Onto Myrtle Beach

We left Beaufort and stopped for fuel at Dataw Island. It was a bit off the ICW but their price was lower. Fuel cost more than gas now, something that makes no sense but a lot of dollars for the oil companies. We anchored at Church Creek after plowing through a thunderstorm. The rest of the night was calm.

 You never know what you'll see on the waterway. The sign said "American Waterways Wind Orchestra". After doing more research, the vessel 'Point Counterpoint II' opens like a clamshell to reveal a concert stage. This vessel, launched in 1976 was being worked on at this shipyard outside Charleston and saved from the scrap heap.  The final destination is Philadelphia's 1917 Power Station. We wanted to stay the night in McClellanvillel, but there was no room on Monday. Tuesday we could have a spot so we anchored out again. This time it was Awendaw Creek. It was a large area with two sailboats already anchored. Still we had plenty of room. The sailboats departed early the next morning like we would normally do except McClellanville was only seven miles away. That gave me the opportunity to take the dinghy and do some sightseeing. This is the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and barrier islands.  After traveling through the Salt marshes, I entered 5 Fathoms Inlet and made my way to

 

Lighthouse Island. Built in 1827 and 1857 respectively they are still standing although not functional obviously, especially the red 1827 light. Nearby are pristine barrier islands. I did some exploring and was rewarded with a nice collection of shells

I also found some trash, party balloons, that I used to protect the shells for the bouncy six mile ride back to the tug. A dead sea turtle was also washed upside down on the beach. So sad.

So Remote