



Beautiful ICW Landscapes

New Smyrna – South of Hwy A1A Bridge

Coordinates: Lat: 29.014785 Lon: -80.912268

It took us a complete day to get to New Smyrna. The anchorage is located just South of Hwy A1A Bridge. It’s a rather narrow strip of water to the right of the channel. There are a certain number of derelict boats, so be careful. Some of them sit on shoals and end up being aground at low tide. However, there are a couple of good openings. One of them is next to the green marker 45. We went right behind the marker and dropped the anchor.

The good thing about this anchorage is that you can land your dinghy for free next to the Brannon Building in Riverside Park. It is located right after the bridge on the left. You will find yourself right in downtown and enjoy access to numerous shops and restaurants. Also, it’s a great opportunity to restock.

Daytona – South of Seabreeze Bridge

Coordinates: Lat: 29.229286 Lon: -81.020458

In the morning we did some grocery shopping, which took us a good half of the day, so we only had several hours available for traveling. So we made a quick run to Daytona. Another reason for stopping was that after Daytona the ICW is very winding and narrow. The anchoring opportunities are few and far between. We were planning to go straight from Daytona all the way to St. Augustine.

The anchorage in Daytona is located on the right just before the double-spanned Seabreeze Bridge. There is a free dinghy dock between the spans, but you will need Uber in order to go anywhere.

Extra: If you don’t draw a lot, there is an opportunity to stay at Palm Coast Marina right in the middle between Daytona and St. Augustine. You can get an overnight dock without utilities and pay only 20 a night for it (double-check the latest info on their Website). The approach was too shallow for our draft, so we skipped it and went straight to St. Augustine.

St. Augustine – South of Hwy 312 Bridge

Coordinates: Lat: 29.847943 Lon: -81.303741

As we were approaching St. Augustine, we called the St. Augustine Marina and Mooring Field and they told us the mooring field was full. We could only reserve a mooring for the next day. Suddenly, we needed a place to spend the night.

The answer was an anchorage just south of Hwy 312 Bridge. There are several derelicts there, as well as some cruising boats. You will need to go around a long shoal and go back after you enter the anchorage, so make sure you give is a wide berth.

St. Augustine Marina and Mooring Field

This was the only stop we paid for. But how can you skip St. Augustine Downtown? The moorings cost about $25 a night and you can use the first-class amenities of the marina. Needless to say, you have the whole downtown of St. Augustine as your backyard. You can check out the latest mooring rates here.

St. Augustine Mooring Field

Pine Island – Pine Island – About 10 Miles North from St. Augustine

Coordinates: Lat: 30.051256 Lon: -81.365344

We didn’t stop there on this trip, because we went directly to Jacksonville, but we used it several times before, so I decided to include it in the list. It is located where ICW splits up and goes on both sides of a small island, called Pine Island. The anchorage is behind the green marker 25.

I have special memories about this anchorage, because this is where we anchored for the first time ever with this boat. Not only is it a great place to go if you’d like to skip St. Augustine, but it’s also convenient if you are actually on the way South and can’t quite make it to St. Augustine.

Pine Island Anchorage

St. John’s River

After the Pine Island anchorage, it’s a straight shot to the St. John’s River. Once you turn, you will be in deep water. Beware of multiple container ships! The Port of Jacksonville is one of the biggest in the country and there is a lot of traffic.

Container Ship in St. John’s River

In the St. John’s River you can stop at the Metro Park Marina. There are no amenities, but it’s free, especially if you only stay a couple of days.

You used to be able to stay at the Jacksonville Landing dock, free for up to 72 hours. NOTE: the Landing has been sold to the city and it being demolished, so please double check if you can still stop there.

One of the Jacksonville Bridges

Another opportunity, south of Jacksonville Downtown, is right before the Buckman Bridge in a small anchorage on the East side, called Plummers Cove.

Our trip finished there, at the Julington Creek Marina. Many people go a couple of miles more South to Green Cove Springs, which has a large boat yard.

The best way to know all the details, depth soundings, marinas, anchorages and bridge information is to have one of the latest Intracoastal Waterway Guides. We used the Waterway Guide ourselves and it’s a great addition to the GPS because besides the charts, there is a ton of useful info. With this book, traveling ICW will become truly stress-free.

Buy Intracoastal Waterway Guides on Amazon:

All the screenshots are from our In-Reach System that records our track. If you want, you can see our complete track, zoom in and out and check the coordinates of every point HERE.

Garmin In-Reach System is really great for safety because you can send our track as a part of your float plan to your friends and even on Facebook (and write Facebook updates as well! Besides tracking the boat, you can send and receive messages, get satellite weather and call mayday. It really proves irreplaceable on a boat! You can learn more about them from Amazon descriptions and reviews.

Browse In-Reach Systems on Amazon:

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