A second visit to Georgetown, SC.

One advantage of our delay at St. John’s was that we were now looking at a full week of favorable currents in the morning for motoring down the ICW. Our first year south we weren’t experienced enough to use the currents to our best advantage. We felt like we needed to just get started first thing in the day, no matter what. We’re much smarter about it now, and will sleep in and have breakfast (or cut the day short) if it means riding along with the current vs. fighting it. Big Red is only a 16 horsepower engine, so fair and foul currents make a big difference.

There are always things to see on the ICW, and we have a few favorites we look out for each time.
These homeowners relax in the back half of a boat instead of the traditional table and chairs at the end of a dock.

We rode the current to our regular anchorage on Calabash Creek, then started off a bit later the next morning to ride the current to the Enterprise Landing oxbow, which was a new spot. Typically we would go farther to Cow House Creek, but it’s impossible for us to ride a fair current all the way from Calabash to Cow House, so Enterprise is now our new anchorage for this stretch.

We think this is the radar for the Myrtle Beach airport, but we aren’t sure. Whatever it is, it’s weirdly fascinating.

Consistent with our goal to keep things fresh, we decided to stop in Georgetown, SC for a few nights. We hadn’t been there since our first trip south, but we had enjoyed our first visit and decided it was time for a second. We rode the current down from Enterprise to Georgetown and tied up at Harborwalk Marina where we had stayed before.

Our timing was excellent, because a cold snap was approaching with record-breaking low temperatures. Instead of freezing overnight at anchor in 30 degree temperatures, we plugged the heater into the electric at the marina and stayed nice and cozy!

Once again, Georgetown proved to be a nice stop. It’s the third oldest city in South Carolina and has a beautiful downtown district with more than 250 historic homes in and around the oak tree-lined downtown. More than 60 of them are on the National Register of Historic Places, and they’re gorgeous.

This is just one example of the many beautiful houses in the historic district.

Georgetown was a huge producer of rice back in the 1800’s, with its port exporting more rice than anywhere in the world. Of course there’s a Rice Museum, and I had wanted to visit it last time we were here, but we didn’t have time. I was hoping the second visit would be the charm, but between gazing at the houses and taking care of a few items (like stocking up on groceries and buying a new hotspot), the Rice Museum was a no-go again. So now we have another reason to come back!

As an aside, people in these southern coastal communities are so friendly. Buying the hotspot involved a walk of over 2 miles one-way, but we didn’t have to walk that far on the way back because a woman pulled over and offered us a ride. They can spot a cruiser at 500 yards! That’s happened to us several times – always in southern states – while we’ve been cruising.

The oak trees are everywhere in Georgetown.

In addition to beautiful houses and a cute downtown, Georgetown has plenty of restaurants. We were able to meet up with our friends Tom and Anita from S/V Lone Star for lunch at Aunnie’s, a solid restaurant serving basic Southern comfort food – think fried chicken, Mac and Cheese, and sweet tea that practically curled my teeth. I really like sweet tea, but I debating asking if I could have some tea with that sugar!

It was so much fun catching up with Tom and Anita. They met us at the dock to help with our lines before we went out to lunch, and seeing good friends again left me glowing. We hadn’t seen them since we left Shenny in September, although we did wave to each other as we left Port Washington, NY and they were coming in.

Over lunch we discussed the idea of buddy-boating together on a hop outside from Georgetown to Cumberland Island. It was VERY tempting, and the weather window was great, but it was still going to be VERY cold, and we simply didn’t want to freeze for over 24 hours straight. We also were reluctant to skip our #1 favorite town of Beaufort, SC, so we decided against it and waved goodbye a few days later, opting to continue riding the current down the ICW and be warmish down below each night.

After stocking up on fresh-off-the-boat shrimp for a song from the building next door to the marina, we left Georgetown wondering why we had taken so long to return. We definitely will not wait four years until the next visit.

We rode the current for three days of quick travel to Beaufort, and on our third day we were passed by this stunning 1926 Trumpy, MV Freedom. At 104 feet long, this beautiful wooden boat was completely restored in 2009, and I am totally jealous of the delivery captain.

We could hear him making passing arrangements on the radio as he approached boats for several miles before he passed us, and almost everyone on the radio was complementing him on the boat. I could see him getting closer on the AIS, and I was very curious as to what the boat would look like as he got closer to us. Needless to say, we weren’t disappointed.

I still can’t get over how beautiful this boat is. My picture doesn’t do it justice.

Only a few hours after picking our jaws up off the floor, we were anchored in our regular spot on Factory Creek. It was time to enjoy Beaufort – a place we definitely don’t mind waiting as long as necessary for a weather window to hop outside.

14 thoughts on “A second visit to Georgetown, SC.”

  1. Wow!! Sounds like a fabulous leg on your journey. M/V Freedom is stunning! Glad you are having a wonderful time. Continue safe passage wherever your travels take you.

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  2. Hi Kim and Jeff!! The pic of the airport radar is actually a VOR antenna. VOR is a VHF Omnidirectional Range used for aircraft navigation. Just thought I’d throw in my $.02…..!! Looking forward to seeing the sights next year!!

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  3. 2 questions from a newbie:
    1) The reason you have favorable currents is because the outgoing tides are happening in the AM?
    2) Your current Garmin track shows you at Vero Beach a month ago. The latest post ends in Beaufort, SC. So, there is a 2 month delay between the post locations and your current location?

    I’m planning a similar trip and I am trying to understand as much as possible…

    Enjoy your voyage.

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    1. The tides and currents move forward each day around 45 minutes, so sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not. It’s nice when a fair current starts in the morning, but not so great when it starts later in the day because then you’ll be fighting it for most of the day before it changes in your favor. In some stretches you can’t get a fair current the whole way regardless because it changes at each inlet. Does that help?

      As for the delay in posts, I typically try to post once a week (sometimes more), but I’ve been a major slacker for the last few months so I’m way behind. 🙂 There’s going to be a flurry of posts so I can fully catch up before we leave Vero in another 10 days or so, and after that there should only be a one week max delay.

      Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions at all! What trip do you have planned, and what’s your boat? Hope to see you out there! Kimberly

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      1. Hi Kimberly,
        I suspected the timing of the outgoing/incoming? tides were a major factor but wanted to be 100% sure. It’s not obvious from a map, since your direction of travel along the ICW is roughly North/South, while the various rivers and inlets run East/West.
        I want to be able to take advantage of the currents the same way if/when I travel south 😉

        Re delay: I just wanted to be sure, as there was a big gap. I’m sure you have much better things to do than updating your blog and answering questions 😉

        I have a Bristol 27, my first cruising monohull 😉 Currently located beside Lake Ontario, on the snowy Canadian side. I’m currently starting year 3 of my 5 year plan to refit and sail south.

        Your site is a great source of practical information for wannabe cruisers and I have a warm spot for Bristol owners.

        Thanks. Fair winds.

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      2. Thanks for the kind words.

        Ah yes, being on Lake Ontario you don’t need to deal with currents. 🙂 A good way to think of it is that if you’re heading north/south and the inlets are running east/west, if you’re approaching the inlet and the tide is coming in you’ll be fighting it, but as soon as you pass the inlet that current running in will now be pushing you along. And of course the opposite is true: if the current is running out, you’ll be getting a boost as you approach the inlet, and then fight the current after you pass the inlet.

        I really prefer not to have a gap because it’s harder to recreate the posts, but sometimes inertia takes over. LOL. I do enjoy doing it though.

        Congrats on your Bristol 27! Keep in touch – I have no doubt we’ll see you out there. People that have a definite plan vs. “someday” are usually the ones who actually cut the dock lines. Kimberly

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      1. We’re looking forward to it too! Hopefully we can get a window later next week. Yep, same route as far as checking in at Green Turtle. We’re going to try some new spots this year – Long Island, hopefully Cat Island, maybe the Raggeds. It should be great!

        Velcro Beach is just SO easy for getting things done, but it’s definitely time to rip off the velcro! Kimberly

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  5. Just came across you guys, love what you have done! Went through the Seaport sailing lessons in the Dhow’s back in the day and then taught there so feel a connection beyond the fact that you made good on the dream (was actually a Shenny “Jr. Commodore” ha!). Sailing a J28 out of Camden, Maine, these days and cruising Penobscot Bay; might just have to follow your lead . . .

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    1. Hi Sandy – What a small world! We’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about cruising Maine. Hopefully next summer! If you’ve ever considered going cruising, you should definitely do it – we have zero regrets! Thanks for commenting! Kimberly

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