Day 13 - Saturday, 1 December

Wrightsville Beach to Myrtle Beach...a distance of approximately 80 miles...turned out to be a bit too far, so we settled for arriving in South Carolina at sunset and anchoring in Calabash Creek north of Myrtle Beach. It was a long day, but we kept at it despite slowing down as we passed each inlet to follow the temporary buoys installed to help boats with deep keels around the extensive shoaling that is taking place. The Coast Guard budget used to keep the ICW dredged and open is not adequate to let them keep up with their work on this beautiful waterway due to their increased role in Homeland Security. We appreciate their mission priorities, but we've had about $300 worth of bottom paint scraped from our hull on this trip so far. At the end of the day the guy at the right is exhausted and we still have another 200 miles to go!

We have a routine we observe each day

• Up at 6:00 AM...Joe coffee and Sarah juice and breakfast
• Anchor up at 7:00 AM and motor into the ICW from our anchorage
• Lunch underway
• Turn off the ICW into an anchorage before sunset
• Anchor down, stow things away until the next day
• Shower and cleanup
• Dinner and TV or radio or DVD or conversation
• Turn-in
• Repeat all above the following day.

Actually, there is a lot more going on between the lines than stated. For example, while we are motoring, Sarah, the chief navigator is updating our position on our charts, finding those elusive buoys that hide in the sun or shadow or shoreline, keeping the green and red marks on the proper side of the boat, noting details of our trip, and managing cockpit ventilation by zipping or unzipping the side curtains. Joe, the chief helmsman is keeping the boat in deep water, looking out for other boats approaching or overtaking us, and asking Sarah for all sort of trivial information to keep a sense of where the boat is with respect to her surroundings, etc. The cockpit is our office and the center of all our activities during the passage. We are surrounded by charts; cameras; binoculars; discarded hats, coats and gloves; sunglasses; water bottles; VHF radios; cell phones; etc.

An inlet is basically a break in the shoreline where a river flows into the ocean and the ocean tides flow back into the river. The tidal flow is strong in this part of the country and the currents are swift. For example, we can usually count on moving in the water over the ground at about 8 miles per hour. A tidal current can easily add to or subtract from another 30% to our speed. For example, today we saw speeds as high as 11 miles per hour and as slow as 4.5 miles per hour. in the vicinity of the inlets depending on which way the tide was flowing. We passed four inlets today and had to slow down to idle speed as we crossed each inlet. There was extensive shoaling where the ICW and each inlet met and there were several additional buoys or "marks" placed on the ICW at each inlet to mark where the tidal currents had carried and deposited sand to get in the way of innocent sailors like us. Fortunately, we didn't run aground today, but could have if we hadn't been vigilant as we passed each inlet.


There are a number of sources of continually updated information about the ICW and its many shoal areas where cruisers can update their charts and keep current on new hazards and other obstacles. One of the best sources of current information is the Salty Southeast Cruisers' Net at http://www.cruisersnet.net/index.php. We use this source as often as we can log on to the internet to update our local knowledge. Sometimes, we have something to report and we can also log on to the web site or address an email to one of the Cruisers' Guide authors. Within hours of such a post, the message is uploaded and available for any ICW cruiser to read.


Tomorrow will be the last day on this cruise that we will be accompanied by Woody Sherrod and his trawler Marisol. Woody will be stopping tomorrow at Myrtle Beach to meet his friend Annie who will be flying in on Tuesday. Woody has been a tremendous source of information and "local knowledge" of the ICW and we have appreciated his friendship, advice and help since we first started down the ICW back at Great Bridge. We hope it won't be long before we have another opportunity to cruise with him. Thanks, Woody for more than we can mention in this weblog...we have thoroughly enjoyed sharing cruising, conversation and anchorages with you over the past 200 miles...we owe you a deck of boat cards!