The Beautiful Waccamaw River and Myrtle Beach Madness
06 July 2013 | Calabash Creek, NC
Sunny, temp 88F. wind NE@8-12
Waccamaw River Scene
From Graham's Creek, we continued on the ICW to Winya Bay, where we saw the strong NE winds whipping up short steep waves in the entry. No offshore trip today. So we headed up to the pretty town of Georgetown, SC where we anchored, stretched our legs and bought yet more essentials, particularly from the excellent Kudzu Bakery.
Given the forecast for continued north-easterlies, we decided to head up the Waccamaw River. We have come down it a few times, but always in November, with cold winds and short days making us hurry through and ignore its beauty. So with no offshore cruising, we decided to cruise the river. And it was beautiful. The banks are lined with old abandoned rice fields, old plantations and Cyprus and Live Oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss. Inland, the breeze lightened letting us enjoy a quiet sail up the river. By evening we were anchored in Jericho Creek, a spot we have enjoyed before, but not with the nice warm breezes of tonight.
Next day we continued up the beautiful river, to where it joins the ICW at Myrtle Beach. Here we learned the price we were about to pay for the beauty of the Waccamaw... a July Sunday on the ICW with thousands of boats roaring in all directions. We spent six hours of pure hell as boats, PWC's, and every watercraft imaginable sped up and down the narrow canal. By day's end, we were exhausted, but safely out of it, and anchored in Calabash Creek, on the border of North Carolina.
We launched the dinghy and motored in to the village of Calabash for a walk and tour. We have anchored here a few times before, but never gone in. It is an odd town, It has a pretty and quiet waterfront with a couple of restaurants and a shrimp dock, a few homes and then nothing but more restaurants. We stopped counting at 12, one beside the other. Seems to be the place for Sunday dinner in Myrtle Beach as they were all doing a booming business.
The wind has decided to behave, so tomorrow we'll take a short outside hop from here to Cape Fear River. Original plans were to sail past Cape Fear, but from where we now are, we can't make it outside the huge Frying Pan Shoals. So inside from Cape Fear to Wrightsville Beach then off, finally, to Beaufort. A planned two day offshore hop has turned into a 6 day in and out trip!