Myrtle Beach YC to Southport, NC

Another gorgeous day on the Waterway, but I gather it is just as nice all up and down the Eastern seaboard!   We left Myrtle Beach YC early after filling up with $1.99 diesel, somehow we were misinformed about the price yesterday.   We watched the knot meter vacillate between 7.9 and 4.1 as we passed one inlet after another.  They really don't like to post current information along this stretch because it changes so much.  As we approached the Cape Fear River (showing 7+ on the knot meter) around 2 PM, we realized that we would be facing 3.5 knots against us if we continued up the river.  We started searching around for somewhere to anchor  - no luck, so we took a berth at Indigo Plantation Marina, just south of Southport Harbor.  We walked around a bit and discovered that it really is just the land based terminal for the Bald Head Island Ferry.   Bald Head Island is a VERY EXCLUSIVE community - no cars allowed.   Only way to get there is the ferry from here.  We'll leave early tomorrow to catch the flood tide up the Cape Fear River. ~~~_/)~~~D&M
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Brunelle berthed at Indigo Plantation Marina, the mainland base for the Bald Head Island ferry.

We watched "the other half" disembark and embark from/to Bald Head Island. Only one place in NC is more expensive according to a dock mate!

We noticed this venomous snake curled up on our neighbor's sail cover, panicked for about 1/2 a second and then realized it was to ward off birds and noticed that it wasn't working all that well!

Osprey Marina to Myrtle Beach YC

We think Osprey Marina is one of our favorite marinas.  Very clean, very friendly and only $1/foot, plus diesel was $1.91!- - -and we had just filled up the day before at $2.12.  We were considering spending another day because the CG had not opened the ICW in the morning and Dan checked the prop alignment (we'd had a little bit of vibration now and then.)  Finally a little after 10 the ICW was re-opened and we headed out.  It was a beautiful day on the waterway today in spite of the proximity of the wildfires.  There was very little wind, hopefully helping the firefighting efforts.  The news this evening reported that the fires are still burning.  We chose to stop at the Myrtle Beach YC, which is quite a big marina just a few miles from the SC/NC border.  As we walked up the dock to check in, we ended up chatting with a couple on our dock who hailed from Jamestown, RI.  While playing "do you know" we realized that we knew many people in common, including Martha's Dad.  As we continued on to the marina office, they offered us the use of their car!   We took them up on it and took a short trip to the grocery store.  Yummy fresh food for dinner!   We discovered that diesel is only $1.77 here, so we'll fill everything we can before leaving in the morning!  ~~~_/)~~~D&M
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Osprey Marina is tucked back down a narrow tree lined channel right off the ICW. We finally got the OK to move north and headed out at 10:15 AM.

This is as close as we got to the wildfires.

Don't know where these cable cars take people, but they cross the Waccamaw River. (Editor's Note: they're golfers, heading to and from the Waterway Hills Golf Course - it's the only way to get there!)

Georgetown to Osprey Marina, south of Myrtle Beach, SC

Traveling from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach on the Waccamaw River was irenic and not unlike the scenery we see on Lake PaHaGaco. The river is wide and deep and if it weren't for all the spanish moss, we kinda felt at home...that is until we began to get reports from the Coast Guard and online that there were wildfires destroying homes and threatening both sides of the waterway! All afternoon we kept checking on the progress of the fires and realized we wouldn't be able to get through. We stopped at the Osprey Marina at mile 373 (8 miles south of the troubled area) around 3 pm and "snuggled" in. There isn't a lot of room here! We took a post prandial stroll after dinner out the half mile driveway and realized we were really out in the woods. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
~~~_/)~~~D&M
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Traveling from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach on the Waccamaw River was irenic and not unlike the scenery we see on Lake PaHaGaco.

Here we are at the end of the Osprey Marina Drive.

Close quarters at the marina.

Inlet Creek to Georgetown, SC

We headed out of Inlet Creek at high tide and rode with the current for quite a while as we wound our way through the creeks and cuts,  but by the time we got to McClellanville to buy diesel, it was low (and lower than usual with the strong W wind) and we could only get to within 6 feet of the dock and had to do a lot of stretching to get the fuel nozzle and hand over the charge card!  We plowed our way out of the little inlet that housed the fuel dock and continued north.  Around 1 PM we were passed by a LARGE motor yacht called Neon Rainbow from Nashville, TN.  There was a gal sunning on the foredeck and Dan quipped
"Look there's a country singer star."   Little did we know that the boat actually belongs to Alan Jackson.  We discovered this when we tied up in front of it at the marina.  The dock mistress had already checked his concert schedule and discovered he was busy elsewhere!   The W wind, quite strong a times allowed us to motor sail most of the day.  It was particularly helpful during the times when we were fighting the current.  We docked at 4:30 and took a stroll through town to check it out.  Back to the boat for cocktails and then ashore for a harborside dinner.  We are glad we got a chance to see Georgetown this time. On the way down, it was in late and out early due to impending weather. ~~~_/)~~~D&M
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It wasn't even low tide yet!

Brunelle getting cozy with Neon Rainbow (Alan Jackson's yacht) at Hazzard Marina in Georgetown, SC

Georgetown is full of southern charm and beautiful old live oaks.

As we pulled into the marina we thought we noticed a familiar smell... The west wind brought the papermill aroma right through the town. We dined at a harbour walk pub right on the waterfront and caught this romantic shot.

Hilton Head to Charleston

An uneventful day, but we covered a lot of miles.  We headed out early from Hilton Head and went outside and up the coast.  The wind was relatively quiet until noon but then it picked up.  We spent a lot of the afternoon at more than 7 knots over the ground.  Arrived off Charleston a little after five, got into the harbor a half hour later, and made the Ben Sawyer draw bridge for its first post rush-hour opening at 6:00 and anchored about 20 minutes later.  We spent a lot of time reading and letting the autopilot do the work most of the day but when the wind kicked up we actually had to steer!  We plan to slow down a bit now and see some of the Intracoastal Waterway that we missed on the way down when we went outside (Myrtle Beach, for example). ~~~_/)~~~D&M
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"Oh say can you see..." Fort Sumter was a dramatic sight with Old Glory fluttering in the strong afternoon breeze as we entered the inlet at Charleston.

Timing is everything!! We left Hilton Head at 7:30 AM, went outside at Port Royal Sound headed for Charleston. Our favorite Charleston marina was full so we headed north up the ICW as soon as we entered the harbor and arrived at the Ben Sawyer exactly at 6 PM (it is closed from 4-6 for commuter traffic)!

We thought we'd seen it all, but this "cruiser" from Baltimore even carries his car with him! We anchored with him in Inlet Creek just south of Isle of Palms, SC.

Savannah to Skull Creek, Hilton Head, SC

     Steve, Anna and the boys, Aidan and Griff came aboard for a drink Sunday evening and then took us the the Crab Shack out on Tybee Island (we retraced the course we had taken on our way in up the Savannah River) for dinner.  Quite an experience, including quite a large alligator moat that surrounds the place!  Steve agreed to come back at noon today to take Amy to the Greyhound Station, so we adventured about Thunderbolt a little in the morning until the gnats drove us below! 
     After saying good-by to Amy we headed off north, hoping to beat the predicted "weather" that was heading our way.  We made good time and only bumped twice (we were at dead low tide) on our way through one of the "iffy" cuts through the marshes of South Carolina.  By 4 PM we were anxiously watching the black clouds building in the WSW and called ahead to Skull Creek Marina at the northern tip of Hilton Head Island to reserve a slip.  As we approached the marina so did the storm and we made a hasty landing in 25+ knots of wind but before the driving rain.  Walking the docks at sunset we found a completely different scene.  All was peaceful and calm. ~~~_/)~~~D&M
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A familiar sight here and at home is a great blue heron "fishing" from the dock.

The stern banner we made saves us from being swamped by passing power boats (most of the time) as they call us on the VHF and ask for a "slow pass."

A far cry from the scene as we arrived at Skull Creek Marina, on Hilton Head, SC. We didn't have time to get a picture of the black clouds and 25+ winds that accompanied us into our slip. (Note new bigger better name.)

Jax to Savannah

Amy doesn't feel she was well used because we only did one overnight, but we were glad to have her along.  It was an easy passage, we didn't go outside straight from Jacksonville because the wind was still NE and strong, but when we got to the FL/GA border the wind was E and quieter and out we went.  We were able to sail until about 3 AM when the wind turned S and died (it happened on Dan's watch, so we blame it on him!)  Sunrise found us just outside the Savannah River sea buoy, just like we planned.  It took a while to motor up the river against a 2 knot current and turn a south a bit down the ICW to Thunderbolt.  We had stopped at Thunderbolt on the way down so we could visit with Dan's cousin Steve Bliss and his family.  We are imposing on them again, this time to get Amy to the bus or train back to FL. ~~~_/)~~~D&M
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Not too many picture ops on the trip from Jacksonville, up the ditch to St. Mary's Inlet and offshore through the night to Savannah, so here's a collage of both our pix and Amy's.