5/24/2011 Week 2

0700  I was off and headed across the Charleston Harbor, where the Ashley, Wando and Cooper rivers come together to form the Atlantic.  Once again I thank the maker of the GPS because trying to find the channel of the ICW on the other side of this vast harbor would be impossible.

I entered the ICW channel called the Isle of Palms and headed north.  Big houses, boats and $$$ galore.  I even came acrossed isolated cabins that would be 1^st class homes but there was no way to get to them unless by boat!  Once in the ICW headed north you travel through straight canal type water ways that meander very slightly.  The marsh lands of southern SC starting turning into beautiful wooded areas of Cyprus trees and Spanish moss. I saw many Osprey on nest and two Bald Eagles along the way.  Of course the bottle nosed dolphins were always present. 

About ten miles out of Charleston, my GPS maps program went blank and all I had was the arrow pointing in the direction I was headed.  It was now navigation back to the old way of following the ICW Red and Green markers and watching my depth gage.  Several times I came to one marker and didn’t see the corresponding marker for a half mile or so.  In that case I kept the compass heading north and kept the faith that I was in the right water way. 

I came into the Georgetown, SC across a large open marsh water way which was part of the Waccamaw River and once again it was decision time. The folks at two marinas in Georgetown let me down and stated when I was getting close that they had no way to work on my motor in the water and it was at least a week out before I could get on the schedule.  I was advised to head north on the Waccamaw river to The Hague or Anchor Marina’s.  It was 12 noon and north I went. 

With the GPS navigation maps down I could only follow the markers and with some common sense the other boats headed north. I once started to head under a bridge but noticed that the sail boats were going under the larger section of the bridge a little more easterly course.  I played follow the leader and yes it was the right direction.  The GPS navigation was coming on up in the outer right corner of my screen but I would have to travel the entire Waccamaw River from Red stick to Green stick.

The trip up the river, which is still part of the ICW, is out of this world spectacular. After 4 more hours of breath taking scenery I left the Waccamaw and entered the ICW channel toward Myrtle Beach and the Hague Marina.  My GPS navigation maps came back on the screen just in time to show me a very low swing bridge about a mile ahead around the next bent.  Yes, there it was and I estimated I had just enough clearance and when I went under the bridge, I squatted down for I made it with inches to spare.  Several spectators cheered and clapped as I came out the other side. At 1630 hrs I came to the Hague marina and tied up   George Russ the owner is something else and we sat around talking over a few beers.  He and his mechanic will look at my motor and change the oil in the AM and if all goes well I will be headed north again by noon.  It’s still hard to believe that I am three miles south of Myrtle Beach and I have only put 80 hours of cruising time on the motor.