Our plan is to leave St. James marina at 7:30 am to hit
these inlets 1-2 hours before the high tide.
Al is leading today. In fact by
the time we got to Lockwood’s Folly, our friends on sv/Willoway and sv/Dancing
with the Wind, caught up with us. So
there were 4 boats passing through in single file…drafts of: 4’6”, 5’, 5’2” and
5’6” and in that order. We all made it
through without any incident hugging the R46A and R48. We saw no less than 13’ of water.
Once we passed under the fixed bridge-Holden Beach
Bridge-Denise and Dick passed us and so did Dancing with the Wind. Dick looked to be in a big hurry and we thought for sure he would pass
Euphoria also. He stayed behind and
allowed Al to continue to lead through the next trouble spot….Shallot
Inlet. The sv/Whisper who we met in
Elizabeth City went aground here a few days ago with 3 other sailboats. Two of them hit and there was damage to both
boats. Tow Boat US came out to pull all
the boats off the shoals…..they charge $250 per hour from the time they leave until
they return to their dock! It pays to
spend the money for unlimited tow service!!!Once again we were warned to hug
the red cans and we all did. The lowest water that we saw was 12.9’ but
again we timed our passage to be near high tide….and all was good…..
It’s very cloudy again today and there are chances of rain
showers. It rained all last night, so
maybe we‘ll be lucky and won’t get wet. The
temperatures are very pleasant….67 degrees while passing behind Ocean Isle at
10:30 am….and it’s suppose to go up to 74 degrees. We finally got to South Carolina at
11:30. I’m not sure how far we’ll travel
today but I checked the charts and we’ll be passing under lots of bridges…both
fixed and swing. Once we got to the Little River Swing Bridge, we caught up
to Willoway and Dancing with the Wind. They
were hovering around waiting for the next opening. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to go fast!! Ha ha! Once they got through the bridge, they sped out again.
Soon we came to the
third trouble spot. Nineteen miles of
rock-edged canal with 2.3 miles within called the ‘rock pile’. Some reviews that we read said that many
boaters feel this is the worst part of the ICW.
Well, then they haven’t traversed the Erie Canal! The two are really quite similar. Chuck and I didn’t see what all the hoopla
was about. The down side was that there
was so much debris floating….leaves, twigs, and logs. There was a hazard that could have created a
dangerous situation…someone’s entire dock was floating in the canal!
No anchorages along this stretch again, so we’re staying at
the Osprey Marina(a 58.3 mile day). This
marina is shortly after the Route 544
Fixed Bridge. That makes a total
of 15 bridges today….3 in North Carolina and 12 in South Carolina and 13 were fixed while 2 were swing! Many of these bridges were at Myrtle
Beach, SC. Oh, and while passing by the
Grand Dunes area, a golf ball plopped in the water right beside our boat! There were many golf courses and high rise condos along the canal today
and you won’t believe this! The one golf
course had cable cars that ferried golfers from the parking lot on one side of
the ICW to the clubhouse on the other side…..67 feet in the air. Wow!!
Once we docked at Osprey Marina, we discovered that Willoway and Dancing with the Wind were also spending the night there. So we all met on the deck that overlooked the marina to spend the evening together. We all commented on the bag of goodies that the marina gives to each of the transient boats. Very nice!
Last stretch of the ICW before the Osprey Marina!
Soon we came to the
third trouble spot. Nineteen miles of
rock-edged canal with 2.3 miles within called the ‘rock pile’. Some reviews that we read said that many
boaters feel this is the worst part of the ICW.
Well, then they haven’t traversed the Erie Canal! The two are really quite similar. Chuck and I didn’t see what all the hoopla
was about. The down side was that there
was so much debris floating….leaves, twigs, and logs. There was a hazard that could have created a
dangerous situation…someone’s entire dock was floating in the canal! 
No anchorages along this stretch again, so we’re staying at
the Osprey Marina(a 58.3 mile day). This
marina is shortly after the Route 544
Fixed Bridge. That makes a total
of 15 bridges today….3 in North Carolina and 12 in South Carolina and 13 were fixed while 2 were swing! Many of these bridges were at Myrtle
Beach, SC. Oh, and while passing by the
Grand Dunes area, a golf ball plopped in the water right beside our boat! There were many golf courses and high rise condos along the canal today
and you won’t believe this! The one golf
course had cable cars that ferried golfers from the parking lot on one side of
the ICW to the clubhouse on the other side…..67 feet in the air. Wow!!
 |
| Grand dunes |
 |
| Golf cable cars |
 |
| Bridge at Grand Dunes |
Once we docked at Osprey Marina, we discovered that Willoway and Dancing with the Wind were also spending the night there. So we all met on the deck that overlooked the marina to spend the evening together. We all commented on the bag of goodies that the marina gives to each of the transient boats. Very nice!
Last stretch of the ICW before the Osprey Marina!
 |
| Rt 544 bridge |
Looks like you guys have this tide thing all figured out. Sure is different than Lake Erie isn't it?
ReplyDeleteRoger