I've just run the Old ICW now from Naples to Goodland.....nice trip.  Shallow,
but doable at high tide.

We arrived at our destinations on both days before the high tide occurred.  It
was shallow in lots of spots and we were glad that we had endeavored to do it
on a rising tide.  Our depth gauge went out in many places due to the shallow
or muddy water....we just idled along and never touched to our knowledge.  (My
Raymarine had been worked on recently and was not on the right time....it was
interesting having the tide tables out of sync by 6 hours for a while!  Glad I
found that issue before we hit the old ICW.)

I found that our anchorage in Rookery Channel/Bay had low/high tides about two
hours later than Naples/Marco.  Even at Goodland near the Coon Key tide table
location it seems to have a different timing.  Are there any tricks to
figuring out local tides?  Is it logical, or local knowledge?  Where can I go
to learn a little more about tides?

We only have one high tide (winter) and one low tide (summer) in the Great
Lakes so this daily diurnal type tidal stuff is new to me.  It is a lot of fun
to watch these tides come and go, become slack and move again. The tidal flats
at low tide are quite a sight...scarred by the outdrives.

The anchor seems to hold just fine as well....anyone have bad experiences
with dragging due to tidal changes?

Thanks, Jim

the time to enjoy them
and one of my favorites...simply....Enjoy Every Sandwich

Jim:

A good treatise for study of tides and tidal current can be found in
Bowditch -- The American Practical Navigator, Chapter 9.  A copy can
be read (pdf format) on this IRBS page:

www.irbs.com/bowditch/pdf/chapt09.pdf

Many folks mistakenly assume the tidal current shifts at the same
time high or low tide occurs.  This is usually not the case.  For
example, the flood current in the Hudson next to Manhattan Island
occurs about three hours after low tide at The Battery, at the
southern end of the island.

And yes, if you anchor where there is a strong reversing current,
your anchor can be pulled loose at current change and may not re-set
properly.  That is a situation where two anchors should be
considered.  I have anchored in waters with four knot tidal currents
(parts of South Carolina).

Bill

At 07:12 AM 1/29/2010, Jim Quince wrote: