Named as a favorite by several contributors, Church Creek anchorage lies 18 miles south of Charleston. Church Creek, with 13-22 ft. depths, indents the eastern flank of the AICW’s hard by marker #77.
Oct 11 Anchored in Church Creek, experience was exactly as previously reported, very quiet night.
Doug Cordello
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Church Creek Anchorage
Certainly the Waccamaw River is one of the most scenic portions of the AICW. The dark waters and moss-hung cypress trees take you to another time before GPS and Iphones. Thoroughfare Creek anchorage lie west of the Waccamaw River/ICW flashing daybeacon #73. We think that, along with Bull Creek, Thoroughfare Creek is one of the two best places to anchor along the AICW’s trek down Waccamaw River, in these lands and waters of many, many fine anchorages.
Oct 9 Anchored at Thoroughfare Creek Anchorage, anchored just off the ICW in 16 of water near the mouth of the creek, very quite night.
Doug Cordello
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Thoroughfare Creek
Cricket Cove Marina flanks the ICW’s northern banks, immediately east of flashing daybeacon #11, in the heart of Little River, SC. Moving south from North Carolina to the South Carolina portion of the AICW, Crickett Cove is the first marina you will come across in Palmetto State waters.
Oct 7 Stopped at Cricket Cove Marina, nice marina.
Doug Cordello
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Cricket Cove Marina
Calabash Creek lies to the north of the Waterway, just south of the SC/NC state line. This anchorage can get very crowded during the busy season, but if you can find a spot, there are two fine seafood restaurants accessible just upstream by dinghy.
Please note the Navigation Alert linked below indicating the possibility of shoaling at the intersection of the Waterway and Calabash Creek. Also, we have personally sounded, and other cruisers have reported, as little as 4 feet entering Calabash Creek during MLW.
We attempted this anchorage on 10/6/2012 and found the entrance shallow at mid-tide and with one vessel in the anchorage, did not feel comfortable with minimal swing room for our 44′ sailboat and 5′ draft. The water here shallows up quickly.
Capt. Pat Carter
I anchored at Calabash on 10/09/2012. I entered near high tide and saw nothing under 10 feet. I stayed close to the ICW R2, and well off the Calabash Creek R2 as I had reported several years ago. When leaving, it was just past low tide, and I read nothing under 7′. I’m 38′ and draw 5.5′. I will point out that another boat in the anchorage anchored too close to shore and found himself lying on his side in the morning. I anchored in 9′ and had no problem.
Bill Raynor
We have been traveling the waterway for 10 years and ALWAYS stop in Calabash Creek for the night. Our boat is at least 43′ long and draws 6′. We have never had a problem anchoring there, even with 6-8 other boats. The trick is to stay out of channel, as the head boats coming out of Calabash at all hours of the day and night, must get through safely. They won’t hesitate to let you know if you get too close for comfort. You need to know exactly what the tide is doing and plan your anchoring depth accordingly. The Seafood Hut is our favorite restaurant; we never miss our dinner of shrimp and flounder (yum yum).
Cap’n Norman and Admiral Barbara
s/v Blown Away
I’ve always (4 times at least) gone the other way to the Little River Inlet and anchored near marker #18. It’s always worked well for us with only another boat there on occasion. It is important to be out of the channel, since the gambling boats head out that inlet.
Capt. Bob Clemons
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of the Calabash Creek Anchorage
North Edisto River Entrance - Click for Chartview
The AICW intersects the North Edisto River at Statute Mile 497. You must abandon the Waterway and cruise downstream some 8.5 nautical miles to reach this river’s inlet.
Cruising News:
I recently transited the North Edisto R inlet from West to East.
Both R-6 and R-4 as shown on Chart #11522 are missing. R-2NE is in the position as shown.
I favored G-9 off Deveaux Bank going thru the deepest water of the middle bank thru the old position of R-6 and on to R-2NE at mid high tide with nothing less than 13′. Ebb tide with NW 10k winds.
65′ MV draft 5-5′
Ray Cope
UPDATE – October 10, 2012, we just received the report below from Capt. Rob Bessinger and have consequently rescinded our Navigation Alert for these waters.
According to USCG Local Notice to Mariners, Distrcit 7, Week 40/12 [the first week of October], Chart 11522, the North Edisto River Entrance Lighted Buoy 6 (R6) is fixed and has status of “Watching Properly”
Rob
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of North Edisto River Inlet
Awendaw Creek - Click for Chartview
Located halfway between Georgetown and Charleston, SC, Awendaw Creek has been successfully accessed for anchoring by several recent cruisers. On the south side of the Waterway, Awendaw Creek is best approached through its northern entrance which is due south of marker #48 and just west of marker #47 in Harbor River.
Anchored here on 10/1/2012-all positive comments on this anchorage are true. Went in at 1 hour before low tide and never had less than 8′ and mostly double digits in the anchorage. `No-seeum’s’ came out at sundown but an `Off’ coil kept them to a minimum.
Capt. Pat Carter
Oct 10 we anchored at Awendaw Creek turned the corner in charted 13 feet but saw 16 feet, surprisingly very quiet night even though it appears to be wide open.
Doug Cordello
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Anchorage Directory Listing For Awendaw Creek
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Awendaw Creek
Harborwalk Marina, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR! is the northwesternmost marina on the downtown Georgetown/Sampit River waterfront. Check out their shiny new, first-rate, shower and laundry building!
Jim and I spent a month at Harborwalk on our way north this summer and are now here for a few days on our way back to Florida. The marina is small but the service from Chris and Steve is top-notch. Everything is maintained very well, from the office to the rest rooms, the laundry area and the docks. All of it is always clean and tidy. Very convenient location ‘“ step off your boat and in less than a minute you’re in downtown Georgetown. Walk a couple of minutes in the other direction and you can buy shrimp fresh of the boats. Georgetown and Harborwalk are both on our `places to stop at again’ list. And if you’re here for a couple of days, be sure book a spot on Captain Rod’s Low Country Tour boat and go shelling at the beach!
Paula Spence, M/Y Sea Eagle
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Harborwalk Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Harborwalk Marina
We have stayed here a couple of weekends with our boat `Keeper of the Stars’ and we found it very nice and staff friendly. There are 2 things that we would like to mention, #1’¦We wish they had a general store on site instead of having to leave the property to buy soft drinks, cleaning supplies etc. #2 and most important to us’¦.I wish they would make people put their dogs on LEASHES at all times’¦.I have 2 small pugs that are on leashes and when ur big dog comes over and gets my dogs riled up’¦your dog better not cause me a problem, because I will protect them at all costs’¦so keep your dog on a leash!!!!!
Jim and Tera Ehlers
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Charleston Harbor Marina
Even the latest chartplotters cannot keep up with aids to navigation added to mark shoaling, and it can be confusing to approach a marker that often just does not make sense when looking at the chart. Thanks to Capt. Butler for bringing these uncharted markers to our attention!
New red nun 166 in Ashepoo River to mark shoal and the QR168 where you make the hard turn to port for the cutoff. Also noticed a new G175 in place of the range in Rock Creek.
Karen Butler
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To A “Navigation Alert” Position at Ashepoo River
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Marker #175
If you hurry, you can still catch this river cruise that begins Tuesday, 10/02/2012. Capt. Corgen has titled the cruise “Up the Cooper to Lake Marion and beyond”. Sounds like a great trip!
Claiborne:
I think John Winter, JUST RELAX, mentioned to you maybe 6 weeks ago or so that several AGLCA boats were going up the Cooper. Well that several are 2, YOUNG @ HEART and ODYSSEE. We are leaving from Maritime Center next Tuesday morning, October 2. ODYSSE will leave their home dock on Distant Island Creek in Beaufort Sunday afternoon and spend Monday night in Charleston, YOUNG @ HEART is a James Island boat and will be leaving from their dock on Parrot Point Creek at high tide Tuesday morning. Tuesday night will be spent at Gilligans dock in Monks Corner. Wednesday they will go through the 75′ single chamber lock at Pinopolis into Lake Moultrie. Trip is expected to turn around in the Congaree River above the Hwy. 601 bridge, adjacent to the east end of the Congaree National Park. We’ll be posting our odyssey as we can on our blog, http://www.gorgensodyssee.blogspot.com.
Chuck Gorgen
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Charleston Maritime Center
MBYC is in Little River, not Myrtle Beach. We stayed here on our way north last spring, and then again last week (13 September). Both times we have been very pleased. The staff is knowledgable and very helpful. They drove us over to West Marine late in the day before it closed. Facilities are A-1. Good value. There is a nice walkway for exercise that goes all around Coquina Harbor. People seem to be very friendly. We would definitely go again.
Dunniganj
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
Many good words about newly renovated (and under new ownership) Bucksport Marina and their on-site restaurant, continue to be recorded here on the Cruisers’ Net! And, of course, these good people are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS NET SPONSOR! PLEASE patronize them and all our other sponsors whenever possible!!!!
A great place in a spectacular location. Good food and music on the deck (And they are adding a larger covered deck). Staff is friendly and helpful and anxious to make your stay a great one.
Dan Virga
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Directory Listing For Bucksport Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Bucksport Marina
Always Welcome in North Myrtle Beach at HARBOURGATE MARINA. Call early to make your reservations. 843-249-8888
Transient Rate $1.50 or say you saw our ad on Cruisers’ Net.
A Friend of Claiborne.
Susan Watson
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Harbourgate Marina
Cooper River Marina is located in what was a backwater section of the old Charleston US Navy Base, and it’s quite a drive to get pretty much anywhere from its docks. Still, the rates are reasonable, and if you have readily available shoreside auto transportation, this facility is a possibility in the greater Charleston area! Captain Harvey gives us a bit of its history.
I have been familiar with the Cooper River Marina since it was new after Huricane Hugo wiped out the old US Navy sailing facility. It was originally built as a US Navy military marina. When the Base closed the Charleston County Parks took over. It is a very nice facility and the employees and manager Matt Driscole are the best. However the county parks has never recognized the military men and women who paid for the marina through non-appropriated funds through the use of commissarys and exchanges. Its just a hard spot with me, but I feel the County should honor the military with a military rate for long term dockage. After all the sailors and airmen paid for it.
Manning J. Harvey III
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of
Georgetown, SC has done a wonderful job of dressing up their waterfront with a long wooden “Harborwalk” that provides access to the very heart of downtown Georgetown. A number of the town’s leading restaurants and shops open onto the boardwalk which also offers free dinghy dockage for visiting vessels at anchor in the adjacent wing of Sampit River. Putting all this together, Georgetown remains one of our very FAVORITE ports of call, and a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET SPONSOR.
However, when you visit Georgetown, please be SURE to pick up a wet slip at one of the local marinas, or anchor in the branch of Sampit River and then dinghy ashore. Overnight tie-up, for vessels or dinghy, has never been permitted at the Harborwalk docks, but obviously too many cruisers have failed to pay heed to the signs. Now, the local government is getting SERIOUS about it!
Cruising News:
I don’t know if it has been reported yet , the city of Georgetown , Sc. has always had signs on the town docks that read ” NO OVERNIGHT DOCKING PLEASE” now they have added signs that read “OVERNIGHT DOCKING PROHIBITED” with an ordinance no. and a fine of $1092.50!!! YES THOUSAND!!
I can only assume they mean to enforce it! Over the years I have seen many boats tied up overnight especially during the boat migration seasons. The town fathers have obviously become boater unfriendly. I wonder if the Chamber of Commerce is aware??
Bill Gaughan
Claiborne,
These docks were always meant to be for stop, shop, eat, etc. but not for overnight stay. Our local tour boats use them if they have a handicap passenger that needs to board as well as local pleasure boaters in for an hour or so.
The problem arose from a few transient and local cruisers staying multiple nights and taking up the docks. One of the local tour captains decided to leave his boat there overnight in order to accommodate a handicap passenger early the next morning (since he was afraid someone else would get it that night). When he arrived the next morning, he had a $1,000 ticket. He went to court to argue the fact, since he watched others do it all the time and it wasn’t enforced. He semi won that battle as the ticket was thrown out and new signs were put up. The amount of enforcement still remains to be seen.
I don’t think by any means this makes the City or county of Georgetown `boater unfriendly’. The docks should be used what they were intended for.
There are (3) nice marinas downtown that offer nightly and hourly transient dockage when available. I should know, I operate one. Thanks.
Chris Carroll, Harborwalk Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Georgetown Harbor
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Harborwalk Marina
Cruising News:
MBYC has lowered it’s transient dockage to $1.25/foot with a Boat/Us discount of .25 cents
Bud Coonfield myrtlebeachyc@sc.rr.com
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
Many good words about newly renovated (and under new ownership) Bucksport Marina and their on-site restaurant, continue to be recorded here on the Cruisers’ Net! And, of course, these good people are a SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS NET SPONSOR! PLEASE patronize them and all our other sponsors whenever possible!!!!
This location is quaint and beautiful! The view is simply fantastic and Chef Jay made our visit extremely memorable. The food was delicious and the Chef came over and talked to us, it was so personable! If you have yet to stop while heading south, DO NOT pass this place up!!
Mae M
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Directory Listing For Bucksport Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Bucksport Marina
I well remember one delightful October afternoon in 1983 when we came cruising along the AICW’s run through South Carolina’s Dawho River. This stream, along with a man-made canal, serves to connect the AICW between the North and South Edisto Rivers.
Anyway, we were on our initial research trip, seeking out anchorages for the first edition of my “Cruising Guide to Coastal South Carolina and Georgia.” As I always still do to this day before beginning on-site research of new waters, I had poured over (in this case) chart 11518, looking for good anchorage possibilities. And here, hard by marker #128, were several charted oxbows which NOAA reported as having 6 to 12 foot depths.
Well, like Diana and Mark, we arrived, THANK GOODNESS, at MLW. Imagine my astonishment when our first look inside all three oxbows revealed nothing but MUD!!!! To say the least, we warned everyone away from these potential traps and cheats in the pages of “CGSC-GA!”
A check of the very latest version of chart 11518 on the Cruisers’ Net’s “Chart View” module, shows that NOAA is FINALLY showing no depth on the northeastern oxbow at MLW, but is still erroneously promising some MLW depths in the south side oxbow, which is the subject of Mark and Diana’s article below (see chartlet at right – click to open a Chart View page centered on the oxbow in question). It only took NOAA 29 years to correct 1/3 of their error. Need I say more about my opinion of the NOAA charting folks.
So, if you seek to safely drop the hook on the Dawho River section of the South Carolina AICW, please continue cruising west, pass under the Dawho – Edisto Island Bridge, and give Fishing Creek along the northerly banks a try. Even this body of water has a TRICKY entrance. Follow the link below to learn how safe entry can be achieved!
Check Out the MUD!
Hi Claiborne,
No names mentioned here … but someone asked us about anchoring in the oxbow off Dawho River R128.
We told them: In a word, DON’T !!!
As you well know, the closest tide station, Dawho Bridge, has an STR (Spring Tidal Range) of 7.2 feet, which can make a lot of South Carolina and Georgia bad ideas seem like good ones … especially when NOAA charts the oxbow at 7 feet low water.
[See depth-annotated track and NOAA chart screenshot below.]
We’ve heard people chatting about this possibility before, so on our last pass northbound (two months ago), we just happened to be passing R128 near low tide.
As you can see in the chart screenshot and accompanying photo, there is plenty of water in the ICW channel but EVERYTHING dries out in the oxbow.
Again, no recommendation being made here. Just sharing data. Captains are responsible for their own decisions and outcome.
Best and see you On the Water,
Captains Mark & Diana Doyle
http://www.OnTheWaterChartGuides.com
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of the Oxbow Off the AICW/Dawho River
Click Here To View the South Carolina Cruisers’ Net Anchorage Directory Listing For Fishing Creek
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of the Fishing Creek Anchorage
We stayed one night on return from Bald Head to Georgetown and wanted to avoid the carnival of Myrtle Beach. What a great spot! We are a 47′ Beneteau and had no problem getting in and out. The most helpful, curtious staff we have ever encountered. Cleanest baths, laundry and marina building possible. Enjoyed an outstanding Italian dinner with pickup and return service. Couldn’t ask for more, every marina could learn from Osprey. We will be back next time.
Bill Saint
Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s South Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Osprey Marina
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Osprey Marina
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