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Please Note That Postings Below From Fellow Cruisers Are Listed in Chronological Order, Based on Publication Date
Battery Creek Anchorage lies south of Beaufort and Port Royal on the waters of Battery Creek (northeast of the AICW’s flashing buoy #41) , west of unlighted daybeacon #47.
Arrived at Battery Creek on Tuesday 27th September 2011. Adding to the previous submission we anchored in a similar position beyond the three resident sailboats and confirm the holding is good and we did not budge during the overnight storm which hit at 2.30 am during which there were southeasterly gusts touching 45 knots. We also awoke to the distant sounds of firing on the range. A safe and comfortable anchorage.
William Spouse aboard S/V Alexia Hallberg Rassy 42
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Anchorage Directory Listing For Battery Creek
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Battery Creek Anchorage
Shelter Cove Marina is perched in a man-made cove on the southeastern shores of Broad Creek (Hilton Head Island) departing the Waterway east of marker #23 and departing Broad Creek at marker #18.
Top notch marina whose staff is par excellence!
Laura Bender
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Shelter Cove Marina
Battery Creek Anchorage lies south of Beaufort and Port Royal on the waters of Battery Creek (northeast of the AICW’s flashing buoy #41) , west of unlighted daybeacon #47. The “dockside restaurant” described below lies on the shores of the village of Port Royal, and is known, appropriately enough, as Dockside Restaurant (843) 524-7433.
Late afternoon 6/30/11 North bound to Beaufort SC, used my iPhone to chk cruisers.net anchorages. Easy, dropped hook in 22′ water, sand bottom. Dinghied 100 yds to Dockside restaurant floating dock next to shrimpers dock/plant. Good food and perfect in to the day.
Kurt Kuykendall
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Anchorage Directory Listing For Battery Creek
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Battery Creek Anchorage
Port Royal Landing Marina guards the western banks of the AICW/Beaufort River, a short hop south of downtown Beaufort, SC. This fine facility is a much valued SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!!!
First visit to Port Royal Landing Marina on Jun 5, 2011 was such a wonderful surprise. As we approach for our docking there are two staff members with smiling faces on the dock ready to assist. And they knew just what they were doing with the our lines. Once the boat was secured there were handshakes and introductions and a very warm welcome. All the facilities and the grounds were very clean and well maintained.
The marina has city water, portable pump-out system, Ship’s Store, 30/50 amp, cable TV, gas & diesel fuel, wireless Internet, floating docks, restrooms/showers/laundromat and a small restaurant/bar offering a 10% discount for overnight boaters. Other restaurants are nearby. Two courtesy vehicles are available. A Piggy-Wiggly grocery and a West Marine are about two miles away. (see comment below).
[The marina features a] comfortable boater’s lounge – well stocked book exchange and coffee and TV and a nice view of the water.
Current dockage rates are $1.60 ft plus electric for Loopers or BoatUS members.
Dick & Nancy White
M/V Emerald Lady
The Piggly-Wiggley and West Marine are about 2 BLOCKS away, not 2 miles away.
John W. Pierron
I stay at the PRLM every time I’m down that way. It is a great Marina and it is about 3 miles past the Beaufort City Docks. Like the White’s have said they are always waiting for you on the docks to take your lines. They will even hook up your power and water. When was the last time a marina did that for you? One word of advice, please put a few $$ of
fuel in the tank of the courtesy vehicle, for the next guy.
Skipper Ed Hart
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Port Royal Landing Marina
If you can recommend an annual slip marina for less than $14/ft per month, please let Rick hear from you. I’ve included the Savannah area since those marinas are within a reasonable driving distance.
My wife and I are considering a move to Hilton Head. We were hoping you might have a recommendation for a moderately priced marina where we can keep our boat full time. It’s a sail boat 38′ x 12′ x 5′ with 57′ mast height. The marinas along the ICW at Hilton Head are a little pricey for us at $14 per foot per month. We thought you or your associates might know of an off the ICW marina that could fit our budget. We enjoy reading and occasionally contributing to Cruiser’s Net. Keep up the good work.
Best regards, Rick
There are several depending on what you are looking for. Dataw Marina is secluded and quiet. Port Royal Landing is very nice and probably the closest to HH. Beaufort Downtown is great if you want to be in walking distance to the town & restaurants. All are within 30 minutes of Hilton Head. Congrats on moving to the area, I wil be relocating to that area in the next few year. We love it!
Tracy Hellman
Wow, that was quick. How do I send a ‘thank you’ to Tracy Hellman? I didn’t plan to checking for responses to my post for at least a week. I guess this shows the power and popularity of the Cruisers Net concept and how many people contribute as well as rely on your site.
Best regards,
Rick
Rick,
No problem! You are going to love the area. Give me a shout when you settle in and we’ll stop by. We are in the area frequently because our daughter attends college at USC Beaufort. Good Luck!
Tracy
Port Royal Sound Inlet, SC intersects the AICW at statute mile 550 and St. Simons Sound Inlet intersects the AICW at statute mile 678. If you have experience and advice to offer Kat, please contact her.
From: Kat svescapod@yahoo.com
Subject: port royal inlet to st simons offshore
Can someone please email. This would be our first time offshore and we are thinking of leaving port royal inlet to st simon’s. What is the reason to go all the way out to the sea buoys when going out? Can we save some time hugging closer to shore? Any disadvantages?
Thanks.
Captain Kat
Hi Kat:
We recently sailed (motored) offshore from Port Royal Sound to Fernandina Beach (St. Mary’s River Inlet) … it was not our 1st offshore leg; but, was our 1st overnite … the run took about 20 hours 13 in darkness. We went all the way to the end of the row of inlet markers and set a course ( I think it was 212 ? or so ) for the outer markers marking the St. Mary’s inlet … the reason for going out that far was to not have to be concerned about depth. I think the reason people use the sea buoys is strictly to have a reference point ?
At any rate, our problem was that there was no wind at all except for a brief period of 2 knots on the nose … waves were 3 to 4 ft. on the beam so we cork-screwed (rolled gunnel to gunnel) for some 14 hours … make sure you have some wind so you can fly a sail to steady & you’ll enjoy the ride … on a daytime only run; I may have stayed closer in .. hope this helps.
Captain John Wolfe
Kat, We keep our boat in Beaufort, SC, and have a good deal of experience in the waters between Charleston and Savannah, both “inside” and “outside”. There’s a very good reason for taking Port Royal Inlet all the way out to the sea buoy — when you look at the charts of this area, you’ll see that there are shoals all the way out to 4 or 5 miles offshore in a number of places! By going out to (or a little past) the sea buoy before making your turn down the coast, you can be fairly sure of having good water for your run; making your turn much before then, without some local knowledge and a close eye on the chart, could put you in danger before you knew what happened.
Captain Bob Schwerzel
Shelter Cove Marina is a man-made cove a good run off the AICW, eastward up Broad Creek. The final entrance channel -on the south side of Broad Creek – is narrow but accommodates vessels well over 50 feet.
Look at Shelter Cove, mm 565, on Hilton Head Island. $933/mo (incl electricity), but a very protected harbor and people there who will look after your boat while you are away. Call Pam at 843/842-7001.
Captain Phil
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Shelter Cove
Harbourtown is absolutely one of the most unique stops on the entire AICW, and they are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!
Harbourtown Yacht Basin – Hilton Head, SC, ICW mm 565. This is one of the finest marinas on the East Coast. We love this stop because it is a beautiful marina with excellent personnel, services, restaurants, shopping, golf, etc.. It is very convenient to the Atlantic Ocean and is directly on the ICW. It is our favorite launching point for going outside to Fernandina Beach, Florida. Or, if necessary, staying on the ICW is also a very workable option from this location.
Sabra Morgan
Click on Chartlet Below to Open a Chart View Window,
Centered on the Location of This Marina:
If you’ve had experience anchoring at Bluffton, please give a heads-up to the captain of Sea Huddle at tracyhellman@bellsouth.net.
Where exactly did you anchor? My daughter will be attending USCB this fall and we are looking for a good anchorage in the area.
Captain Tracy aboard Sea Huddle
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s for a Recent Report on Bluffton Anchorage
Cowen Creek cuts the eastern banks of the Beaufort River, south of Beaufort. What appears on the chart as an ideal anchorage may not always be the case, as noted below by Captain Litchfield.
Submitted on 2010/05/24 at 11:29am
We attempted to anchor here on 4/24/10. The evening’s predicted wind direction and strength nixed all possible anchorages except one in Cowen Creek. We ran some distance up the creek and tried anchoring in 10′ of water in the lee of some trees on shore. Our Rocna anchor set quickly, but failed to hold in the “fluff” mud bottom. After several attempts to find good holding, we abandoned the anchorage and headed for Port Royal Landing about 8 miles away.
Other spots in the creek may work better in better weather conditions. However, distance in and out along with our experience puts Cowen Creek on our “Not Here” list.
Captain Dick Litchfield
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Cowen Creek
Battery Creek cuts off the AICW’s passage along the Beaufort River, south of Beaufort, NC. You will drop the hook abeam of the Port Royal waterfront, which is currently being redeveloped from a commercial port to a tourist destination. One really good seafood restaurant is within dinghy range. Use your binoculars, look along the upstream portion of the waterfront, and you should spot the place. Happy dining!
Oh yes, and a word to the wise. Northbound AICW skippers sometimes mistakenly enter Battery Creek, thinking they are still on the Waterway. That’s easy to understand as the entrance into Battery Creek is far better marked that the AICW at this point. Study your chart and/or your GPS chartplotter carefully to avoid this error.
We arrived on 11/29/09 at near the top of the tide and anchored just past the shrimp boat docks and near three sailboats on moorings. We anchored in 18’ of water with about 10 kts of breeze. The anchorage is exposed to south and west winds. Tidal range overnight was eight feet. Just after dark we had 20’ of water beneath the boat and when I got up at around 0200, we only had 12’. Holding was good and despite the aggressive tidal switches, the anchor held firm. Not much local traffic while we were there.
The evening passed quietly but it gave way to a “Beirut Breakfast” at daybreak. All heck broke loose as we were eating. Seems the marines at Paris Island were on the small arms firing range and it reminded me of the middle east fighting you hear on the TV.
Otherwise a nice spot.
Dick Litchfield
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Directory Listing For Battery Creek Anchorage
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Battery Point Anchorage
As witnessed by Captain Litchfield and many, many others, Port Royal Marina (A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR) continues to earn its reputation as a first-class marina.
Submitted on 2010/05/22 at 6:22pm
We contacted Port Royal Marina and made arrangements to tie up to the outside dock as we were arriving after the marina closed for the day. We managed a easy unassisted tie up despite the wind and current. It’s amazing how you can do that when there is no one around to watch you mess up.
With the wind blowing straight up the river, the outside dock proved to be a less than desirable location, but we were in for the night with electricity, water and a dock that wasn’t going anywhere.
We found several of our cruising friends there the next day so we decided to take advantage of the marina’s 3 for 2 deal (pay for 2 nights, get 3rd free). The staff and facilities were great. We used the marina’s courtesy car, drove to downtown Beaufort for lunch and some groceries. A great place to stop.
Captain Dick Litchfield
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Port Royal Marina
This is an anchorage we haven’t heard a lot about, but from Captain Arnold’s description, it seems well worth exploring. The May River departs the AICW to the northwest at statute mile 560, just north of Hilton Head.
Can’t tell you about how nice a mooring is at Bluffton some 5 miles up the May River. Well protected from all winds and a good 10ft of water. The town is just great – Wednesday being Farmers Market day and also a first class thrift store run by a local church. Big stores like Walmart and Publix are 6 miles away – you can get a taxi or often find a friendly native will give you a lift. Free public dinghy dock.
Where exactly did you anchor? My daughter will be attending USCB this fall and we are looking for a good anchorage in the area.
Captain Tracy aboard Sea Huddle
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Bluffton, SC
Another superb, in-depth report from Captain Jane! She leaves little to the imagination concerning this facility!
We usually stay at Hilton Head’s Harbortown Marina, but decided to check out the more northerly facilities on the other end of Callibogue Sound. Hilton Head Harbor Marina was this year’s experiment and we confess a lack of information had us curious.
Perhaps the reason for so little information is that there is transient dockage only at the fuel dock. The dockmaster said it was 120 feet on the outside and 80 on the inside. Do your math and that’s not many boats if there’s a fat catamaran there — and there were two our visit.
The inside protected marina, we heard, has serious shoaling problems as in zero feet of water at the bottom of the considerable tide.
If you are one of the half dozen transients, you get access to a small swimming pool, tennis courts, adequate showers and laundry.
A big bonus, it seems from reviews we have read, is the on-site Sunset Grille restaurant. It’s reported to be one of the best restaurants on Hilton Head. Google it and you’ll find that it is a destination for foodies.
With a Boat US or SeaTow card, dockage is $1.60 a foot an electric $4 for 30 amp hook up, likely one of the lowest dockage rates in the area.
It was impressively gnatty the early spring night we spent there. I’m not sure if that’s seasonal or a feature of its location on the waterway as opposed to a dredged harbor with less natural surroundings.
Excellent sunrise and sunset views from the fuel dock and low rates are a fair trade for the occasional wake of a passing fast boat. We spent a comfortable night there — superb compared with our rock and
roll night at The City Marina in Charleston, which you will read about in our next report. Stay tuned!
Captain Jane Tigar
It’s a long cruise up Broad Creek from the AICW’s passage through Calibogue Sound to Shelter Cove Marina, but there is no doubt this is a first class facility, with a very sheltered harbor. There is also on-site dining, and provisioning nearby!
The post below was copied from the AGLCA mail list!
If you are prepared to go as far afield as Hilton Head, we are currently in the process of laying up our boat for a little while in Shelter Cove Marina. It is incredibly well protected with good floating docks and helpful, experienced staff.
Jonah and Jo.
Jonah’s Whale
Endeavour 48
I agree whole heartedly. We have had three extended stays at Shelter Cove. It is one of the best marinas in a great location. We look forward to returning.
Don Moon
Moonstruck
Sabre 42
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Shelter Cove Marina
I’m glad to hear that Captain Koerner had such a good welcome at Harbourtown Yacht Basin. They are one of our oldest and most loyal SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSORS!
Really liked the welcome at Harbortown Marina. They had a special of $.85/foot in November, for up to two days, then $1.00/foot. Very protected. Nice restaurant on site. Not close to any shopping, though, and no courtesy car.
HB Koerner
Take Five
Harbour Town at Hilton Head Island made a comfortable stay (and good laundry stop) after a day of navigating through whiteouts.
Captain Jane Tigar
Port Royal Landing Marina lies along the western banks of the AICW/Beaufort River, south of the Beaufort, SC waterfront. This is a superb facilit, and they are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR! Just watch out for the tidal currents as you approach the docks. Of course, that pretty much goes for every marina in South Carolina and Georgia.
It may be worth your while to check out Port Royal Landing Marina in Port Royal, near HHI and Beaufort. Very safe & secure, reasonable, courtesy car for errands and rental cars delivered. Great boater community, grill & store. Best of all, family owned & operated with good old Southern hospitality.
John W. Pierron
M/VInto The Mystic
Harbour Town has always been one of the most prestigous marinas in the Southeast. And, let’s not forget they are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!
Subject: More on Harbour Town Yacht Basin
Cruising News: We spent a very pleasant night at Harbour Town Yacht basin this past weekend, and we can enthusiastically second all the positive comments that have been posted here before — beautiful place, friendly and professional staff, great service. And that complementary bottle of Chardonnay was a welcome and unexpected treat! Cruisers should be aware, though, that the water in the entrance channel is a bit skinny, and becomes even more so just inside the marina basin. We arrived about 45 minutes or so before dead low tide and, with our draft of 4 feet, found about 3 feet of water under our keel in the entrance channel. This dropped to less than 2 feet of water clearance just inside the marina, roughly alongside the marina office, and then improved again to over four feet throughout the rest of the marina. Cruisers whose boats draw more than 5 feet or so may want to time their passages in and out of the marina for mid-to high tide.
Bob and Janet S.
M/V Harmony
"Ladys Island Swing Bridge Opening for Sailboat (Beaufort, SC)"
by: Bob Schwerzel
