Making a Run for the Border

The morning started out chilly – in the low 40’s. We went for breakfast at P.J.’s which was right across the street from the marina. We were back at the boat and untying lines by 9:00. We had a couple of options today: make a long run to Osprey Marina, make a medium run to Myrtle Beach to a marina or make a short run to the Calabash anchorage. We decided on the shorter run to an anchorage since we had spent the last night at a marina and plan on staying at the Osprey Marina in a day or two. (We are trying to keep our ratio of anchoring/marinas higher on the anchoring side.)

We thought the run would be pretty straightforward, with no bridges to worry about. We were told that the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge had finally been replaced by the new 65 ft highway bridge. However, shortly after we got underway we heard chatter on the radio and discovered that this was, in fact, not quite true. While the new bridge appears to be completed, it is not yet open and the Pontoon Bridge is still operating across the ICW. Fortunately, we were able to adjust our travel time to arrive within 10 minutes of the scheduled 1:00 p.m. opening.

A half hour after the bridge, we arrived at Calabash Creek. The creek entrance is right at the North Carolina, South Carolina border. The spot where we anchored is in South Carolina. If you continue up the creek to Calabash, you are back in North Carolina. The entrance was a little tricky and we almost ran aground, but the Captain backed up and we were able to sound our way into deeper water. We were one of three boats in the anchorage when we arrived. By the time the sun was setting there were well over a dozen, plus we had watched two sailboats run aground. One of them required the help of both SeaTow and TowBoat US to push/pull them off.

We spent a quiet night on the boat and turned in early. Tonight we “fall back” so we changed our clock before going to bed. It is supposed to get in the 30’s tonight.