As You Wish - Our Adventures: Oct. 24-26, 2025 Almost Home - Stops Along the Way in South Carolina

Friday Oct. 24, 2025 Carolina Beach to Lightkeepers Marina 53 miles and 6.3 hours

Carolina Beach Municipal Marina wound up being a great location for us to stop. Docks were solid and new. Fixed price at $85/ night is a bargain for us - not so much for a 30' boat on a price per foot basis. Nice to be able to just walk off the boat versus dingy over from the mooring field. Would definitely stop here again. Would become a prime spot if they had some facilities. No real cruisers amenities - showers, bathrooms, laundry, etc.

Colorful collection of artfully decorated buoys at the Carolina Beach dock

Right now we are into cruising areas we've crossed multiple times and covered in several previous blog posts, so not too much new to report. We left the marina on the high tide. Made it easy to get through the couple of shallow areas on Snows Cut. Little bit of outgoing pull down the Cape Fear River. Wind at our back, so smooth going.

Shoreline along Snows Cut

High rise bridges make transiting this section of ICW easy.

Then into the protected ICW waters. Again, developed waterfront and multiple center consoles out and about. Inlets at Folly and Shallotte with usual shoaling issues that once again require some extra attention, but navigation apps get us through without issue. Make it past very familiar Little River Inlet and into South Carolina. Then a short hop to Lightkeepers Marina for the night. Had parked the boat here in 2023 for several months, so nice to see some familiar faces.

Journey for Oct. 14, 2025

Saturday Oct. 25, 2025 Lightkeepers Marina to Wacca Wache Marina 39 miles and 4.7 hours

Wacca Wache Marina has the best fuel price between Norfolk and Florida, so had been planning a stop there. Decided to just make a reservation for the night. Never stayed here overnight before but always hear good things about it and the on-site restaurant. Usual uninspiring ride through the developments around Myrtle Beach. This is "The Ditch" where it's just a cut through the land. Includes the infamous "Rockpile" section where it's even narrower with solid rock outcroppings. Prefer going through on a low tide when I can see the rock ledges, but we 're still on the high tide so just make sure we stay mid channel. Finally make it past the Socastee Swing Bridge which feeds out into the less developed and much more scenic Waccamaw River section. Natural wooded winding swamplands. To us it's one of the most enjoyable sections of the ICW. Make it to Wacca Wache early afternoon. Take on 250 gallons at the fuel dock then head for our slip. Pretty decent food at the restaurant and a not so decent live band for entertainment.

Socastee Swing bridge harkens back to the days when all access to the beach
areas required crossing these type structures

Onto the natural wonders of the Waccamaw River

The river winds around adding to the feeling of seclusion

Drinks, dinner and music on the outdoor patio at Wacca Wache Marina

Journey for Oct. 25, 2025

Sunday Oct. 26, 2025 Wacca Wache Marina to Harborwalk Marina 21 miles and 3.3 hours

Next stop is Georgetown, SC and Harborwalk Marina. Another new place to stay. We've been to Georgetown before, but typically had just anchored in the basin. We're here for three nights as forecast calls for rain and strong winds on Monday and Tuesday and wanted to be securely tied up with easier access to town. Cast our lines at 10AM planning a very slow cruise to arrive at Harborwalk at 1PM. Last of the natural wooded areas before the more open section of the Waccamaw River as it feeds out into Winyah Bay.

Martha enjoying the fresh air on the flybridge.

Scenic and calm watrs as we enjoy the last of the natural Waccamaw

Spanish moss in the trees along the shore tell us we're getting closer to home in GA

Hard turn to starboard up the Sampit River to town. Shoaling at the entrance is as bad as ever. Plans in place for possible spring 2026 dredging which can't come soon enough. Showing 3' under the keel at high tide. With a 3-4' tidal range her we'll need to time our departure or else we'll be pushing our way through the pluff mud. Georgetown is a small historic town. Third oldest town in SC. One of the early recognized entry ports in SC. Rice and indigo plantations during its early years. Still has many historic homes and a nice main street with galleries, shops, restaurants. New addition is a brewery and the upscale waterfront George Hotel at the marina. Unique layout at the marina with 2 longer docks parallel to the shoreline. Our slip was on the shoreside dock wedged between two other boats. Required some interesting reverse docking maneuvers to get in there, but with no wind...we looked like pros!