Georgetown SC to Calabash Anchorage (just into North Carolina)

Sunrise as I am leaving Georgetown South Carolina.
And it got better – good thing because the current was against me for the next 4.5 hours.
Heading up the Waccamaw RIver doing about 4.5 mph. Also, it was 45 degrees so I was really bundled up!
Lots of traffic at one point – a powerboat passing two sailboats which are in the process of passing me.
Until the wind was against them, the sailboats were motor-sailing and making good time.
Really beautiful out here – parts of this looked like the St Johns River.
Well now I know that my boat will clear an 8 foot bridge – just went through the one behind me and it was close! The charts show that there is 11 feet under the bridge – so I was surprised to see the board showing just at 8 feet.
I had seen this arrangement under a house earlier in my trip, but today I saw it twice and it looked like they had raised the house with those supports, and then were building additional space underneath it.
Here is another example of different chartplotter companies showing opposing views of the channel. The Navionics one (large tablet) shows that I directly in the middle of the channel, while my Garmin shows that I am on land. You can see that I have plenty of depth beneath me.
This is Lulu’s – she is Jimmy Buffett’s sister and has several restaurants. This one is in Myrtle Beach and the free dock I might have stayed at tonight is in front of it. Unfortunately, the free dock is only a day dock – no overnight stays allowed. So, I kept going – but at this point, the current had changed in my favor and at times I was going over 9 mph. So, it was good to go on to the Calabash Anchorage which was about 13 miles further and try out my new anchoring setup.
This is part of the famous (or infamous) ‘Rockpile’ on the Intracoastal that can be a little worrisome. The channel is narrower than the minimum that was intended for the Intracoastal because the rocks were so hard to dig through.
It is intimidating to go through here – especially at low tide when the rocks seem very close. The nice thing is that just after the rocks it get deep fast, and so the actual channel (as long as you stay in it) has plenty of depth. I heard a boat calling Sea Tow around this time, and then saw them about a mile later – apparently on the rocks. They were stuck and waiting for assistance. I was surprised at how long and at times narrow the Rockpile was – when I brought Catitude through last year it must have been higher tide, and I was going faster.
I made it under this bridge also – charts showed 9 feet, but the tide was low and the actual clearance on the board was 11 feet, so no sweat.
This is where I am anchored for the evening – very close to the shore, but it is already low tide and I am in 6 feet of water, so I’m safe. That guy over there either misjudged, or his anchor dragged.
My view up the Calabash River – very peaceful here, and my anchor setup is working great! Took a little finagling, but finally got it set with the bridle correctly.
Here was my route today – 63 miles in about 10.5 hours, a good day! I heard from the Bella Gatto crew after I anchored and they gave me the skinny on the potential issues in my upcoming day, and they found a great place to stay – I will probably stay there tomorrow night. Thanks guys!