Oct 6 - Georgetown, SC to McClellanville, SC (28 miles)

Underway at 0830 for a short travel day (28 miles) to a dock near the town of McClellanville, SC.  The reason for the short day was once again a dance with the tide schedules due to another bad stretch of ICW, this one just south of McClellanville.  I would have arrived at dead low tide, something not desirable if the horror stories left by other boaters online are to be believed.  Although I bucked some strong tidal currents after high tide (around 1000 or so) the trip was uneventful and I moored up at the LeLand Oil Company docks at 1250.  The other reason I tied up here is that it’s well protected and a cold front is forecasted to move through the area tonight, accompanied by some wind and rain.

The LeLand Oil Company dock is more a place for commercial fishing boats (shrimpers, clammers, etc) to tie up than a marina.

 It’s got an office and with showers and heads, but it’s rustic to say the least and there isn’t anything else – except plenty of no-see-ums (gnats that are essentially flying teeth) and more mosquitoes than you can shake a stick at.  The locals sit up on the dock with .22 rifles around dusk to see who can pick off the most mosquitoes before having to run inside and douse themselves in OFF.

That being said, it has a fairly new aluminum floating aluminum dock that’s easy to get on and off.  The only problem is that the entrance to the channel coming in is really shallow at low tide.  I saw around 6.5 feet coming in at ½ falling tide, which means I couldn’t get in (or out for that matter) anywhere near dead low tide.  High tide tomorrow is around 10:00, which means I’ll be leaving and transiting the reportedly shallow spots on a rising tide, giving me better depth and some assistance if I do ground.

A not so scenic sight leaving Georgetown - the paper mill

The South Island Ferry

Leland Oil Co. docks

Dock office

Oyster dredger

Finally, I've had a lot of folks ask what I've been eating during my trip.  Just to prove it isn't Vienna Sausage or Beenie-weenie, here's tonight's dinner - pot roast with all the trimmings.  I use a pressure cooker (the microwave of the 50's) and it works great.  I'll use the leftovers to make a big pot of homemade vegetable soup for tomorrow night.