Southport to Myrtle Beach Yacht Club, SC
.We choose to have a short day on the water so we could relax in Myrtle Beach before the hassle of renting a car and driving home for a rest and holiday rendezvous. We left Southport NC on time as planned to reach the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge by 1100. It only opens on the hour and has posted warnings that it cannot open during periods of real low tides. We had timed our departure and normal cruising speed to allow us to make the last opening before the predicted low tide. Well, all plans have flaws.
So far, we had not encountered real long stretches of posted no-wake zones
and had not adjusted our predicted speed for the number and total length we
found in Brunswick County NC. Almost immediately after leaving Southport
Marina they began.
First there were the small homes on Long Beach Island facing the Inter Costal
Waterway with large piers. Then there were
the
mega-homes of St. James Plantation on the west bank of the ICW with -
believe-it-or-not - modest piers but
with larger boats.
They all fit a pattern - the nice well kept fixed piers
had a deck area with either built in benches or nice outdoor furniture.
They all had stairways or ramps down to a floating pier close to water level,
and of course right next to the deck areas there was a boat lift
Needless to say, we could not keep our average cruising speed of 7 knots and ended up reaching the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge about 1130, and sure enough when we called the bridge tender about the 1200 opening he nicely explained that opening would be delayed due to low water. He was optimistic, saying that tidal predictions indicated that water might return for an opening about 1220.
By now you've already guessed it. The pontoon bridge next opening was at exactly 1300. We had an enjoyable lunch onboard while watching the other waiting boats. There was a real nice 30x ft sailboat with an older couple from Canida that just dropped anchor in the middle of the ICW for the wait. You know, it makes sense since all larger boat traffic was stopped. Then there was the 40+ ft Hinkley style picnic boat that just ran by everyone waiting to the head of the line and then called the bridge tender inquiring about an opening. All radio traffic on VHF 13 and 16 for the last 1/2 hour had been about the tidal delay. I guess he only turned the VHF on to call the bridge. It was a circus and we did enjoy some laughs just watching these boats jockeying for position in the narrower ICW channel due to the low tide. Yes, at least one smaller express cruiser became grounded, and yes there were two other boats that had trouble dealing with the tidal currents close to the bridge. Anyway at 1250 the tender announced on VHF 13 for everyone to get ready and to wait for the siren that announces that all of the cables that move the pontoon roadway have dropped to the bottom, and by 1310 we had passed the pontoon highway where the bridge tender was taking pictures of each boat that passed.
As we
crossed into South Carolina the scenery along the waterway significantly
changed. First and
foremost there were the golf courses. Here's what we saw on the western shore as soon as
we passed the welcome to SC sign.
As we traveled further into the state and reached the first town - Little
River - the scenery changed to a more urban setting. Of course we found
the unique restaurants and other businesses.
Ah, yes we eventually reached Myrtle Beach Yacht Club where a slip was
waiting and we began to relax.
That's what boating is all about