11/10/15, 11/11/15 Georgetown

 11/10/15   To  33 25.655N,    79 12.123W    Butler Island Anchorage, Waccamaw River    48.1NM

We planned on an early departure, but awoke to the sound of rain.  Leonard checked the radar, and it appeared to be an intense, but brief shower, rather than get wet, we waited.  Several other boats departed ahead of us (fewer to pass us underway), and we followed suit around 0830. 

This portion of the ICW has a few remaining swing bridges, but none restricted since all have a high rise bridge close by.  The first was in Little River.  After assuring the bridge tender that no one else was nearby, he opened the bridge.  If there had been, we would have waited until they caught up to avoid multiple openings and traffic delays.

Little River swing bridge - 1st of 3 for the day

Next was the infamous 'Rock Pile', about a 4NM section notorious for underwater rock ledges if you stray from the center of the channel, bracketed by swing bridges at both ends.  Everyone transiting the area make a 'security' call on the VHF radio to avoid traffic meeting in the area.  It was just after high tide, so we had more than enough water, there was no traffic, making for an easy transit, and the Barefoot  Bridge opened in a timely manner. 

Looking back up the Rock Pile from the Barefoot Bridge - this section has rock ledges, not just mud and sand!

With the Rock Pile behind us, the rest of the day should be a piece of cake.  Not quite.  Supposedly, if heading N, it's possible to catch the current in Winyah Bay by Georgetown and ride it most of the day to Barefoot Landing.  Did that mean we'd fight over a knot of current most of the way since we were heading S?   From my perspective, this portion, a straight, man-made canal wasn't all that scenic passing through Myrtle Beach, wouldn't rate as one of my favorite sections - it could go by faster.

Gondolas over the ICW at Myrtle Beach for golfers

Confusing bridge boards at the Barefoot Swing Bridge - not sure which was right

As we approached Socasatee, we noticed 'Lady Sea', the trawler ahead of us, had stopped, and we could see what we thought was a RR bridge in the closed position - usually they're open unless a train is due.  He called to see if we'd caught the bridge tender's radio call.  We hadn't - this is SC which uses channel 9 instead of 13, and I hadn't added 9 to the scan selection on the main radio.  Leonard had also missed the fact that this was NOT a RR bridge, but a regular swing bridge when he'd checked Active Captain.  It's a case of a new 65' bridge having been built to avoid traffic congestion, but the swing bridge staying in place to handle traffic that chose not to use the high rise bridge (right next to it).  They were waiting for us to catch up before opening the bridge.

When we arrived, the bridge was still closed.  Leonard hailed the bridge tender to advise him we'd arrived, but was told there was a 'problem with the bridge'.  Seems the bridge tender intended to clear the road traffic before opening for the 2 of us, but had been unable to raise the gates for the cars.  We were on the verge of dropping the anchor when he called to say he'd open for us before trying to fix the gate problem.  15 minutes spent waiting for an 'on demand' bridge opening.  We wished the bridge tender good luck in fixing his problem after thanking him for the opening.

Waiting with 'Lady Sea' for the Soccastee swing bridge to open - the 65' bridge is right behind it

With the current varying between 1.2 and 1.8kts against us, and the bridge delay, reaching Georgetown before dark looked iffy.  Just before 1300 the current slacked to under a knot as we left the man made canal.  The rest of this portion is the Waccamaw River, an intriguing and desolate waterway winding through a cypress swamp that reminded us of the Dismal Swamp, only bigger and with a number of rivers and creeks joining the river as it heads to the Atlantic.  Before long, our speed increased thanks to the runoff from the recent rains (the rivers were forecast reach peak flood stage by Wednesday) and the current finally switching, giving us a 1.5+ boost.  Too bad we couldn't have flown through the Myrtle Beach area instead of this more interesting river portion.

Looking behind us on the Waccamaw River

With the boost in our speed, we were scheduled to reach Georgetown before dark, but we decided to check out the Butler Island anchorage about 6NM N.  It one of those convenient anchorages - right off the ICW with access from both N and S, no back tracking required in the morning.  It was quiet and rural and all reviews on Active Captain indicating good holding and lots of space, both of which are lacking the Georgetown - a beautiful and peaceful anchorage, and came complete with an eagle perched in a tree.  We had the entire anchorage to ourselves making for a restful night- our kind of spot!

Cypress growing along the Waccamaw River  

Bald eagle by Butler Island

In the morning we'll continue to Georgetown, fighting a flood current, but hopefully getting a spot on one of the free town docks (no overnight docking) for few hours.  Time enough to visit the Kudzu Bakery for some treats, get fresh shrimp from the fish market, do a quick run to the store and take a a walk around town before catching the afternoon ebb to an anchorage on one of the Santee Rivers for the night.  The best of both worlds - quiet, isolated anchorages and the pleasures of Georgetown without the noise and congestion of the Sampit anchorage.

11/11/2015  To 33 21.948N,   79 17.072W    Georgetown Anchorage    8.9NM

Sun shining on the marsh beyond the fog 

Wednesday we awoke to fog. Fortunately not thick, but enough, along with a heavy dew, to make everything sopping wet on deck.  With not far to go, we were underway by 0800, enjoying the scenery as the fog swirled and the sun occasionally lit up  bits and pieces along shore.  I'd been disappointed by the lack of eagles so far this trip, so it was a treat to spot 6 perched in trees on this portion of our journey.

Fog on the Waccamaw River

I'd barely cleaned up the breakfast dishes when we turned into the Sampit River.  It was approaching a high, spring tide, so it was easy to transit the shoal by the little island.  In fact, the tide was so high, the brows on the boat launch docks went up to the finger docks rather then down.  We had our choice of free docks - both were open, so we tied up at the one closest to the bakery and grocery store.  Some folks arrived by dinghy asking if we really were from VT.  They were from Shaftsbury, although had never taken their boat, Nemo, to the lake.

The park at the public dock was dotted with flags - part of a Veteran's Day celebration.  Georgetown was having parade, which the posters indicated would start at 1600.  This prompted a discussion, did we stay for the parade or stick to our original plans to anchor in one of the Santee Rivers for the night?  Time wasn't an issue, and a call to the Maritime Center in Charleston switched our reservation to Saturday and Sunday, so we decided to run our errands while we were on the dock, get fuel and a pump out and then anchor before more cruisers arrived later in the day.

Flags at the park in Georgetown for Veteran's Day

We were early enough to score Kudzu's special apple turnovers and a pecan pie.  Their turnovers are made with 2 slices of  bread, buttered, filled with apples and dusted with sugar.  Last fall they were gone for the day when we arrived.  Leonard overrode my 1/2 pie order - he wanted  a whole one.  They make a deep dish version, another special treat and worth a stop in town.  With that important task accomplished, we headed off the the grocery and the Independent Shrimp Market down on the docks for local shrimp and fresh fish..

We made a quick stop at Harbor Walk Marina's fuel dock where we topped off the fuel tank before sliding over to the floating dock for a pump out.  We got an anchor spot close enough to the dinghy dock to row in rather than use the outboard.  In the afternoon we headed back into town for a walk and to watch the parade.

A waterfront home on Winyah Bay, Georgetown - note sandbags by the front door

Our walk took us past the parade staging area down by the park along the river - they had 51 stations set up, and cars and buses were busy dropping off participants.  As Leonard pointed out, the organizers would have done better had they made the road one way.  It was a zoo of vehicles trying to maneuver on the narrow road since the recent rain and spring tide had water and mud on anything that might have served as a shoulder.

Crowd waiting for the parade at Georgetown

Coast Guard to the rescue! CG parade vessel

Surprisingly, the parade started very close to the 1600 posted time.  It was a fun parade.  We noticed was much of the crowd  was white, as were many of the parade participants, except for the school marching bands and the woman announcing the groups, who were black.  The parade was punctuated by a helicopter making multiple low passes over the parade and anchorage.

Sundown at Georgetown

The anchorage had filled up while we'd been ashore.  Seven boats were anchored between the dinghy dock and the steel plant.  (Note - The steel plant has been closed the last couple of visits, so there is no residue in the air, only the smell from the nearby paper plant when the wind is in the wrong direction.)  The dock hand at the marina mentioned they've been swamped, turning away boats daily.  Apparently the heavy rains and storms have delayed a number of cruisers, making for heavier traffic now.  We must have things timed right - while we've had some traffic (more power boats than sail) when we've been underway, for the most part we are by ourselves on the ICW, which is just fine with us.  It means less slowing to be passed and dealing with wakes.

Georgetown boardwalk reflections on a calm night