Waccamaw River Beauty

Waccamaw River Cypress Trees

This is our third trip through the Waccamaw River, and as many cruisers before have said, this is the most beautiful section of the Intracoastal Waterway. This section is just south of Myrtle Beach, SC and north of Georgetown, SC. Bookended by steel mills and paper pulp factories of Georgetown to the south and high rise condos, shopping outlets and golf course of Myrtle Beach to the north, the Waccamaw River stands pristine in between these two contrasts. Maybe it is the fact that you leave such harsh environments and then are transported into the beauty of the wild and that is why it seems so beautiful. There are not many places like this left on the waterway; most of the land from Norfolk VA to Key West FL has been built up and is no longer in a natural state like the Waccamaw River.

I always take hundreds of photos in this section, and it is difficult to select a few of the best, but here they are. My photo essay of the Waccamaw River on the ICW 2012....

our Buddy Boat, IP460 Cutter Loose rounds Green 33, Waccamaw River

Springtime green along the river's edge

To the north you exit Waccamaw River at Socastee Swing Bridge.
One of the few bridges placed onto the National Historic Register for protection!

IP460 Cutter Loose transits Socastee Swing Bridge

Great Dune Bridge at Myrtle Beach reminds you that you are no longer in the Waccamaw River!

Golf Cart Gondolas transit over the ICW at Myrtle Beach

 Yes...the Waccamaw River section is the most beautiful section on the ICW. I will forever be reminded of the great quote by my good friend Norm Pierce, our Maine Island Packet Dealer who says..."Myrtle Beach is the price you pay for the beauty of the Waccamaw River basin!"

Charleston's Many Charms

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge over the Cooper River, Charleston, SC

Fifty miles on the ICW north of Beaufort towards Charleston took 2 short days of traveling but required 2 long days of concentration on the winding rivers and landcuts, watching for shallow water.

We anchored off the City Marina for one night, went ashore for a long walk, and then moved to the Charleston Maritime Center at slack tide at noon on Thursday, May 3.

Radeen, Bobbi, Janet, Carol and Pat

New friends, Jim and Carol on IP-370 A Summer's Day, joined us for lasagna with Cutter Loose and Catspaw and our long-time friend, Janet Charbonneau. Seating nine for dinner on a boat is a challenge and the solution was the guys in the cockpit and the gals in the salon.

Jim, Eric and Carey

Friday we washed the many layers of salt off the boat, strolled King Street's lovely retail shops and the Straw Market and then went out to dinner at Blossoms for incredible seafood and great company. The lure of Charleston is so strong, we decided to wait for the mid-day slack tide instead of the early morning tide to depart on Saturday. We made good use of the additional time - we went to Caviar and Bananas for breakfast with Team Cutter Loose and thoroughly enjoyed a horse drawn carriage ride through the neighborhood around the Old Jail House with Team Catspaw.

Note the door facing the street leading to the porch 

We learned so much from our driver, Janice, who expertly drove Ralph through the narrow streets. There are five different carriage companies, providing five randomly assigned tours. The horses may only work five hours a day, 6 days a week and are given 3 months out to pasture each year. There is a citywide program for cleaning up "radiator leaks" if a horse's diaper fails.

Charleston is called "The Holy City" because it has 182 churches, including the first Unitarian Church in the nation. Even though it was Benjamin Franklin's idea, Charleston was the first city to implement fire insurance companies. The city's many fires were exacerbated by using black cypress, a wood that retains its oily and flammable properties long after construction. Eventually, this wood was outlawed completely. Charleston's famous privacy porches were built facing the prevailing south and westerly breezes. If the street door to the porch was open, visitors were welcome to come onto the porch and knock on the center front door. However, if the street door was closed, it was expected that passers-by would not even look at the people on their porches because they might be sitting in their underwear!

Arriving Charleston at the Wappoo Creek Bridge

Bobbi, Carey and Eric at Blossoms on East Bay Street

Patricia, Hayden and Radeen, ready for fine dining

Shopping on King Street with palmetto trees

Charleston, SC...an ICW town that is very inviting and very beautiful and very fun to visit....

Overnight FL to SC

Hayden in a safety harness at night

Like our passage south, we decided to skip the Georgia ICW, because in that state you go 2 miles east and west for every mile north. We had a great weather window, as usual in late April and early May, so we planned an overnight run of 120 nautical miles from Fernandina Beach, FL, to Beaufort, SC.

The inlets, St. Mary's and then Port Royal Sound are wide, deep and easy to navigate in any weather. Lucky for Island Spirit and Cutter Loose, we started with 15-17 knots of beam winds and 2-3 foot seas, diminshing late. This made for a great night on the ocean, departing at 6 pm for an easy passage of 20 hours. Arriving Beaufort SC  around 2 pm, we relaxed and caught up on some sleep and then joined our good friends of SP Catspaw for a fun dinner ashore and a "Team Reunion."

Radeen, Eric, Carey, Bobbi, and Patricia

Carey and Bobbi are the couple whose lead we have followed for this entire one year trip. We count them partially responsible for us retiring and jumping into this dream life of cruising.

So it was a a great night to be back together. From Beaufort we ran towards Charleston, SC, where we anchored 17 miles short of the city for a peaceful night on anchor in Church Creek.

Tomorrow we will make Charleston, SC, a town we really enjoy.....

Sunset offshore over Cumberland Island, GA

The iPad with Navionics shows our route off the Georgia Coast

Red at night is a sailor's delight....and so it was a great night at sea

Next stop will be Charleston, SC, where we will dock for a few days to clean up these salty boats and enjoy the city.

Fernandina Beach, FL Architecture

A photo essay and tour of the historic district of Fernandina Beach, Florida. Home of the American Shrimping Industry.

A different kind of Architecture, French Ships sailed into the harbor for a two day visit

Tonight we depart Fernandina at the St. Mary's inlet and we will sail north 120 miles to Beaufort, SC via Port Royal Sound. This leg will take 20 hours anchor to anchor and we plan to be offshore by sunset running the leg at night. We will arrive the Port Royal sea buoy at 0900 for the flood tide up the sound. Fernandina Beach FL is a great town and like all great towns we hate to leave....but on we go...

St. Augustine to Fernandina

The newly restored Bridge of Lions, St. Augustine, FL

Running the ICW, Intracoastal Waterway from St. Augustine, FL to Fernandina FL presents a wide spectrum of interesting homes, marshes, forts, and commercial traffic. The trip is 62 statute miles, that's the kind of miles you run on land in your car. On the boat you run at a much slower speed more like 6 mph! So imagine riding your bicycle 50-60 miles every day along a canal and you will begin to get the full picture. With that said, this trip is really fun and enjoyable.  The diversity of the waterway makes it so rewarding. Sure, it is not the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas, or the indigo blue of the Gulf Stream, but it is unique in its own way.

Radeen exploring St. Augustine, FL

Running from town to town is one of the pleasures because you can dinghy ashore and get off the boat and walk the town sightseeing. But the real mission is....looking for ICE CREAM shops! Yes, Team Island Spirit will find any and all ice cream shops on the ICW from Maine to Florida. (Ice cream in the Bahamas was bad, but then think of how far it had to come and how long it was kept frozen during transit, and let's not talk about power outages in Abaco!)

Anyway, back to the ICW in northern Florida. It is easy, winding, scenic, built up with a few remaining marshes for the birds to enjoy. It is interesting to focus on the old Florida homes vs. the new Florida homes. You see the casual, simple lifestyle of the old replaced with the modern metropolitan lifestyle of the new Florida. I am not sure it is a real improvement, but some must think it is better this way.

After 4 days of 50-60 mile days, 10 hrs each, we will stay here in Fernadina for a relaxing day tomorrow and enjoy this wonderful town.


Photos of this diverse section of the ICW...

Great Blue Herons in the marshes and mangroves

Typical view of the homes and docks as seen from the boat

Spanish Fort Mantanzas just south of St. Augustine, FL

 Here is a look at the OLD Florida along the ICW

Typical home with a simple boat and boat house

Typical rancher with no dock

Fun boat house / dock and simple home

Now for the NEW Florida...buy up the old....tear it down...build bigger and taller

Two story with a sweeping lawn

Beautiful arches, decks, pool and "golf course" lawn

Spanish tile sorta makes this blend in....but then next door is an OLD Florida home

And then there are white arches, trellises and multiple wings! 

 And, don't forget that this is also a COMMERCIAL waterway

Tug and barge pushing south on the ICW
I have no clue how they manage all the turns

Amelia Island Bridges one twin bridge and one Railroad bridge

Welcome to the PAPER PULP FACTORY and Fernandina Beach
http://www.rayonier.com/About-Us/Overview.aspx
http://www.rayonier.com/Businesses/Performance-Fibers.aspx

Diversity, that is what I think of when we transit this section of the waterway and that is what makes this leg a treasure and so interesting to explore.