| Getting Ready | The Chesapeake Bay | The Great Dismal Swamp | North Carolina | South Carolina | Georgia | Florida |
| Roni Tails | Sea Tales and Other Stories | Pictures of Doublewide | Mayaca Railroad Bridge |
 | 1 Myrtle Beach 2 Waccamaw River 3 McClellanville 4 Charleston 5 John's Island 6 Dataw Island Marina 7 Hilton Head |
| Lush and beautiful, the first part of my journey took me down the Waccamaw River, which is arguably the most beautiful part of the ICW. Deep and easy to navigate, it gave me the opportunity of spending more time drinking in the wonderous feel of the deep South. This is also starting to be the 'land of tides'. In the lower Waccamaw River I am seeing tides of almost 4' daily! This presents navigation problems, as well as docking problems. Paying attention to shoal areas is critical at all times, of course, but in particular, when the tidal range is high. This is because a lot of the navigation done on the ICW is line of sight - watch the shoreline, watch the aids to navigation (day markers and lighted beacons). The shoreline can be very different at high tide than at low tide and if you are in an ebbing tide and get trapped on the wrong side of a sand bar, you could sit there for a long time waiting for the tide to lend a graceful hand. You can always admit your folly and have Tow Boat US come and drag you out to the applause of onloookers. I hope that my navigation skills are up to the task of keeping me from that particular humiliation. Dock lines: If I am tied to floating docks (the newest rage, but not all that common yet), and there is plenty of water beneath Doublewide all is well - I just tie her bow and stern with spring lines between and ignore the tides - meaning I can sleep thru the night! If, however I am on a typical dock, the lines must either be adjusted periodically or tied too loosely for my peace of mind. I'll get up every 3 hours and check to see that the lines are tight enough, and not over tight. As Dennis says, "All part of the adventure!" True enough, and looking out for my boat is a real pleasure! |
| Getting Ready | The Chesapeake Bay | The Great Dismal Swamp | North Carolina | South Carolina | Georgia | Florida |
| Roni Tails | Sea Tales and Other Stories | Pictures of Doublewide | Mayaca Railroad Bridge |