Gifford Cut South Inlet

About

Introduction:

Though not technically part of Gifford Cut, many boaters consider the sliver of water off the Intracoastal Waterway north of the Vero Beach Bridge (65-foot fixed vertical clearance) to be the southern terminus of that cut. The image above is a view from the south looking north over the vero Beach Bridge and the anchorage/mooring area that the city maintains. Farther up on the right (east) are the Vero Beach Municipal Marina and Indian Rocks Yacht Basin.

Navigating the Water:

Use NOAA Chart 11472.

From the Intracoastal Waterway, heading north or south, first pick up flashing green “139,” which is located just north of the Vero Beach fixed bridge (65-foot vertical clearance). Once you have picked up flashing green “139,” pick up flashing red “2,” and then green daybeacon “3,” making sure to follow each carefully (there is an especially nasty shoal north of green daybeacon “3”). Farther inside, red daybeacon “4” and green daybeacon “5” lead you farther north into the heart of the Vero Beach anchorage/mooring field.

As you can see from the image above, boats that use the city-administered moorings are expected to raft up, as space is tight. Farther north of the mooring field is an open anchorage over a mud bottom with depths of about three to six feet. The Vero Beach Municipal Marina and Indian Rocks Yacht Basin are located on the east side of Gifford Cut and the anchorage/mooring field and both accepted transients at the time of this writing.

North of the anchorage and marinas, depths drop off sharply toward Bethel Creek, and north toward the ICW in Gifford Cut. Exploration or travel here is limited to extremely shoal draft boats (two feet or less) or dinghies.

Local Notices to Mariners:

Local Notices to Mariners are available online from the U.S. Coast Guard.