Whiteside Creek Anchorage to Georgetown

We departed Whiteside Creek at 1000 so as to arrive at the shallow spots near McClellanville with a rising tide and enough water to pass without grounding or if grounded wait for the in-coming tide to raise the boat off the river's bottom.  We were able to stay in the center of the channel and made it through without any problems.  The tide pushed us along most of the day.  At one point we were traveling at 8 knots.

About 25 miles south of Georgetown we saw our first alligator.  Janet was at the wheel and saw something floating in the river which she at first thought might be a log.  Then she recognized it as an alligator.  Perhaps she remembered from our trip down last fall when we saw an alligator 10 miles north of Georgetown:  logs don't float up stream.  This gator was moving against the current.  A little later we saw a second alligator.  It was very difficult to get a good picture because they were so low in the water and the contrast between the gator and the dark water was subtle.  So, based on our personal observation, you don't want to go swimming in the waterway 10 miles north to 25 miles south of Georgetown.

Steel and Shrimp

Georgetown is the 3rd oldest city in South Carolina.  Its has seen the best and worst of times.  Its economy from its founding until the years following the Civil War was based on exporting cash crops - first, indigo and then rice.  At one time, Georgetown harvested half the rice in the United States and was the largest exporter of rice in the world.  The county had over 100 plantations and was one of the richest in the country.  The abolishment of slavery and resulting labor costs made producing rice increasingly expensive and the plantations quickly ceased to be self-supporting and the vast tracts of land were sold off.  Harvesting rice was replaced by harvesting trees.  By 1900, Georgetown had the largest lumber mill operating in the United States.  Steel mills also established themselves in the city but eventually closed when foreign steel became less expensive to produce. Today, tourism contributes significantly to the local economy.

Georgetown

The Hazard Marina did not have room for us to dock.  So, we anchored in the channel which runs parallel to Georgetown's main street.  We saw several other boats we encountered along the ICW also anchored here.  We did get to use the showers at the marina.  We'll move to the transient dock once there is room tomorrow.

Alligator