Just N of Georgetown, SC on the Waccamaw River

Friday, June 22, 2007

033-23.640 N
079-13.740 W

Ahoy from the Waccamaw River which is just N of Georgetown, SC!

We're anchored just north of Georgetown, SC in what you could call a wide spot on the Waccamaw River and I just watched an absolutely wonderful start to the day. I woke up a little before 6 and laid there listening to the sounds of the nature waking up. I got up and sat up on the deck to fully enjoy the beauty of where we were. The river is surrounded by marsh land and trees, and all of it was wrapped in the entrails of the morning mist. The sky was a beautiful salmon color and the water had the slightest ripple from the morning breeze. You see a V in the water as larger fish moved near the surface looking for their breakfast. Occasionally you'd hear fish jumping as they were either trying to avoid being someone's meal or they were chasing someone else. A hawk flew by with a fish in it's talons and the air was filled with the trills of other birds calling to one another. A log shaped object moved across the river...oh, it's an alligator! What a beautiful way to start one's morning!

We departed Charleston yesterday morning slightly after 9 AM as the Ben Sawyer bridge is restricted from 7 AM to 9 AM and there was no way that we'd get there before 7. When we first left it was dark and threatening to rain, and it didn't take long for the rain to appear. We motor along with 15-25 kts of wind on the nose and a pretty strong rain, but it was a perfect day to be on the ICW as you wouldn't be in the Atlantic heading our direction. By noon the rain had stopped and we were able to better enjoy the view. As we progressed we passed through rambling estates with big houses, large lawns and incredibly long docks that stretched over the marshes in search of deep water.

This really is one of the prettiest sections of the ICW. Then the houses thinned out and we began to get more and more remote and we really enjoyed all of the bird life. The sides of the ICW are lined with Egrets and Herons and lots of other birds. Dolphins regularly swim along side, so there must be a lot of fish in here. Last night I woke up to the breathing sounds of a pod of dolphins cruising by the boat. This really is a wonderful section of the ICW.

We had a great time in Charleston. I had last been here in 1999 and I had forgotten how beautiful the city is. The architecture is outstanding and the houses are very well preserved and maintained. The City Marina has a shuttle which takes you down town, so first thing in the morning we headed to the historic section and wandered around the neighborhoods. One of the things that amazed us was how quiet the neighborhoods were. The silence of many neighborhoods back home is broken by the whine of lawn mowers and leaf blowers, but this was silent...and wonderful! It was also nice and cool, but that didn't last long enough and by noon the temperature was in the low 90s. That was a good time to head into the City and enjoy some of the air conditioned public buildings.

The next day we rented a car and explored some of the outlying rice plantations. We went to Drayton Hall and really enjoyed our tour and walking through the grounds. The only problem was that a cold front was approaching and the clouds were hanging low. In the afternoon we headed to Patriots Point where they have lots of Navy ships that you can tour. We got to the aircraft carrier Yorktown just as the heavy rain arrived, but there's lots to see below decks. That was a lot of fun too!

Today we'll be moving by 7 AM and we should be near the NC boarder by the time that we drop the hook tonight. It looks like it will be a wonderful day with lots of blue sky and sunshine.

-- Geoff & Sue

For the cruiser:

We anchored just S of Butler Island at 33-24.83N 79-12.73W in 8' of water. Great holding and a wonderful place to stop. I would have preferred to have been a bit further N, but as it was it was 7:30 PM when we dropped the hook and I still needed to pickle the watermaker. You can anchor pretty much anywhere along the Waccamas where you're out of the channel and in deep enough water.

Also note that the Waccamaw is a river and is ebbing probably 2/3-3/4 of the time. At times it has up to 2.5 MPH flowing S, which makes for a slow trip N.
Log ID: 982