November 19, 2014

0842 – Leaving our anchorage south of the Little River Inlet. Three of the five boats who had joined us on this anchorage have left. We spent a very cold night aboard Flicka. Hard to get these old bones going on a cold morning. But go we did – to a brilliant sunny day with north winds 5 knots. Temp 38. Cormorants and brown pelicans waved good bye as we pulled out.

 

We reentered the ICW just north of North Myrtle Beach and proceeded south past some pretty impressive real estate and some very fine natural scenery.

 

The Myrtle Beach is given over to the game of golf. Golf is king! The ICW splits a number of courses in the area, there are very exclusive courses, golf communities and clubs. At one point there is even an aerial tram across the ICW that carries golfers back and forth 75 feet in the air to make play convenient. Wouldn’t want those golfers to get any exercise.

 

In addition, since gambling is illegal in SC, there is a company that runs a “gambling boat” twice daily from a berth in North Myrtle that goes out Hogg Inlet and outside the 3.5 mile state waters boundary where ANYTHING is legal. So the golfers gamble illegally on the course then they board Big M Casino (877-250-LUCK), motor out to the ocean while swilling fine southern bourbon and gamble legally. Isn’t life great?

 

Of course, all these golf courses have replaced farm lands and rural areas that replaced a diverse southern forest ecosystem. For sometime now we have motoring south in the ICW just west of the Atlantic seaboard and have gotten glimpses of the remarkable amount of coastal development. There is literally a string of houses and commercial development all the way down the part of the coast we are traveling and, from my other travels its clear there is a string of development down the entire US coast line. The only protected areas are the various national wildlife refuges, state and federal parks and Camp Lejeune (go marines) all taken - a small portion.

But there is the ICS, which today crossed through three distinct areas, the Myrtle Beach totally built out nightmare with high bluffs and much altered shore line with lots of rock revetments, walls, and bulkheads, then an interesting area of highly eroded rocky shore and finally a wonderful bald cypress swamp with little or no development.

 

 

 

At 1000 we at Cricket Cove Marina for fuel and learned about the gambling boat from the dock master. Diesel is cheap here compared to Virginia – less tax and more competition. Tidal current running strong against us and wind of course shifting to west on our nose conspiring to slow Flicka down.

1030 – Passing under the little river swing bridge.

1125 – Passing Barefoot Bridge.

 

Past the Barefoot Bridge we enter the Waccamah River just South of 375. Entering a grand bald cypress swamp.

 

1530 – Anchored on Bull Creek, by ourselves. No wind. A beautiful anchorage. Mile 281. Put in 39 miles today. Tomorrow - on the move - to Georgetown, SC and on the Charleston. Hurray!