We have finally passed the halfway mark on our trip to St. Augustine.
Left Dock Holiday's Marina under fully overcast skies at 0945. Spent the night tied to the fuel dock, under the "Dynamite Restaurant". Rock music played with a solidly loud, kachunga beat. Luckily, I was tired and slept. Kathy had to take a sleeping pill.
Followed three sailboats through the "rockpile", a three-mile, very narrow channel rimmed by rocks on both sides. Had eleven feet of water under the keel, but the rocks were 20-30 feet away on both sides, all the way. Finally cleared that mess and throttled up for a few minutes until hitting another interminable no-wake zone. After three hours and 35 miles, we had burned a bit over 15 gallons of fuel - this IS NOT a trawler!!
Finally entered the S-curved Waccamaw River and throttled-up to 2000 RPM. Our Cummins450 diesel sipped 12 gallons-per-hour, pushing this heavily-loaded 22,000 pound boat to 15+ knots cruising speed, covering the remaining 30 miles quickly. Some say that the Waccamaw is beautiful. It's winter, trees are bare, and its dark cuts and coves look eerie, more like Deliverance than the summertime ICW pictures.
Because all other marinas were full (at 2:45PM!), we moored at the hovel-like Harbor Walk marina in "downtown" Georgetown. Heads and showers are so despicable, that we'll shower aboard tomorrow. Would have anchored out, but we needed milk, bread, fruit and eggs. Took the mile-plus walk to a grocery store. It's Sunday and things are quiet here, but the 1/2 mile-long harbor boardwalk is very nice, as is the historic town. This place would be "jumping" in warmer weather and remains a good stopover destination ... if you avoid this marina!!
Dinner was easy tonight - Italian sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions (washed down with a few beers.)
Ebb Tide II underway
