2026 October: Anchored Beaufort SC

 20 October 2026 - Tuesday

Depart: Enterprise Oxbow anchorage near Bucksport, SC ~ 8:40

Arrive: Dewees Creek anchorage (north of Charleston SC) ~ 5:35

Distance: 69 nm (9 Hours travel time)

Conditions: 47 degrees out; 59 degrees in stateroom - new low temp in stateroom!

We dropped anchor on the Waccamaw River just north of the Wacca Wache Marina. We had a rough night trying to sleep with the chilly temperature in our stateroom even with blankets piled on the bed. As a result, we were late getting out of bed and got a later start than would have been preferred.

As we passed by the Bucksport Marina, we looked for the mega-yacht that attempted to drop anchor near us last evening. We saw no signs of the boat, but again, we were late getting started with our travels.

Bucksport Marina

We did see a big boat at the Bucksport Marina, but it was not the mega-yacht from last night.

However, when we passed the Wacca Wache Marina, we found the meg-yacht! He haled us on the radio to thank us for help last night. He was just finished fueling as we motored by, and he pulled away from the dock to follow us south.

Greyday leaving fuel dock

Given the size of the yacht, I did a Google search and found some statistics. The boat is an 82' Pershing built in Italy with a beam of 18 feet. It has a top speed of just over 50 knots and a cruising speed of 40 knots. The pilot and Clark exchanged contact information and text messages as we traveled along. One drive is inoperative on the boat, so the pilot decided to follow us as we cruised south. He plans to have the boat hauled out further south.

82' Greyday

Shortly thereafter we saw up ahead that the floating / swing bridge was closed. Clark said, "I've never seen that one closed before!" Before Clark could call to ask for an opening, we could see that the bridge was in progress of opening as they saw us coming. 

Floating bridge being opened as we approach

Clark noticed the signs on either side of the bridge with flashing yellow lights, so as the sign said, we waited until they stopped flashing to proceed.

Caution: Stop here when flashing

The friendly tender waved as we passed through the open bridge.

Looking back at open floating bridge

Further back I could see that Greyday was just approaching the bridge.

Greyday followed us for hours through miles of marshes and mud flats in South Carolina along the ICW.

Tower in the marshes

humming ... "Smoke on the Water"

The water was reasonably high for travels through here, so no depth worries today. Greyday takes just over a foot more water than we do, so Clark said he would alert the pilot to any concerns we saw.

After discussing destinations with Clark, the pilot of Greyday decided that he should pass us as he planned to go further this evening than we did. He was heading for Charleston and we were stopping at an anchorage before that.

Greyday going on ahead

Clark and the pilot exchanged contact information. Who knows we may encounter him again some day. 

After our new buddy boat continued on, it was back to checking out the scenery. Every season we have passed by a houseboat along this section of the waterway. Today, Clark noticed that the boat had sunk.

Last time floating; this time not so much

I cannot go through South Carolina with taking an "extra long fixed dock" picture. 

I thought the golden grass coming up through the water on the ICW eye-catching.

The sun glistening off the ICW was also stunning.

We could see a vessel approaching us, i.e. heading north. 

After they passed, I could see the men in the stern cockpit cleaning their fresh-caught fish.

"Skipper & Ludie"

Besides golden grass, we saw some occasional shrubbery. 

Later we passed by a number of houses with fixed docks one after the other after the other.

Many docks in a row

The trouble with the very long docks is the amount of maintenance required. The one shown below goes up hill and down dale like a mini roller coaster.

Up and down dock

Also, along the way, we passed a miniature island. Covered in birds. As one more came in for a landing I wondered, "is there any more room at the inn?"

Bird island

Having anchored there in the past, Clark chose to drop anchor in Dewees Creek tonight. 

As we approached the anchorage, we could see that we would have at least two neighbors who had arrived before us. 

Trawler in the anchorage

Sailboat in the anchorage

An added bonus, we had quite a few dolphins who appeared to call this creek home. They enjoyed playing in the water by our boat as we came in to drop anchor. I was too slow on the camera when they were active to get a good picture. 

Dolphins near our boat as we anchored

The surrounding area was all marshland. 

Even so, we got a nice sunset view at the end of day.

21 October 2026 - Wednesday

Depart: Dewees Creek anchorage (north of Charleston, SC) 8:20

Arrive: Beaufort, SC anchorage 5:20

Distance: ~ 68 nm

Much of the scenery we passed today was nothing new to look at until we passed an interesting dock decorated for Halloween. I enjoyed the skeleton climbing the piling while a witch looked on.

Sadly, I was too slow on the draw to get a good picture of the witch in the lefthand corner of the building. 

The big news on Ch 22 on the VHF radio was the fact that the Ben Sawyer bridge could not open to traffic. If we heard the announcement once, we heard it a hundred times. Fortunately, we do not need an opening at this bridge, so it was not a concern for us. Sailboats, on the other hand, were definitely stuck on one side or the other.

Looking back at the Ben Sawyer bridge

To stay warm on the upper helm, we had the full enclosure closed, so taking picture out the front of the boat was nearly impossible. Thus, I took most pictures looking back at what we had just passed.

If I took a picture towards the east, it turned into a silhouette like the one below. 

Since Clark made a point of mentioning it as we passed Fort Sumter, I took a picture. 

Fort Sumter in the distance

Clark noticed a barge on AIS that showed the boat not moving, but as he passed in front of the boat, he saw it moving at 1 knot. He called the boat on the VHF radio to discuss the fact we were now passing in front of a moving barge. The guy on the barge said, "No worries. We're just screwing around out here." As we passed, I could see that they had the anchor down.

Barge outside Charleston, SC

I have been checking out the birds coming south. Obviously, I have seen plenty of them. Today, I got my first pelican siting! I expected to see them much further north.

Two pelicans near Charleston, SC

Iconic Bridge - Charleston, SC

I took a couple of pictures as we passed by Charleston.

USCG Cutter docked in Charleston, SC

View of Charleston, SC

After passing by Charleston, we came up to the Wappoo Creek Bridge. 

It is a little hard to read the height gauge on this bridge. After 30 feet the numbers are obscured.

Our next point of interest on today's travels was Elliot Cut. Today it was rather uneventful as we did not deal with harsh current. 

The sides of the cut consist of a lot of rocks as bulkheading.

Some of the homes are well hidden behind trees covered in Spanish Moss. 

We even saw some construction / repair underway as we passed through here.

Very quickly, Elliot Cut was behind us.

We passed through miles of mud flats as the water was on the low side, we got to see lots of mud.

Later, Clark mentioned a place I had not noticed on prior trips. He said it was a place where barges and big ships go for repairs. Lots of ships appeared to be in need of attention. It was a very busy place.

After that, we traveled for hours watching the scenery go by and listening to music via Spotify. At long last we reached Clark's targeted anchorage near Beaufort, SC. We found one sailboat anchored there before us. The sailboat made for a great sunset picture.

A small boat with fishermen also hung around the anchorage until the sun disappeared and they departed the area.