Masonboro Inlet to Myrtle Beach Wednesday December 3, 2208
06 January 2009
Lighrt winds, rolling seas, moderate temperature
At 2am, we followed Amazing Grace II out of Beaufort, North Carolina out onto the ocean, via the shipping channel. This was 'Gromit's' second hop out onto the ocean. The first having been a 40 hour marathon from New York to Norfolk, Virginia. The ocean was relatively calm, very light winds with a 2-3 foot swell from the SSW. Michael and I did 3 hours watches and we arrived at Little River Inlet, just north of Myrtle Beach around noon. As we entered the inlet we saw more dolphins. They tease us by surfacing near the boat and just when we get on deck to watch them, they disappear!
Inside the mouth of the inlet, Phillip explored an area where we thought we might be able to anchor. It turned out to be a less than ideal spot, so Amazing Grace II decided to go to a marina. We also did not feel comfortable with this anchorage, so we went and rafted up beside them at the dock and split the cost.
The next morning we found there was a fishing boat behind us with pails and baskets overflowing with crabs and fish of all shapes and sizes. Phillip, bought a 14 inch red snapper and we watched as the fisherman de-scaled and eviscerated it.
This part of the waterway weaves its way through Myrtle Beach. I was expecting to see all kinds of high rise hotels and touristy areas, but found that the canal was inland enough and was buffered from it. Our goal for this day was to get to Bull Creek, in the Waccamaw River.
This on the Waccamaw River from Wikipedia:
The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles (225 km) long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1110 square miles (2886 kmĀ²) in the coastal plain along the eastern border between the two states into the Atlantic Ocean. Along its upper course it is a slow-moving blackwater river surrounded by vast wetlands, passable only by watercraft such as canoe. Along its lower course it is surrounded by sandy banks and old plantation homes, providing an important navigation channel with a unique geography, flowing roughly parallel to the ocean.
Bull Creek, our anchorage, is a not as you might imagine a 'creek' to be. It was around 200 feet wide and, on average 18 feet deep. 'Gromit' draws 6 feet, most of the waterway has a depth of 8-12 feet, so to be in a stretch of water with depths of 18 feet and more was a real relief. It was possible to take in some of the scenery instead of keeping eyes on the depth gauge.
We rafted with AGII, and spent a glorious 3 days, Dec. 5,6,7, resting and just hanging out. What a relief. Traveling day after day is very tiring.
Michael, unfortunately did not have the luxury of just 'hanging out', as he was plagued with more fridge problems. This fridge has not worked properly since we received it while still at home. This time, instead of not working as it should, the fridge just didn't work at all!
Due to where the compressor is, he had to lie down across the sinks and counter and stick his head down into a storage area. By process of elimination, he narrowed the problem down to the connectors. Poor access and large fingers caused him to not be able to proceed. I, too tried my best to get my fingers into the tight spot to figure out which connector was the culprit, but was unable. It was Zoe, who was, with her thin fingers, able to narrow it down to the guilty connector. That was the good. The bad was that the whole system had to be removed for repair. Michael had been trying to avoid this, because it meant cutting hoses, which would then have to be reattached via connectors. A big job. At least, we finally knew what had been causing us all the trouble for so long.