Southport to Wacca Wache to Charleston

Friday, November 18, 2022

Ever since Nicole blew through, the temperature has dropped by an order of magnitude.  34 degrees this morning, but it’s sunny and warmer here this afternoon in Charleston.

Here’s how we got here:

Traveling south from the Cape Fear River, you pass through North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach, and there is a LOT of development along the ICW.  Miles and mile of waterfront homes.  Many of them quite grand.  All of them have boats out front on lifts.  And there are extensive No Wake zones.

Then, finally, the ICW merges with the Waccamaw River, which is hardly developed at all.  Mile after mile of trees and Spanish moss.  You can travel much faster, and the water was calm.

When you reach a point roughly even with the town on the Atlantic Coast named Murrell’s Inlet, you arrive at a place on the Waccamaw River called Wacca Wache Landing.  The Waccamaw Indians named this area, and I’ve been told that the name is difficult to translate, but that it means something like “Hokey Pokey.”  Not sure I believe it.  

Don’t get me wrong…we had a fine visit in Wacca Wache, and we had a great meal at the marina’s restaurant.  But there’s nothing else to do.  It’s simply a convenient midway stop between Southport and Charleston.  

Leaving Wacca Wache, you continue to follow the Waccamaw River for two more hours, emerging at Georgetown, SC, built at the junction of the Pee Dee and Sampit rivers.  From then on it is 4 hours of winding creeks and rivers.  Some houses, but very few.  Mostly marshes and marshes and marshes… Many of the houses have extremely long piers (we’re talking like ¼ mile) that span the marshes to reach deep water.   

The house is at the far right and the end of their dock is at the far left!

Then suddenly, you are in Isle of Palms, and things look a lot more upscale, as witnessed by these two boats. (ugly boat contest – vote for one.)

Half an hour later, you’re motoring into Charleston Harbor, past the battery and up the Ashley River to our marina.

After Wacca Wache, Charleston seems like a BIG CITY!  Tall buildings; jets and helicopters overhead; and hundreds of boats.

We are tied up at Charleston City Marina.  It’s about as close as you can get to the action.  We are tied up next to another yacht named Freedom.  Make that a 130’ yacht named Freedom.  That makes her 4x the size of MY Freedom.  The marina office has started to refer to us as “Big Freedom” and “Little Freedom.”  (although the dock hands said “Fast Freedom” and “Slow Freedom” since we cruise quite a bit faster. )

I’ve seen “Big Freedom” before: once in Key West and once in Nantucket.  She is absolutely pristine.  Her varnish looks like plastic or poured glass.  Oh, well.  At least we are here, too.  

And we’re looking forward to four nights of fine food and city living!