Water and electricity are available at the Municipal Dock, the only small-craft facility at Savannah. The dockmaster can be contacted at City Hall. The nearest place where gasoline, diesel fuel, and other services can be obtained is on the Intracoastal Waterway south of Savannah at Thunderbolt, or at Isle of Hope.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
Savannah, on the south bank of Savannah River about 15 miles above the outer end of the jetties, is the second largest city and chief port of the State of Georgia. It is a leading southern port and is the main distributing point for the surrounding country. The city has considerable coastwise and foreign trade, and is connected with coastal cities to the north and south by the Intracoastal Waterway which crosses Savannah River several miles below the waterfront terminals.
A Federal project provides for a 44-foot channel across the bar through Tybee Roads to the jetties, thence 42 feet for about 16 miles in the main channel to the turning basin at Kings Island, thence 36 to 42 feet for about 1 mile, thence 30 feet for another 1.4 miles to the head of the project about 500 yards below U.S. Route 17 highway bridge. The channels are well marked by lighted ranges, lights, and lighted and unlighted buoys.
An overhead power cable with a clearance of 221 feet crosses the main channel of the Savannah River at Fig Island about 10.3 miles above the mouth. The Eugene Talmadge Memorial Highway bridge near the western edge of the city waterfront, 13 miles above the mouth, has a fixed span with a clearance of 185 feet over the center span width of 500 feet. U.S. Route 17A highway served by this bridge also crosses Back River to the northeastward over a trestle with a 34-foot fixed span which has a clearance of 10 feet. The railroad bridge crosses Back River about 1.2 miles above the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Highway bridge on a trestle with a 30-foot fixed span which has a clearance of 11 feet; an overhead power cable on the south side of this bridge has a clearance of 15 feet. An overhead power cable with a clearance of 208 feet crosses the main channel of the Savannah River at Port Wentworth about 4.3 miles above the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Highway bridge, and another cable with a clearance of 55 feet crosses the mouth of Middle River just to the east of the main channel. The U.S. Route 17 (Houlihan) highway bridge about a mile above Port Wentworth at the head of the Federal project, has a swing span with a clearance of 8 feet. The bridgetender monitors VHF-FM channel 16 and works on channel 13; call sign, WHV-879.
The Intracoastal Waterway leaves the Savannah River at Mile 576.2 and enters Elba Island Cut, which leads into St. Augustine Creek. In 1990, rocks awash were reported on the south side of the junction of Elba Cut and Savannah River in about 32°04’16″N., 80°58’15″W. At the junction of St. Augustine Creek and Wilmington River, Mile 578.3, a cutoff channel extends northeastward from the waterway to Savannah River South Channel, thence along the southern side of Elba Island to a junction with Savannah River; the cutoff channel is marked by daybeacons and buoys, and in 1983, the reported controlling depth was 5 feet. A fixed highway bridge with a clearance of 35 feet crosses the cutoff channel from Elba Island. An overhead power cable with a clearance of 60 feet is immediately south of the bridge.
