Author: Phil

After that meal last night, we both slept soundly.  Up to sunshine and temps in the 30s, we quickly got the boat underway and headed for Isle of Palm.  This is an area on the ICW just north and east of Charleston.  We had a pleasant 52-mile trip through some of South Carolina’s low country.  We also passed through a very shallow stretch of the ICW at McCellanville SC — at low tide 4.5 MLLW is generally recorded.  Luckily we passed it 3 hours earlier and had plenty of water.  A later part of the trip near the Isle of Palm, at low tide, caused us concern but we made it through.  The rest of the trip was easy.  The temperatures even climbed into the 60s for a while.  We saw the results of another boating issue along the route and more homes.  Carey even found a tower that excited her after a day of boring marshland views.  Dinner on board and a quiet evening.

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Barefoot Landing Marina was a quiet stop and we were comfortably underway for Georgetown, SC at 8 AM.  This 52-mile trip is always a pleasant short trip through canals and woodlands as the Waccamaw River winds its way south to Georgetown.  One picture I missed posting yesterday was the tourist cruise ship that had been decorated and participated in last night’s boat parade.

We cruised at a comfortable 10 mph for just over 5 hours and pulled into our slip at Harborwalk Marina.  We noticed a building spree as new homes continued to be built along the waterway.  People love the water and live in all sorts of homes — see some below.  It was a quiet and uneventful trip and we pass on a few pictures.  Georgetown is one of our favorite stops and it didn’t disappoint.  We walked through the beautiful holiday-decorated historic waterfront town on our way to a scrumptious dinner.   Delightful day and evening!  Now headed to the Isle of Palms just above Charleston harbor, meandering thru the lowlands on our way.

We slept in today — up at 7 AM and underway an hour later.  It was 31 degrees on deck but we got the electric cable and lines onboard and were off to Myrtle Beach.  It was a 72 statue mile trip through the lower portion of the Cape Fear River, then two known shallow sections of the ICW that have taken some paint off the hulls of many boats (Lockwood’s Folley and Shallotte Inlet in NC).  Our schedule indicated going through these two areas at near low tide.  What fun!  We made it through — and I wish I could show in photos what it’s like twisting and turning through a shallow inlet from the ocean as the sands beneath the water keep changing.  A fun event.  After these events we passed through “the Rock Pile,” a section of the ICW that surprised the government developing the ICW.  This was an approximate five- mile section of the ICW that was solid rock.  The digging caused added cost and time so it has less width than the rest of the ICW and on the shoreline heavy rocks can catch a less than watchful Captain navigating this section.  As we closed in on Myrtle Beach we noticed preparations for an ICW Christmas Lighted Boat Parade in North Myrtle Beach.  Over 50 boats participated.  We moored past the parade route so we only saw a couple of boats preparing and one coming past after the parade.  We ate aboard and tried to clean the boat with no water on the docks.  But, this morning, we were delighted to find the star of the parade, the Barefoot Queen paddle boat, moored behind us.   Wonderfully decorated!  Moving on, we’re headed to Georgetown, one of our favorite spots and where we’ve spent Christmas aboard in the past.   Below are some pictures from today.

As mentioned, we’re in Beaufort NC for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Wednesday we relaxed and went to the store for last-minute items for the Thanksgiving feast.   We also enjoyed a beautiful sunset over some gorgeous sailboats.  Thursday was a special day — Carey made an exceptional dinner and the two of us enjoyed each other’s company and the food.  We also enjoyed listening to the start of a Beaufort tradition — the 5K Gobble Walk that allows young, old, and everybody in between.   And it was a good stop as the winds blew 15 to 20 knots — not a good day for traveling.  Friday arrived with light winds and plenty of sunshine, but still cold.  We got underway at 7 AM and started the 70-mile trip to Wrightsville Beach, NC.  You’ll see some of the sights along our way below.  What can’t be shown in pictures is the great navigation day we had.  We traveled the 70 miles managing 3 bridges that had to open for our air height but only opened on the hour and half-hour and two very shallow inlet areas in the ICW.  One of those we had to travel at dead low tide.  A nail-biter but we made it through.  We arrived at Wrightsville Beach at 4 PM and you see some of the lights of the evening as in the last picture.  We had our best meal of the trip so far (and most expensive) at the restaurant at the Bridge Tender Marina, where we had stopped for the night.  After dinner, back to the boat to get ready for tomorrow’s trip to Myrtle Beach and Barefoot Landing Marina.

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Monday

We were up and underway at 7:45 AM Monday for a long 80-statute mile trip to Dowry Creek Marina. We’ve stopped here often because we like it and became fond of the previous owners. Now that it is under new ownership, we wanted to see if it had changed.  We found the facilities much improved with a new restaurant and rebuilt slips.  However, the old home friendliness wasn’t as evident.  A few pictures below give you a view of the place.

One of the pictures below is of a mile marker of the ICW that starts at Norfolk (at marker 0) to somewhere in Florida at 1000+ miles.  Little known, the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) distance is measured in statute miles because it’s considered a land-based waterway, meaning the distances are most relevant to navigating within the confines of the shoreline and are best understood by users when compared to the miles they would travel on land, unlike open ocean where nautical miles are used, which are slightly longer than statute miles.

Also, the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is approximately 3,000 miles long, stretching from Boston along the Atlantic coast, around the southern tip of Florida, and then up the Gulf Coast to its final marker in Brownsville, Texas. The ICW from Norfolk, VA to Florida gets most of the advertising and attention.

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After a nice meal at the Salty Crab at Dowry Creek we enjoyed BenjOllie’s firm mattress and slept soundly.

Tuesday

Up Tuesday and underway for Beaufort, NC, a 70-statue mile trip through the Pungo River, the Pamlico River, the Neuse River, and the not-famous Adams Creek that winds you through parts of North Carolina to get you to Beaufort.  An enjoyable ride if the Neuse, notorious for rough weather, is quiet.  It was!  We tied up at Beaufort Docks, had a glass of wine on the marina, and then headed across the street to Clawson’s for Shrimp Scampi and Shrimp and Grits.  Great food.  A few pictures along the way follow.

We like Beaufort, so we are staying here for a few days to enjoy Thanksgiving. We’ll be underway Friday morning. It’s turning out we’re updating the blog every other day or so. It is working out that way, despite the lack of Wi-Fi and the general schedule.