Jarvis Creek Anchorage
Statute Mile: 559
Lat/Lon: near 32 12.587 North/080 46.208 West
Location: on the eastern shores of northern Calibogue Sound, south of Jenkins Islands and east of flashing daybeacon #1
Minimum Depth: 7-feet
Swing Room: sufficient room for vessels as large as 34 feet
Foul Weather Shelter: Very good, but open to westerly winds, and surrounding marsh grass shores do not give sufficient shelter in especially heavy weather
Rating: 
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Comments from Cruisers (1)
In the SSECN “South Carolina Anchorage Directory, we have always given Jarvis Creek our lowest recommendation (only one anchor), and the shoals surrounding this stream’s mouth are certainly one reason for this less than glowing review. So, when we published the story of the two shrimpers (see below), we began to wonder whether we should remove Jarvis Creek entirely from our suggested anchorages????
However, the superb input, now appended below, from Captains Moore and Lawrenson, provide persuasive evidence that we should keep this stream as a suggested South Carolina anchorage, albeit one still with our lowest recommendation.
Two shrimp boats ran aground Wednesday in a marsh on the north end of Hilton Head Island. James Murray is captain of the overturned Lady Essie, a 1969, 65-foot shrimp trawler based in Port Royal. He said he came into Jarvis Creek at 7 a.m. to tow another shrimp trawler, the Dianie, from the dock behind the Crazy Crab restaurant, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sgt. Robin McIntosh said.
Murray, who is 69 and from Savannah, said he was unfamiliar with the creek and the shallow areas, and he ran aground as he was trying to leave the creek.
We live near the Jarvis Creek grounded shrimpers, and they are not at the mouth of the creek. I would estimate that they are a little over 1/2 mile into the creek. (I cannot check this, as we just pulled our Whaler for some maintenance.) I do not disagree with your conclusions regarding Jarvis Creek, but I would doubt if the typical anchoring boat would be where these boats are grounded.
K. C. Moore, Jr.
Hilton Head
I live on Hilton Head Island and dock at Windmill Harbour, just visible on the upper left corner of your map insert, the entrance where the 10 ft. depth is shown, so I pass this mess all the time. My guess is that it is skipper error, rather than silting, and it is farther up the creek than I would go. the boats are a long way up the creek
Shrimp boats always used Jarvis Creek to tie up next to the Crazy Crab restaurant on Highway 278 one mile on the island. The article says there was towing involved, so I believe that was the issue, as it is exceptionally tight in the upper are of the creek. the crazy crab is some 1/4 mile further up the creek than where the boats grounded.
From what I can see, the boats are considerably higher up the creek than where your red anchor is placed, and I would place them between the 9ft and 5ft marks on the upper right hand side of the map insert, where it turns to the starboard (as you enter) – nearly off your insert. They appear well North East of the red anchor at any rate.
There was a Coast Guard or Auxiliary boat looking at them when I passed them the other day, and they took fuel off them, so it looks like they may be there for a while. They are on the Northwest bank of the creek, parallel to the shore, and both well aground. The fishing rig and booms have now been removed from the second boat (see left boat in picture still has booms on – they are now gone), so it is a lot safer.
I would not go that far up the creek to anchor anyway, because it would be really tight to turn around.
Hope This helps –
Bill Lawrenson,