Whiteside Creek Anchorage (Statute Mile 451.5)
Whiteside Creek is one of many deep streams that offer good, even in not ultra-sheltered, anchorage directly off the AICW between Winyah Bay and Charleston Harbor. And, yes, Captain Emerson is quite correct that this whole region suffers from strong tidal currents, but, hey, that’s pretty much the rule in all of coastal South Carolina and Georgia.
We anchored here and liked the location but found the current somewhat challenging. We anchored just north of the 23′ sounding in the chartlet (the indicated location, near the 11′ sounding, is not a great choice) and had plenty of room to swing in. As did two other 40’+ boats. The problem was we were caught in a wind vs. current situation and rode strangely all night. The hook held well, but the amount of current is worth noting.
Rick Emerson
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Anchorage Directory Listing For Whiteside Creek
Comments from Cruisers (1)
We anchored here and also found the current a little challenging. There was a sailboat anchored in the 11′ sounding area so we went around the bend to the 13′ area. Two attempts to set our Danforth were unsuccessful. The wind, tide and rain didn’t help our efforts. We retreated to the area between the 38′ and 11′ soundings and were able to get a good anchor set. We too rode strangely with the wind/current situation. Northerly winds remained at 15+ with gusts so not much sleep that night. The Danforth held ok and was tough to unset. In all three sailboats rode out the evening here. In less windy conditions it would be a great spot to anchor.
D&D
s/v Ninkasi