when I was in the Bay over the summer I found myself getting nervous each time the sounder showed less than 30 feet. I guess everything is relative. Back to conditions on the Ditch: The stretch from the North Landing River through Currituck Sound to Coinjock is about my least favorite area, not because of the depth but because the channel is narrow and the sound is a couple of miles wide. It is easy to get out of the channel and into 5 feet or less of water. I ran it just after sunset on my trip north in June, and actually found that stretch easier to run after dark. You just play “connect the dots” between the flashing lights. The channel is quite well marked and the lights can be seen farther off than the daymarks – at least to my old eyes. There are a couple of problem areas in North Carolina that bear close attention. One is the entrance from Albemarle Sound to the Alligator River around SM 100. Not because it is shallow, but because the kink in the channel is confusing. In September I helped bring a boat up the ditch from Georgia. We were helping some new owners move their boat and teaching them a bit about coastal cruising along the way. We had concerns about four spots in North Carolina: Bogue Inlet (SM 227) has shoaled some and you need to favor the red side of the channel. I had no problems here. Brown’s Inlet (SM 237) is a big problem right now. I was about 60 feet inside the channel near marker 61 about an hour after high slack water when the water went from over 10 feet to 3 feet in less than a boat length. We hit hard and bounced off the shoal. We regrouped and found deep water way over by the red side of the channel, but this spot is shoaling badly and very quickly. New River Inlet (SM 246) is reputed to be shallow, but we had no problems with 6 feet draft in mid channel at half tide. Someone here already mentioned Lockwood’s Folly (SM321), which has reportedly shoaled to 4.5 feet. We went over to the red side of the channel and had no problems, but a south bound trawler than we talked to reported that they touched twice in the area. Guess it depends on which line you follow – deep water or the Magenta Line on the chart plotter. Anyhow, Jake, go south! You will enjoy the trip, and I’m not the only C&C owner in NC that will be glad to but you a recreational beverage on the passage. From experience I can say you will have few problems until you get to Georgia. Rick Brass Washington, NC From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Jake Brodersen Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2013 5:54 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Andrew running the ditch south Andy, No trouble with 6.5’ draft in the ditch? I’ve often thought of making a run south, but the thought of dodging shallow water the whole way puts me off. I haven’t made it past milepost zero yet. Jake Jake Brodersen “Midnight Mistress” C&C 35 Mk-III Hampton Va cid:D1BF9853-22F7-47FB-86F2-4115CE0BAF2F
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