Wednesday 11/1/2017 - Little River Inlet to South Myrtle Beach

It was an interesting night last night.  I'm actually anchored in the Calabash River.  I hadn't looked at it very closely on the charts ahead of time.  The areas around inlets are usually complicated with lots of streams and cuts meandering all over the place.  I knew the Calabash extended farther inland but didn't realize how far.  In any event, the current was stronger than I had expected.  I'm still using my Fortress danforth anchor (7 lb. FX-11).  I love this anchor because it is so easy to set, holds very well, and is easy to retrieve.  I have a new Mantis anchor but it is stored away for later in the trip.  So I decided to just manually reset the Fortress each time the tide changed overnight.  That was 6:30pm, 12:30am, and 6:30am.  As easy as the Fortress is,  I concluded that three times "easy" makes "hard".  I don't expect conditions like this again for a while so I think I'll wait to swap out to the Mantis.  Another "lesson learned, however". 

Another factor about being anchored in the Calabash is the VERY large fishing boats that come and go throughout the night.  Being anchored close to the channel didn't help. 

It's now Thursday.  What a difference a day can make.  Yesterday was uneventful and a nice day.  Wednesday was the opposite - just after leaving my anchorage in Calabash River.  Apparently I had snagged a crab pot over night and didn't realize it until I noticed the wheel being a little hard to turn and my top speed ranging from 1.8 to 2.2 knots.  At first, I thought it was the strong current against me but after about 5 minutes in the ICW (out of the Calabash), I realized it was more than that - much more.  In retrospect, I should have turned around and gone back into the creek.  But instead, I forged ahead at 2 knots about a mile where it appeared I could pull off to the side and anchor.  The spot I chose wasn't as good as it looked on the charts.  My first attempt was futile - the anchor felt like it was dragging over concrete.  So I moved up to an area that looked more shoaly (softer bottom??).  It caught but I was in 6' of water with a red day marker about 100' behind me and the current pushing me toward it at 2 knots.  The time was about 8am so it was early and cool.  I put on my shorty wet suit, fins, and mask to go down for a look.  I tied a line to my ankle just in case.  The water was about like the Bay but had lots of debris that was flying past.  The prop was clear but there was a float wrapped around my rudder post.  I tried several times to unwrap it but finally gave up.  From the ladder, I pulled on the other end of the line and up came a nice new yellow crab pot (a cage about 2' x 2' x 2'.  It contained a couple small crabs.  I debated what to do - whether to keep trying to free the line from my rudder or cut the trap loose. I really hated to detach the trap from the buoy since this would mean a lost trap (at probably over $100).  I decided to cut it loose and travel the remainder of the day with the line and buoy wrapped around the rudder post. 

Then began my 25 mile trip to Osprey Marina (South of Myrtle Beach).  Unfortunately, the tide was falling and I was heading away from the Little River Inlet.  So the current was against me for all but the last 5 miles of the trip - Arggg!  My fuel gauge was reading low so I stopped for fuel in North Myrtle Beach and got 5 gallons.  My 18hp diesel uses just 1/3 gallon an hour and cruises at just over 5 knots so it will go about 15 miles on a gallon.

 

My next challenge was the famous Rock Pile between North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach.  It is a 3 mile section of the ICW that was cut into solid rock. There are two sections where the outcrops are most visible and narrow.  It was getting to be late in the afternoon and there was very little boat traffic. So, for that stretch, no one passed me in either direction.  I was still a nervous wreck - even though the depths were never less than 10 feet (at low, low tide). 

During the day I encountered two or three swing bridges but both opened right away after I hailed the bridge tender. 

Just past the South end of Myrtle Beach, I entered the Socastee River area.  The waterway makes a significant change from upscale homes and northern type vegetation to a more rural and swampy appearance.

I pulled into Osprey Marina close to 5pm, got fuel and a pump out.  I'm not sure what happened but the suction nozzle sprayed me with discharge from the holding tank. It wasn't much but it doesn't take much.  I got the boat to it's slip and went to the office to check in.  It is a really nice marina.  It has a "first choice" rating on Active Captain for good reason.  I'll write more later.  But one real plus is the price.  A dollar per foot per day for the first 3 days then a quarter a foot per day after that.  

What's that blue thing in the water??

This is what Mean Low Low tide looks like!

 Would you want your boat on top of that??

Nice collection of Navigation Aids (buoys)


Terracing to an extreem

Some nice summer homes!

I wonder what that retaining wall will look like in 30 years

Rock Pile Video

North Myrtle Beach Swing Bridge Video