Reporting from America's inland and coastal routes
Never Stop Learning
Bahia Honda State Park in Florida with a view of the ocean and former Flagler railway bridge
Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys would be a mistake for any ICW boat to miss.Daniel Houghton / ICW News
Feature · Route Psychology

Great Loop side trips worth rerouting the chart-plotter over

America's inland and coastal waterways are filled with side trips to rival the main route. From the Big Easy to Boston Harbor, these are the best extensions of the great loop route you've been looking to plan next season around.

Harbor Journal · Published August 1, 2026 Read the feature →

⁂From the Harbor JournalThis week's editions
Feature · Florida Keys · Okeechobee Waterway · Route Psychology

The Florida Decision

Okeechobee or round the bend through the keys? If your boat allows a decision at all (draft) - the classic pitfall laden shortcut vs. long detour awaits.

Harbor JournalAug 3 2026
The waters of the Pamlico sound looking East towards the Outer Banks National Seashore
Feature · NC Albemarle & Sounds · Route Psychology

The Outer Banks - making the jump to Ocracoke Island

How one Ranger Tug 27 with a former Naval Submarine Captain at the helm crossed the Pamlico Sound in 6-8ft. seas. (and wished he waited).

Harbor JournalJun 18 2026
⁂From the WaterThe Harbormaster's Office · field reports, reviewed before publishing
Lock delay · What a fleet report looks likeTennessee River · Pickwick

"Two-hour wait at Pickwick this morning — one chamber down for maintenance. Tows have priority; recreational locking through in pairs."

M/V Selah · Specimen report

Reports from captains underway publish here within hours of Harbormaster review. None are live this morning — the intake is always open.

⁂The Atlas & The ShelfOne vessel, three references — chosen for today
Vessel AtlasReviewed Jun 16 2026

SeaPiper 37

Trailerable long-range pocket trawler

A narrow-beam, trailerable pocket trawler built around range, simplicity, and low operating cost. On the Loop, the SeaPiper 37 is less a miniature yacht than a small expedition platform: slow, efficient, towable, and unusually serious about turning modest size into geographic reach.

First LoopTrailerableCouples

Why this vessel: a trailerable pocket cruiser in the same spirit as the lead's Ranger Tug 27 — small-boat range and shallow-water freedom on the sound-country stretch of the route.

Working Waterways

Locking Through Without Drama

Weather and Crossing Judgment

Gulf Crossing Window: Forecast Age Matters

Boat Readiness

The Machinery Failure Morning Check

⁂The Working WaterfrontPeople and paperwork of the route · newly published
New Profile · Brokers of the Waterways

Captain Steve Russell

Captain / Yacht Broker · Admiralty Yacht Sales

A Gold Looper turned buyer-broker at Admiralty Yacht Sales — researched for trawler, catamaran, and Loop-minded buyers.

Read the profile →
Manuals & Services · Systems library

Helmsman Trawlers 38E Pilothouse

Single-diesel semi-displacement trawler
EngineCummins QSB 6.7 liter 380 hp electronically controlled common-rail diesel engine
SourceHelmsman 38E Pilothouse official model page 2026 · confirmed
27 boats documented · 18 service stops along the routeThe full systems desk →
⁂From the WheelhouseThe Harbormaster's archive
Wormsloe Historic Site, located just outside downtown Savannah, is the former colonial estate of Noble Jones, one of Georgia’s original 1733 settlers. It features Savannah's oldest standing structure—a 1745 fortified tabby house—and is famous for its breathtaking 1.5-mile avenue of over 400 live oak trees
this former colonial estate is simply too historic to miss on any Savannah port call

Savannah's Wormsloe Historic Site

Wormsloe Historic Site, located just outside downtown Savannah, is the former colonial estate of Noble Jones, one of Georgia’s original 1733 settlers. It features Savannah's oldest standing structure—a 1745 fortified tabby house—and is famous for its breathtaking 1.5-mile avenue of over 400 live oak trees

ICW News ArchiveDaniel Houghton / ICW News
⁂RadarRoute-affecting developments
NWS MarineSmall Craft Advisory issued August 3 at 6:48AM EDT until August 3 at 10:00AM EDT by NWS Wakefield VAAug 3 2026
NWS MarineSmall Craft Advisory issued August 3 at 6:33AM EDT until August 3 at 11:00AM EDT by NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DCAug 3 2026
NWS MarineSmall Craft Advisory issued August 3 at 6:21AM EDT until August 3 at 8:00PM EDT by NWS Newport/Morehead City NCAug 3 2026
NWS MarineSmall Craft Advisory issued August 3 at 4:01AM EDT until August 3 at 11:00PM EDT by NWS Buffalo NYAug 3 2026
NWS MarineSmall Craft Advisory issued August 3 at 4:01AM EDT until August 3 at 5:00PM EDT by NWS Buffalo NYAug 3 2026
⁂SightlinesRead across the waterway press this week
PassagemakerPro Boat Handling: Timing the Tide↗Jul 7 2026
PassagemakerWhen Minutes Matter↗Jun 29 2026
Yachting MagazineNight Vision Without the Thermal Price Tag↗Jul 7 2026
Cruising WorldFrom Alaska to the Caribbean with No Finish Line↗Jun 25 2026

Selected by the Harbormaster. Links open the source.

⁂Before You Leave the DockThe Tool Locker
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