About the Authors

 

Janet & Damon Gannon at Cumberland Island, GA, during their ICW cruise in 2023.

Damon Gannon has a master’s license from the US Coast Guard, with endorsements for sailing and towing vessels. He has advanced training in maritime safety, including heavy weather/damage control, fire prevention & fire fighting, abandon ship procedures, and personal safety & cold water survival. He also used to be certified as a keelboat sailing instructor by US Sailing, has been sailing and cruising since early childhood, and has worked on a variety of commercial vessels, in a variety of capacities, over the past four decades. Janet learned to sail on lakes in the 1970s and spent a lot of time conducting research on the bays, sounds, and estuaries of North Carolina and Florida. She served on the board of directors of the Sarasota Sailing Squadron, a great community sailing club on Florida's Gulf Coast.  

Damon and Janet are both marine biologists by profession. Damon earned a Ph.D. from Duke University and Janet has masters degrees from Harvard and the University of Michigan. They have conducted research on whales, dolphins, porpoises, manatees, fish, seabirds, sea turtles, clams, crabs, and harmful algal blooms. Their research has taken them from the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf of Mexico, and from estuaries to the open ocean beyond the Gulf Stream. They have worked at some of the great marine laboratories (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Mote Marine Laboratory, University of Georgia Marine Institute) and at some remote field research stations in stunningly beautiful places (Bowdoin Scientific Station and the Grand Manan Whale & Seabird Research Station, both on offshore islands in the Bay of Fundy). Janet has worked for the Education Department at the New England Aquarium; was on the research staff at Mote Marine Lab; and taught at Unity College, the College of Coastal Georgia, and Bowdoin College. Damon was a staff scientist at Mote Marine Lab, assistant director of the University of Georgia Marine Institute (Sapelo Island, GA), director of the Bowdoin Scientific Station (Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada), and served on the board of directors for the Organization of Biological Field Stations. He has trained hundreds of university students and research technicians in marine safety, navigation, maritime skills, and small boat handling. He is a member of Sailors for the Sea's Skipper Program, a network of conservation leaders in the sailing community.  

Damon and Janet's first experience on the ICW was in 1996, when they were conducting research in the estuaries of North Carolina and they've been sailing together for over 25 years. Over the years, they have owned five different boats. In 2023 they took a year off to go cruising aboard their current boat, a Pacific Seacraft 37 named Fulmar. Their canine crewmate is a fair-weather sailor, so he prefers inland waters. Check out their other blog on cruising and science, called Adventure Blue. 

From their cruising and marine science work, they have traveled nearly every inch of the Atlantic ICW from Miami to the Chesapeake and on Florida’s Gulf Coast from Ft. Myers to Tampa Bay. So they approached the creation of this guide from a breadth and depth of experience, gained over decades. 

If you are new to boating or to ICW cruising and are interested in training opportunities, contact us at adventurebluesailing@gmail.com.

Their boat dog, Loki, always on watch.

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Contents

• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Tips & Tricks
• Chapter 2: Water Levels
• Chapter 3: Avoiding Obstacles
• Chapter 4: Running Aground
• Chapter 5: Bridges
• Chapter 6: Inlets
• Chapter 7: Docking, Anchoring & Mooring
• Chapter 8: Navigation Electronics
• Chapter 9: Weather Basics
• Chapter 10: Typical Weather
• Chapter 11: Environmental Stewardship
• Chapter 12: The Perfect Boat
• Chapter 13: Maintenance
• Chapter 14: Conclusion
• About the Authors