Charleston to Conway, SC Great Loop Cruising – Are We Cut Out for This?

After leaving Charleston in our wake, we took a turn to the north and were officially resuming our Great Loop.

It was a windy day with some sporty chop on the harbor, but once we turned into the protected waters of Isles of Palms, things smoothed out considerably.

But now we had a narrow channel with areas of shoaling to pay super close attention to.

Using our multiple charting applications (on our brand new iPad Pro, no less) – we made it through with no issues.

This entry covers May 21 – June 3 and our 114nm journey from Charleston to Conway, South Carolina.

For the video version of this segment of our travels, click the play button… or read on:

 

Stop 1: Price Creek Anchorage

We opted for an anchorage at Price Creek at Bull Island about 19nm north of Charleston – lured in by reports of being able to see the ocean over a protective sandbar.

It was the perfect place to commemorate the occasion of officially resuming our Great Loop, by listening to roll of the waves all night long – along with jellyfish swimming by.

There are wicked currents here (some mentions in reviews of white water rapids!), and even setting out what we thought would be adequate scope we had some slight dragging after the first tide reversal.

But no worries – we were watching, and calmly started getting things reset even before our anchor alarm started blaring.

After a peaceful night, we took the dinghy ashore to the deserted island for a lovely beach stroll and dip in the ocean.

Stop 2: Awendaw Creek

After Price Creek, we continued a beautiful slow putter north up the ICW to the next highly reviewed anchorage in Awendaw Creek – just another 13nm.

We’re in no rush now.. and we’re taking advantage of it!

It’s a big beautiful and open anchorage, and there is land access close by to the public docks at Buck Hall Recreation Area – but we opted not to, and did our fitness on board with the stationary bike & some yoga.

Chris got the drone out at sunset and got some lovely moonrise shots of Y-Not – showing off our new LED solar ‘fake flame’ lanterns on the bow and stern.

We have seen many cruising boats in anchorages lately sporting these – which look both classy and provide extra visibility at night. So we had some meet us in Charleston and have two mounted on the rails on the top deck (nicely by the hot tub for mood lighting!) and two near the bow pulpit.

After looking at others up close, I shopped on Amazon for hanging lanterns that had an open closure of some sort (no glass/fake glass) so that we had flexibility for hanging and securing them.

For ours, we’re using zip ties in addition to the built in hanger (that we imagine would fail in a wind storm anyway).

Stop 3: Georgetown, SC

With Memorial Day weekend approaching – we were looking for an ideal spot to hide out from crazy ICW recreational traffic. Especially since Myrtle Beach was next up for us.

We were considering Georgetown or a side trip to Conway.

We were also keeping in touch with our friends Sean & Louise aboard Vector as they made their way north. They are long time fellow nomadic friends by bus and boat. We have never managed to actually have both our boats in the same waters with both crews on board (they did visit Sanford over the winter while we were in Arizona).

It worked out to meetup in Georgetown, SC where they had errands to run – and at least have breakfast together. It was wonderful to catch up.

But the anchorage there is.. intimidating.

First, it’s pretty tight – especially in front of town itself closest to the free day docks. Which is where we anchored for our first night (thinking it would be our only night.)

Next, it’s a ‘pluff mud’ – which is the soupy soft kind without great holding.

Basically, everything we read indicated that anchoring in Georgetown is fine if the weather is nice. Otherwise, get a slip at the marina – which was booked for the holiday weekend and local fishing tournament going on.

Well, as luck would have it – there was some unsettled weather predicted for the weekend ahead.

So now the choice was – Memorial Day traffic and bad weather, or risking the anchorage during potential storms but enjoying a quaint historic town?

Sean & Louise opted for Memorial Day traffic in their hefty steel trawler. We opted for sticking in Georgetown.

Neither was an ideal situation, but at least we both have stories to tell?

But we should have followed our instincts and at least relocated to the ‘steel mill’ area of the anchorage a bit further from town where we would have more room around us, and able to set a proper storm scope.

For while the weather forecasts on Friday evening showed the storms dissipating – one popped up right on top of us with howling 40 knot winds at dusk.

We heard the live music shift to the sounds of diners at the restaurant behind us screaming as the winds blew patio furniture around.

We were purposely onboard for the potential storms, and were already at the helm with the engines on by the time we saw the winds in front of us, and the anchor slipping on our anchor alarm.

It was an intense and scary 10 or so minutes (which felt like an eternity) as the boat spun around as the winds shifted. Chris kept Y-Not driving into the winds as best he could and I was running around the boat giving him intel on what was around to avoid hitting.

Our hearts were pounding.

Adrenaline coursing through our veins.

And finally the winds subsided to great relief. We weighed anchor and puttered to the steel mill area to reset the hook where we should have been in the first place.

It was hours before we calmed down. And we had frank discussions about if we were are cut out for this boat stuff – after weeks back at active cruising with ‘adventure’ after adventure (snags, steering pump, rude boaters, challenging docking, etc).

With more storms predicted over the weekend, we reconsidered if heading out into holiday traffic or sticking with the anchorage now with more room around us and proper storm scope out was better?

We ultimately decided to stick around Georgetown and take our chances. We were exhausted and needed to recharge. And thankfully, the rest of the weekend was relatively calm with just rain showers and no high winds. But you bet your bootie, we were onboard for every potential threat.

We worked on boat projects, and enjoyed Georgetown – which offers some decent dining options (we enjoyed Rolling Local and SoCo Grille). And of course, got our running in on land.

As to questions about continuing to cruise? Well, those dissipated too. Sometimes you just have to let all your voices be heard.

Stop 4 & 5: Butler Island and Sandy Island

We decided to leave Georgetown Monday afternoon – hoping the holiday weekend traffic would be winding down. There were more potential storms overnight, so we wanted better holding. And after four nights, we had our fill of Georgetown too.

We took Jericho Creek instead of the ICW – a nice little twisty back way, with a 20′ bridge we squeaked under. That lead us to Butler Island just 13nm away, a large anchorage along the ICW with reported awesome holding and lots room to put out scope.

The storms thankfully fizzled overnight however.

We moved on 7nm in the morning to anchor off of Sandy Island down Thoroughfare Creek – with a couple miles of reported hiking trails. For it was a run day, and we needed to get in some miles.

We intended to continue on after lunch – but we loved this anchorage and the island so much, that we decided to stay put for the evening.

Aside from some occasional recreational day traffic – it was tranquil. And we just love land access to hiking!

On a weekend? No way. It would be bonkers here.

Next stop? The legendary Wacca Wache Marina another 6nm up the ICW.

Not only do they have the cheapest diesel around ($3.56/G) – this place is one of the most efficient fuel stops we’ve ever encountered.

We radioed ahead saying we needed diesel and a pump out. We were given docking instructions, with their pilings already rubberized so no fenders needed to be deployed.

They had two docks hands ready to take our lines, and it was a super easy approach. Smooth.

As soon as the lines were secured, a pump out boat magically pulled up and even before we could say hi – they were pumping us out.

We ask if fresh water is possible too? Sure! No problem – use this tap.

A diesel nozzle appears out of no where, and we start filling up the starboard tank. The dock master reading out gallons to us as we go.

We switch to the port side with ease. The dockmaster recorded the gallons for us on each tank to make our log book easier.

And all done in record time. Like a well oiled pit stop.

And friendly to boot, even giving us tips on anchorages up ahead on our journey.

Wow. Totally amazing. This place is legendary for a reason.

Stop 6: Conway, SC

After our pit stop at Wacca Wachee Marina near Murrells Inlet, SC – we decided to take a little detour off the ICW down a little twisty windy river that ends at the quaint historic town of Conway.

I mean, it’s not like such side trips have ever side tracked us before, right?

The Waccamaw River is absolutely stunning, and very reminiscent of our beloved St. Johns River in Florida. But only 17 miles instead of 120.

We had gotten several recommendations for the Cox Ferry anchorage – a little side cove off the river just a couple miles south of Conway – to drop the hook before arriving.

So .. we did.

And it was glorious. Secluded. Quiet. Full of nature. And a perfect place to get out the dinghy and continue working on waxing the hull (such a romantic life, eh?).

Information on actually staying in Conway is .. well.. lacking. But thankfully we made contact with another Looper already there who gave us the scoop. So off we headed in the morning to take the second transient dock.

Conway itself charmed us.

It’s a beautifully kept up historic town that is vibrant with shops, dining, a live theater (nothing playing during our stay), farmer’s market and some of the friendliest people we’ve encountered.

And, to top it off – the town provides two transient docks for cruisers (plus day docks). But information on where they are and how to pay for them is rather scant.

The docks are located just before the 501 bridge, and only a small sign on the piling says ‘Transient Dock’. There’s no other signage or information displayed – such as a fee, or where to check-in or pay.

But we knew there was a fee from other reviews of $1/ft per day. And you had to track down the dock master, who runs the outfitters shop at the nearby city marina.

So we headed over, and waited around for him for a bit – and then got checked in. At $47/day – it’s a bargain.

The docks themselves are relatively new floating docks that can easily fit a larger vessel (we’re 47′ and only overhung a bit), and each of them with their own private gate. Albeit, they are right along the riverfront walking trail, so you are on display.

There is 30A & 50A power included, but no water. If you can get into the city marina – they have water and pump out, but we thought it rather too small for a boat like ours.

We ended up staying 4 nights in Conway – enjoying as much as we could.

We paddle boarded the river, ran and found some bike trails. And of course we supported the local economy with lots of dining out (Bonfire Taqueria, Chanti Pizza and Whitakers Sushi being our favorites).

A totally charming stay, and we highly recommend it to anyone cruising the ICW who has the time to spare.

Real Time Update

We just wrapped up an amazing month long stay in Wilmington, NC. With so much to do there, we hardly had time to do things like writing blog posts.

We’ll get you caught up soon.. but for now, we’re back to cruising northbound.

If you’d like keep up more in real time, join us over on our Facebook Page where I attempt to share daily.

We also recently went LIVE on our YouTube channel, sharing about the Art of Steering By Serendipity – Cruising without a Plan – check it out if you like!