Waiting for a Storm to Pass

We entered the Waccamaw River in the early afternoon and were rushing along with the current but we decided to end the day early by anchoring in a oxbow, in the lee of a grouping of trees. This plan was intended to give us peace and comfort during the next days storm. 

While today was a mere 15-20 knots of wind, right on the nose, tomorrow would be the same with the added joy of torrential rains. The following day would be quite different as a cold front is coming in and bringing strong winds from the North. 

By anchoring in the lee of the trees, we hear the wind whistling in the distance but do not feel its effects. Then when the winds shift, we will be able to sail (without the use of the motor) all the way to Georgetown! 

Sometimes, cruising means taking a day off and relaxing at anchor while you wait for better weather to arrive. 

Waccamaw River Trees

Lining the banks of the river are massive trees that appear to be growing out of the river itself! These are cypress trees, and they are very common in this patch of natural beauty.

While the trees themselves are amazing, so is the little stump like growths that surround them. These are called Cypress Knees, and grow up from the waters surface just like the trees do. 

These trees are easy to distinguish with their large blade like roots that form small pyramids projecting from the water and terminating in a tree. 

Waccamaw River

While heading south towards the Bahamas, we were faced with an option: Head offshore and make it to the Bahamas in a few days, or stay in the ICW a little longer until Georgetown and experience the Waccamaw River.​

We chose the latter option.​

Getting to the Waccamaw River was no easy feat for us, as this river runs rather far inland compared to what we usually do. This meant that there are no inlets near the river and we would be forced to traverse the ICW a bit further. The ICW leading up to this area is rather shallow, causing us to run aground a few times while still in the channel. The sandy bottom changes with each tide, as the strong currents will shift the sands around in a hurry. Charted areas of 10 feet may only be 4 feet deep when you reach them, causing you to meet an abrupt stop in your forward movement.​

The urban sprawl is also quite apparent as you make your way towards the Waccamaw River. ​Massive mansions line the waterway as you move down the ICW through Myrtle Beach. These giant houses have stripped away all that was once there and replaced it with a well orchestrated construct of conceived beauty.

It is apparent that you are leaving the ritzy section as the houses transform from wealthy to derelict.​

Wooden shacks that are barely standing will extend out onto the waterway. These houses will become less and less common as you work your way into the natural beauty of the river. 

Cypress trees grow right on the edge of the river in waters of mind blowing depths. You will find water depths of 20 feet right up next to these massive trees that stand proud on the rivers edge. 

Most of the time, we search for a section of water deep enough to anchor while in the ICW, but in the Waccamaw River, we search for a section that is shallow enough to anchor. The Fathometer will usually read depths of 2-3 feet under our keel as we made our way through the ICW, but when we reached this river, that all changed and we started reading depths of 25-30 feet under our keel. We were excited to find a place that had 7 feet under our keel, allowing us to anchor with only 160 feet of chain instead of the over 200 feet we would have needed in the deeper sections.  

The best part of the river so far has got to be being anchored in a Oxbow, next to the trees and listening to the life that is teeming just beyond our hull. The frogs and crickets are singing away, and every so often, you will hear a new and unfamiliar sound in the distance. Everything is dark and the silhouette of the trees shows over the cloudy night sky with light pollution raining in from nearby Myrtle Beach. 

We have only begun our journey in the river, but already, we are glad to have endured such hard times to reach this place. 

Broken Rudder Quadrant

Steering is one of the three important components of a sailing yacht while cruising, the other two being drinkable water and sails with sound rigging.

Our rudder quadrant shattered when we were pulled off a shoal and the rudder turned towards the direction of turn, causing the weight of the boat to turn it further than it normally does. The rudder quadrant rammed into the bump stop inside the hull and shattered as the weight of the boat forced the rudder and quadrant to turn further. 

Making myself familiar with our steering system before we left and before anything broke helped facilitate the repair process. I know how it is supposed to be, so when it shattered, I knew how to remove it and how to reinstall it once it is repaired. 

Our rudder quadrant is made out of cast aluminum, so the repair of choice would be to have it welded back together. This would give us steerage again and allow us to continue our cruising.  

Loosing our rudder quadrant was quite a mental blow to us, as we had now lost one of the vital points of a sound cruising yacht. We do have a spare tiller and a spare oar that can function as a rudder, but luckily the tow boat was present so we were able to be towed by the hip to a marina while we await repairs. 

Cheap Bottom Cleaning

Typically, only small sailboats careen themselves, as larger boats will pay for a haul out. That being said, large boats are more costly to haul out and when you're cruising, every dollar counts! 

So why limit this free bottom cleaning procedure to only small yachts? We may be 45 feet, but we can do it too! 

As the 8 foot tide rushed away, our 6.5 foot draft sailboat slowly tilted onto her side and rested on the turn of her bilge and her keel. The water around the keel was only ankle deep which meant that we could easily do some work on her bottom. 

Hard growth like barnacles were easy to knock off the antifouling paint, while soft growth was easily swept away. We typically use this large brush while snorkeling or from the dinghy to clean the fuzzy parts of the bottom, but this was my first time ever doing so without being underwater! The procedure was simple, wet the brush, wet the hull, scrub the hull, wet the brush, rinse the hull. 

The entire side of the hull took less than a half hour to clean, giving us a smoother bottom to grant us less resistance as we sail through the water. 

In no time flat, we had the bottom cleaned up and we were ready for the tide to come back in and float us again. 

While we were heeled over and dried out, we were able to see the condition of the mural that Maddie had painted on the bottom when we set off on our journey! It was nice to see that the bottom mural had not all rubbed away into obscurity.