But, still, the waterway is narrow...this is a boat dredging the channel as we enter the Cape Fear River
Along the way there are hundreds of homes on beautiful property
And plenty of property decay as well
About 7 miles from Myrtle Beach is the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge
Hard to believe, but this pontoon takes the bridge and moves it aside, so boats can pass (click here to read about it)
As we got close to Myrtle Beach we could start to see golf courses
But we also saw boats left abandon on the side of the ICW
This is the entrance to Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
And the view from our stern as we sit in our slip
Log 183
Day 531
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
5:35 AM EST
Location: Myrtle Beach Yacht Club, Myrtle Beach, NC.
Weather: 56 degrees and no wind...going to be 70 and sunny today
It took a little longer to warm up the helm area this morning, as it is only 52 degrees out. I could work on the computer and write these logs from the salon, which warms up easy, but somehow that does not seem right. I love sitting on the back deck...no matter what the weather. Speaking of weather, we have got a fantastic high pressure system over us for the next 5 to 7 days. All the forecasts, for the places we will be, show a bright ball of sun. It also shows light winds for the next few days...great for cruising.
We’re sitting at Myrtle Beach Yacht Club this morning, which is in one of the most northern parts of Myrtle Beach. We have stopped here a couple of times before, and we really like it here.
Getting here...turned out to be a very nice cruise. As I sat on the back deck yesterday and wrote my log, it was very cloudy and cool, and did not look to be a nice day. But, as the morning wore on, the clouds went away, and it became very sunny. The wind also died down. We ended up leaving the slip at about 7am. Even though the current was against us, I knew, that before too long, it would turn, and we would get some help.
(Side note: A couple of interesting things about cruising in this area. 1) because there are so many places where the ocean enters the ICW, you are switching back and forth between having the current with or against you. If you think about an outgoing tide...if you are a few miles north of an inlet, the current pulls you along, as it tries to go out. As soon as you reach the inlet, and keep heading south, the tide is now against you. And, this same thing is repeated several times, up and down the ICW. With the same rpm (say 1100) you go from 11 mph to 8 mph...and this can make a huge difference. 2) While you think you are going south...you are actually going west. If you look at a map of North Carolina, the most SE tip is Southport (where the Cape Fear River meets the Atlantic) and from that point, to Myrtle Beach, is almost due west. Hey...it’s interesting to me...ok?)
Anyway...the ICW in this area is very straight forward. Most of it is fairly deep, and easy to navigate. From Wrightsville Beach, heading south to Carolina Beach, the ICW is right next to the Atlantic, and many times, you just look over a low sand dune and see the ocean. From there you follow Snow Cut (man made) and that takes you to the Cape Fear River. Follow that south a few miles and you make a hard right at Southport, and the ICW heads west. Along the way we only had one bridge that we had to be concerned about, and that is what they call the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge. I mentioned this on our trip north. This bridge is built on a pontoon, and every hour, they unhook the bridge on each side, and use a pontoon (a floating platform) to swing the bridge out of the way so boats can pass through (you can Google it and see how it works). As I described in my log yesterday, I set a waypoint for this bridge, and kept changing my speed in order to arrive for a 1 pm opening. It was close (we were the last boat to make it through the bridge) but we made it. From there...another 7 miles (now on the Little River) and we were in North Myrtle Beach. We arrived at 2; topped off with 180 gallons of fuel ($2.69 @ gallon); washed the boat; and were sitting on the back deck with a cocktail by 4 pm. For dinner, Deb made chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy, and “the movie” was an episode of Castle.
Today...we plan to stay one more day in Myrtle Beach. Deb’s aunt JoAnne will be at the boat late this morning, and we plan to have lunch with her, and see a little of the area by car. And, it’s going to be a prefect weather day...70 and sunny.
From here...we plan to leave Myrtle Beach on Thursday, and head to Georgetown, SC...and end up in Charleston, SC for the weekend. After football, and racing, on Sunday...Monday we plan to head to Beaufort, SC and then to Hilton Head. We’re not sure from that point if we’ll head out in the ocean, and skip the ICW in Georgia, or follow the ICW, and maybe go to Savannah. We’ll see.
I’ll keep you posted.
Bob
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