My decision to wait for a good tide was vindicated for me today. I left the dock just after 6:00 this morning, about an hour before sunrise, anxious to hit Lockwood's Folly at high slack. I did, and good thing too. The current was almost insignificant as I passed the inlet, but I kept a sharp eye on the depth as this particular inlet is renowned for grounding boats. Since the tide was already starting to drop, I didn't want to get stranded on a falling tide (which could mean waiting 12 hours to get free). At one point the depth in the centre of the channel rose up to nine feet, sounding the depth alarm and scaring the crap out of me. That figure INCLUDES the six foot tide. If you do the math, you'll deduce that this would have been a three-foot deep shoal had I come through at low tide the previous afternoon. I would have been aground for sure. The tide at Shallotte Inlet peaks about an hour later, which, luckily, is just about how long it took me to get there so I cruised through this trouble spot with no trouble at all. Even the ebb current beyond the inlet wasn't bad enough to really slow the boat. Slow enough, however, to cause me to miss the 10 o'clock opening of the only low bridge I had to negotiate today. So, once again, I had to slow down to burn up almost an hour to hit the 11 on time. This, in turn caused me to hit Little River Inlet at maximum ebb. Now this inlet isn't all that dangerous, but it does suck back a lot of water. This was great as I raced across the state line heading up to it, but of, course flew in my face once past it. At least I got to get a real close look at the town of Little River as I crept through at about 3½ mph. Docked here is a Casino Boat (Aquasino), which, presumably loads up with clients, heads out the inlet into the Atlantic Ocean, out past the three-mile nautical limit so that the passengers can gamble without the nuisance of having to go to a state that legally allows it. I wonder what else goes on aboard those things. This point marks the entry to a gaudy section of South Carolina known as the "Grand Stand". This is the vacationland rife with beaches, golf courses, amusement parks, and shopping complexes that attracts so many of us northern folk at Christmas and March Break. Ironic that as I sailed my boat through Myrtle Beach I was wearing fleece long johns, a winter survival suit, toque, and ski gloves - the most clothing I've had to wear yet this trip. The tide fought me all afternoon, so I didn't get as far as I had hoped, but at least I finally got out of North Carolina. Now in the land of plantation heritage, rice barons, heavy tourism, and retirement living, it was clear that there is a lot of wealth around here. Every home along here, without exception, is a mansion. Some of them are huge, and resemble hotels. Every property has a dock, a boat lift, and a yacht. Clearly, waterway property is the place to be for the well-to-do of the Carolinas. This section is also one of the few places that the channel is cut through rocky substrate. This makes it very narrow and is not a place to touch bottom. Going through at low tide was actually a bit of a help because the deep channel was made obvious by the exposed rock ledges that would have otherwise been submerged at higher water. The depth was reliable too, because rock doesn't drift around and shoal up like sand does. The "Rock Pile", as it's known, does not offer up much in the way of anchorages however, so I was forced to stop early at one of the many marinas that obviously cater to the throngs of vacationing and local boaters. The dockage was about twice the usual price, but came with a bottle of wine and a concierge. Not the kind of marina that I would normally seek out. Didn't really want to pay for a dock two nights in a row either, however, it was nice to have the electric heat on and wifi as the temperature dipped to 25 °F. The marina staff were busy draining the dock water lines when I arrived. Should have no trouble getting to Georgetown tomorrow where a decision will have to be made. Georgetown is the location of the first safe inlet south of Cape Fear. It represents an opportunity to head outside into the Atlantic for a bit. The forecast looks good (except for the temperature). It sure would be nice to get out of this godforsaken ditch, turn off the motor (before it breaks again), and shake out the sails. Hmmmmm.......