The constant ebb and flow of the waters from the sea into the ICW pushes the sand and mud around on the bottom, causing changes in the depths which make it a challenge for vessels with deeper draft (i.e. Sanctuary!) to get through.

This is particularly true around the inlets to the Atlantic and we will testify that we hold our breath each time we pass an inlet because invariably the depth do not correspond to those on the charts.

We have nudged up on the mud on a few occasions and are normally able to get ourselves off only because we don't travel fast enough to really ground ourselves hard on the bottom.

Conditions like this keep some companies in business like this one going. This is the Dredge "Richmond" which was hard at work as we passed this morning digging the bottom deeper along the waterway near Camp LeJeune NC.

Your tax dollars at work!