DAY SEVENTEEN -- CHARLESTON TO MURRELLS INLET

                            DAY SEVENTEEN -- CHARLESTON TO MURRELLS INLET

            We had a long run today (86 miles) to get to the Wacca Wache Marina in Murrells Inlet, so we got up early and were underway by nine. This stop was pre-planned as a convenient place to park the boat while we visited long-time friends in Pawleys Island -- one couple from our college days and one from my career at Reilly Industries. It was another hot and humid day, with just a mild breeze out of the south, but we were fine up on the flybridge as long as we weren't going slow. 

            We saw a beautiful cruising boat as we exited Charleston harbor. When we radioed the captain for passing instructions and inquired, he said it is a recent reproduction of an old canal boat built in the Netherlands:


And we passed by Fort Sumter:


which was pretty much destroyed by Union shelling in a failed recapture attempt in 1863 and never rebuilt.

            The run up the intracoastal in this stretch of South Carolina was really stunning. Long stretches of expansive salt marshes and again, very little boat traffic. We passed only ten cruising boats all day. As we got closer to Winyah Bay the landscape changed and became more wooded with pines and live oaks. 

            Just before entering Winyah Bay, we were held up briefly by the floating swing bridge that connects South Island to the mainland. The bridge is basically a long barge with one end tethered to one shore. This bridge is usually open, but when the occasional vehicle wants to enter or exit the wildlife reserve on South Island they close the bridge. We got to see it open.




            The Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers empty into Winyah Bay, and the intracoastal runs in the Waccamaw River, which parallels the ocean almost to Myrtle Beach. The run up the Waccamaw was gorgeous. The lower stretch runs through abandoned rice fields (which flourished from the last 1700s up until the early 1900s when a series of strong hurricanes destroyed the fields) and then it runs through a National Wildlife Refuge, so it is all verdant with very little development. Cypress trees start to take over in the upper reaches. The river is wide and deep (25-30') and looks muddy because it is full of tannins. 


            We pulled into the Wacca Wache Marina just before three o-clock and a big thunderstorm was close behind us, so we skipped the fuel dock and went right to our slip. The storm was over in half an hour and the heat and humidity came back in full force. We cleaned up the boat and ourselves and our friends Rick and Paula came down to see the boat and have cocktails on the back deck. Then we went out for a nice Italian dinner at Gio's and spent the night at their house. 

            

Comments

  1. Greg WilliamsJune 10, 2022 at 7:11 AM

    Who's watching the Coosawhatchie while you're running the Waccamaw??

    ReplyDelete
  2. PaulaJune 10, 2022 at 7:33 AM

    Hey John, I saw the comment on the ‘muddy’ water. Was it muddy, or just dark? Here is some info on the river.
    The Waccamaw is a black water river, meaning that its water contains tannin from the leaf debris that decomposes within it. The result is deep brown-tinted
    water, giving such rivers the descriptor, black water.
    River mouth: Winyah Bay
    Loved loved loved having you both with us for a few days. ♥️

    ReplyDelete

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