Graham Creek is one of the many deepwater streams that offers good overnight anchorage between Winyah Bay and Charleston Harbor.
Anchored in Graham Creek with 2 other boats as we write. Beautiful spot with miles of salt marsh in 3 directions. Plenty of depth and swinging room.
Pete & Mary Ann
s/v MicMac
Click Here For The Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Anchorage Directory Listing For Graham Creek
Dewees Creek is one of the many deep water streams offering overnight anchorage between Winyah Bay and Charleston Harbor. The only disadvantage I can remember in regards to this haven is 100% marsh grass shores, which do not give the best of protection in really heavy weather.
I didn’t know about the “shark hole” (see below). That’s interesting!
We anchored recently at the Northern most spot shown above. Dolphins were swimming and diving all around for hours. It’s a nice spot.
On the way in, there’s a `hole’ about 90 feet deep. It’s known locally as `shark hole’.
Ron Widman
The stretch of the AICW reported on below by Captain Dave is found south of McClellanville, near Awendaw Creek. This is the first I’ve heard about kayackers on these waters. Proceed with care!
Subject: dangerous wake
Cruising News: At approximately SM 436 just beyound R \”48\” southbound is a beach area that is apparently popular for kayakers. Because of the shallow water approaching the beach and the fact that it is located just beyond a small point, our wake was exagerated significantly. We could have caused damage but did not – but we left a very unhappy kayaker behind. Suffice it to say, reduce to no wake in advance of passing this point if anyone is on the beach. My apologies to the kayakers if they should read this.
Dave
on GB 46 At Last
On 9/1/09, as part of a “South Carolina Wish List,” I posed the following question:
17. Has anyone taken the plunge and gone up the North Santee River as far as the Highway 17 twin bridges, anchored here, dinghied ashore, and visited Hopeswee Plantation? Please describe this cruise and what you saw!
Responses follow:
From Georgetown S.C., we motored south (20 mi) to the North Santee River and navigated to the Hwy. 17 bridge where we anchored for two days to visit Hopsewee Plantation, the birthplace of Thomas Lynch, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence for South Carolina, and a step back in time for sailors. We dinghied under the bridge and tied up to the small, Hopsewee dock; just look out for any alligators or snakes which may be “sunning” on or near the dock! Two original slave homes are intact, and archaeological digs around the Plantation are active. There are no marinas or restaurants nearby. The old rice fields and flood control gates are still around, as well as shrimp, crab, and fish. Our thanks go out to Frank and Rae Jean Beatty for opening their Hopsewee Plantation home to us, and preserving a piece of American History. http://www.hopsewee.com One could spend months cruising the Waccamaw River and points on the way to Charleston, S.C.; the history, traditions, and scenery are almost unchanged over the past two hundred years.
Claiborne, I anchored near the bridges without problem. My boat is a Dickerson 41ft., ketch, draft 5 ft.
Bruce
We anchored above the bridges on the south side in 14 feet of water, just slightly upstream from Hopsewee. Spent the night and took the dinghy to the Hopsewee dock and visited the plantation. Interesting tour. Need to keep an eye out for floating logs which move up and down the river with the tide on the south side of the river.
Jean Thomason
On 9/1/09, as part of a “South Caroliina Wish List,” I posed the following question:
18. Has anyone stayed at Leland Oil Company (the former Leland Marina) in McClellanville lately? Are the docks in better shape than in years past? Did you find any place to eat ashore in McClellanville? Is the village still as picturesque as ever with it’s beautiful old oak trees. see any improvements?
Responses follow:
Leland Oil…stayed there twice and docks were adequate. Not much else in that neighborhood. It does have a cell phone tower close by and we got great reception for our Verizon cells and air card. The town is a great little place to walk around in. We never saw a place to eat. Once we didn’t have reservations and they were full so we anchored in creek across from it and took the dinghy to the boat docks in plain sight of the ICW.
Best Regards
George
S/V Chez Nous
Yes, we stayed there last spring. And there was room only for us (41′ sailboat). The creek was dredged but not the whole way up to the marina, so there are some shallow (6′ at low) spots. And no, the facilities are still quite primitive but friendly. We bought seafood at the fish dock but did not see any restaurant. he town’s oaks are as beautiful as ever.
James Lea
S/V Estelle
If you walk out water street from the marina and turn right on oak and left on pinckney you will soon see TW Grahams seafood restaurant on the right. This is a wonderful place run by friendly folks who really know their seafood. Just beyond Grahams and a few small shops you will find the Pinckney Street Kitchen serving fresh sandwiches, subs, wraps and Breyers Ice cream.
Ron Rubottom
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Leland Oil Company
We stayed one night at Leland Oil Co on Oct. 26th, 2009. The dockmaster put us at the floating dock next to the shrimp boats. It is tricky at low tide with my Irwin 46 Ketch’s 6 ft. keel but did not run aground at mid tides in and out. We walked the nearby street but did not see any part of the town. The stop was part of a 332 mile uneventful 8 day trip from Dowry Creek Marina in Belhaven, NC to Charleston, SC. Our only problem the entire trip was fishermen with nets. They had them stretched almost entirely across the ICW at the Sunset Beach pontoon bridge (MM 337.9). We did catch one in our prop while waiting for the bridge to open,and drifted into the shallows and had to call SeaTow to get off the bottom and call a diver to get the net off the prop.
Charles and Jo Ann
S/V Osprey
On 9/1/09, as part of a “South Carolina Wish List,” I posed the following question:
19. If you’ve stayed at Isle of Palms Marina lately, north of Charleston, please describe your experience here.
Responses follow:
Isle of Palms Marina. This marina has become our marina of choice for the Charleston area. It is city owned and is a busy place with lots of fisherman using the ramp. It can be somewhat noisy. Limited transient dockage. Wi-fi is free, and an excellent marina store with everything a cruiser might want. Good eating choices nearby.
Ken Stickrath
Haven’t stayed at the Marina, but have docked at the Morgan Creek Restaurant (at the marina) all the time. It’s got about 7 boat slips for the restaurant and good food.
Melissa Priola
We needed to wait around for a new air handler in the Charleston area, and wanted to get north of Charleston Harbor. Called Isle of Palms to make a reservation, but they told us they were full. When we explained our predicament, the dockmaster told us to come up and he would find a place for us somewhere. We stayed there 3 days having a new air handler installed and getting the system flushed. The ship store and deli were excellent and we had no problem provisioning and even ordered lunch from the deli, which we ate at the dockside tables. We had dinner at Morgan Creek Grill and listened to a live blues duo while we looked out over the boaters coming and going. A nice family atmosphere.
Joy and Shel Rabin, aboard m/v Evening Star.
We had an unscheduled stopover at IOP Marina due to the Ben Sawyer bridge closing. Nice, clean, helpful and the restaurant was great!
On 9/1/09, as part of a “South Carolina Wish List, I posed the following question:
16. Has anyone anchored on the southerly portion of Minim Creek (south of the ICW)? Can you describe this anchorage?
Responses follow:
We spent a pleasant night anchored on Minum ck. early in May 2009. Holding, swing room, and depth was sufficient for our 55 Viking FDMY
Ron & Audrey
Lucky Girl
Below, you will find a quick blurb, but some some very usable information about the anchorages clustered near Dewees Creek, directly off the AICW, a short hop north of Charleston and Isle of Palms.
We have anchored our 61′ LOA boat on the western Dewee’s Creek spot shown in you chartlet [in the Cruisers’ Net South Carolina Anchorage Directory – linked below – Editor], as well as twice on Long Creek, one time where shown on the chartlet and once further south around the bend. Long Creek is a little roomier for us, holding is very good. We like the Low Country beauty of the marshes there.
George and Ann
`Incentive’ Hatteras 56MY
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Anchorage Directory Listing For Dewees Creek
Here are some good snippets about anchoring on Dewees and berthing at Cooper River Marina. This latter facility is actually located well upstream from downtown Charleston, in the heart of the old naval base. Just be sure to arrive with a fully stocked galley!
Ahoy All:
Thursday we cruised to about 10 miles north of Charleston SC and anchored for the night next to Dewee Island, an “exclusive” residential area with no cars. Private boat or ferry is the only access. Two garbage trucks were being brought ashore Friday morning for the weekly pick-up. The tide changed around 4am so the Captain was up to make sure the anchor didn’t drag and send us into the nearby ocean inlet. All went well.
Friday morning we docked at the Cooper River Marina, which is county-owned. Very friendly staff (Hugh is from Long Island) who are more than willing to drive you downtown, etc. Take a cab back. The marina is clean, fairly well protected from wakes, showers, laundry, lounge with tv and dial-up internet.
Albin 36
Miss Happ
New Bern NC
Click Here For More Information Concerning Cooper River Marina
Click Here For More Information Concerning Dewees Creek Anchorage
This is the most specific posting we have had here on the Net’s “South Carolina” section about AICW shoaling southwest of McClellansville. Everyone PLEASE watch out for the shallows described below by Captains Sami and Barry! And, we would WELCOME more info about this shoal from other cruisers! Please send any info or observations to CruisingWriter@CruisersNet.net.
Subject: shoaling red marker 40
Cruising News: The water gets very shallow starting around red marker 40 (north of Charleston and well south of Georgetown)…sorry not to be more specific, but there was very little water there at low tide and we saw a sailboat grounded right at that marker. Also, wow the crab pots are like land mines….over into the channel and dragging all over the place. Just please beware along that stretch…….we came across several bouys which were almost submerged and right in the middle of the magenta line. Love being able to share our info since we get so much out of this site every day!
Sami and Barry Shreve
Subject: AICW Shoaling southwest of McClennanville
Cruising News: We are presently aground! An hour before low water. We draw six feet and are next to the magenta line at 33 04.248N 79 28.394W. Can’t decide if the deeper water is left or right. Guess we’ll be here a couple of hours until the water rises!
S/V Lady
I e-mailed Jenny and Charlies as soon as the message above was received, and sent along my hope that they were floating again. I received the reply below:
McClellanvile is indeed charming!
Cruising News: I’d like to comment on docking in McClellanville. I don’t think there is any place I’ve enjoyed docking more than in McClellanville. It is, indeed, rustic, but that’s its charm. Dolphins swam around our boat for hours, the sunsets were glorious, the shrimpers were great to watch coming in and going out, the town is beyond quaint. To me, that’s cruising at its best.
Margaret B. Smith
Messing About
Hi Claiborne,
We paid $2.12 including tax at Leland Oil in McClellanville this afternoon; noticed you didn’t get info from them this week. Â Had a wonderful lunch at TW Graham in town. As another cruiser wrote, this is a great change of pace stop and or just a nice transition from anchoring out as we have for the past few days: Cumberland River, Wahoo River, Vernon River, Beaufort and Church Creek in our case. By the way, we had good room and holding for our 56 footer in each spot, and winds have been in the high 20’s all week.
George and Ann
“Incentive” Hatteras 56MY
Click Here To View the South Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Leland Oil Company
Bridge operators like the one Captain Pat met up with at the Ben Sawyer Bridge, north of Charleston, are all too rare!
Subject: Ben Sawyer Bridge – Bridge Tender
Cruising News: Okay – I admit it, I ran aground watching to see if the bridge was going to open (not paying attention to where I was in the river after racing to get there for her 1:00pm opening… After running aground, we refloated pretty close to the bridge (North bound on the south side of the bridge). The bridge opens on the hour, but after watching us aground for about an hour 15 minutes, we hailed the bridge tender that we were now afloat again. This was another 45 minutes until the next scheduled opening, but she opened it for us and let us through. I'm sending kudos to her because she didn't have to do that. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Pat
The anchorage referred to below by Captain Chris, is on the upstream section of Five Fathom Creek, northeast of marker #20. Look like he found a foul bottom there, though we have never had this problem. Take care when anchoring on these waters!
Subject: Five Fathom Foul Bottom
Cruising News: Five Fathom Creek has this same problem [bottom fouled with jetsam] upstream of #20. For us it was a two foot coil of 3/4 inch wire rope.
Chris Waln
Hmmmmm! I can’t remember the last time I threw out the hook in Graham Creek. Looks like the bottom in at least part of this anchorage, may very well be foul. Anchor here with the greatest of care!
Subject: Graham Creek Anchorage
Cruising News: At ICW mile 339 when anchoring in Graham Creek be aware of cement and rebar debris that can foul ground tackle near 0.1 nautical miles up the creek on the starboard side of the creek
Stewart Force
After posting the message above, Captain Stewart sent me the following clarification. Looks like a foul bottom is only a problem on a portion of Graham Creek.
I still will use Graham Creek as an anchorage furthur up the creek where most people anchor. It’s just a problem to starboard and closer to the ICW.
Thanks,
Stewart Force
Subject: Graham Creek
Cruising News: Claiborne, we’ve anchored in Graham Creek any number of times in the past five years and have never “caught” anything. Perhaps we\’re further back in the creek from where Stewart Force reported catching concrete and rebar!
Bob McLeran/Judy Young
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Anchorage Directory Listing For Graham Creek
Below you will find the latest in a series of postings which show that the Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net has only the best in the way of sponsors, of which, Isle of Palms Marina, is a shining example. This facility is located a short hop north of the AICW’s entrance into Charleston Harbor! And, not only is the marina seriously first class, but the on-site restaurant is memorable as well!
Subject: Isle of Palms Marina
Cruising News: We just finisned laying-over our boat for 5 weeks at Isle of Palms Marina,SC(ICW Mile Marker 457). Outstanding service, support and facilites. Best staff I have ever experienced in my 35 years of boating. The Marina just finished a major face lift. The on-site restaurant “Morgan Creek” is worth the stay as well. Need anything, Dockmasters Chase & Ryan are a first class act in customer service! Nothing too fancy, just good ole Southern hospitality!!!
Don & Stacy
“Heavenly Daze”
Defever 53 POC
Baltimore, MD.
I agree with Captain Pat that the current Leland Oil Company mariner owner is making slow improvements. That’s a good thing, as, under the preceeding ownership, this facility had gotten quite sad. Judging from my last visit, you still can’t consider this place first class, but it’s acceptable, and the village of McClellanville is absolutely charming and should NOT be missed!
Leland Oil Co. McClellanville ($1 a foot)
This is another place that is somewhere in the middle, from Wacca Wachi or Georgetown to Charleston, for those who want a dock not an anchor. Dwayne is the owner and although the docks are not upscale they are secure and have power and showers. Ladders up from floating dock unless it is high tide then you step across. These are working fuel docks where the owner is working to improve the amenities and the visual look of the area to get more cruisers in. I have stayed here three times and since it is halfway it is perfect. Each time Dwayne has driven me up to either the ‘Red Dot’ store (think booze) or to the fresh seafood store. This is a working port so you get fresh local seafood in season or frozen off season. This seafood store has some of the best shrimp dip along the ICW. If you travel with animals be advised Dwayne has a dog, ‘Beau’ who wants to play with dogs and it seems every house off the property has some type of dog. Dwayne puts Beau inside when cruisers stay over who have dogs. I would recommend this for some one looking to tie up for the night or to hold for weather not a destination marina.
Pat Banyas
Marguerite
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Leland Oil Company
Leland Oil Co. McClellanville, Sc.
Had to duck in for a week because I ran out of time in getting the boat to Charleston and had to be back at work. I was too late to make the bridge and the folks at Isle of Palms were less than accomodating. I had fueled at Leland’s a few miles earlier and decided to turn and go back. The folk are very friendly, accomodating and $1.00 / ft. I would stay again if needed..
Tom Hughes
Catalina 390 “Island Time”
As Captain Pat says, Isle of Palms Marina is located directly on the AICW, only a short hop north of Charleston Harbor.
Pat’s account of Isle of Palms below is, as you will see, downright glowing. I agree that this is an excellent facility, and they are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!!!
Isle of Palms just north of charleston on ICW. ($2.00 a foot) Earlierir in the year they were working on rebuilding bulkheads and docks but it seems to be almost all completed. Great dockhands. Cable and wifi at docks. Very clean and well appointed showers to include a Sauna, yes a sauna. They have the nicest ships store for many a mile. It includes a deli, TV viewing area, boat stuff, wine and cheese stuff, general groceries, souveneirs, and nick nacks. Restaurant on premises with great food and one of the nicer views on ICW. $4.00 Happy hour appetizers, make sure to try the fried portabellas with blue cheese dip my gosh they are great. It is also a fairly well protected place to sit out bad weather. Seriouosly a very nice little marina to stay at with an exceptional restaurnat and view (also not too bad prices). Call ahead to reserve a spot in season though!
Pat Banyas
Marguerite
Isle of Palms Marina sits directly on the path of the AICW, a short hop north of Charleston Harbor. These good people are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR!
Good Afternoon Claiborne!
We have just made reservations to do a one month stay-over at Isle of Palms Marina for next month as we continue our gradual north-bound journey to Baltimore Harbor. We will continue to use your recommendations as we head north thru SC,NC, VA & MD.
We are looking forward to our stay-over at Isle of Palm and don’t think we will be disappointed based on the great hospitality when making our reservations.
Thank for your help to make our north-bound maiden journey safe and pleasurable!
Don and Stacy
`Heavenly Daze’
Defever 53 POC
I think this is the first report we've had here on the Cruisers' Net concerning AICW shoaling near McClellanville. While the depths Captain Richard reports below aren't grounding levels for many cruising craft, 6 feet at MLW in the Waterway is a cause for concern!
Subject: McLellanville Shallows
Cruising News: Claiborne,
Just passed through the McLellanville area. The tide was at 0.8 FT above low. From G35 to R42 the depth varied from 7-9 FT. Taking into consideration the tide level I would say that the controlling depth at low tide would be 6 FT.
Regards,
Capt. Richard Beesley
s/v Viking Rose
Claiborne:
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Marina Directory Listing For Leland Oil Company
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