Georgetown to Myrtle Beach

We departed Georgetown at 0745 for the nearly 40 nautical mile trip to the Marina at Grand Dunes in Myrtle Beach.  It was a relatively uneventful journey through some of the most beautiful river routes in the country.  The Waccamaw River was once flanked by extensive rice fields which produced more rice than the rest of the country during the years prior to the expansion of rice farming in Louisiana and Texas near the end of the 19^th Century.  The end of slavery and high cost of labor following abolition eventually ended the plantation system of farming.  The rice fields are now abandoned and much of the land is now declared a wildlife preservation area.  Very few homes appear along the banks of the Waccamaw.  We motored through this natural park setting admiring its beauty.  We did not see any alligators as in the past.  We did encounter a large number of other boaters out for a Sunday cruise.

The scenery significantly changed the further north we proceeded.  More and more homes began to appear along the river banks, as well as, more and more local boaters.  It won’t be long before the ICW near Myrtle Beach becomes nothing more than a canal lined with condos and homes resembling much of the Florida ICW.  The homes are beautiful; however, we prefer the undeveloped segments of the ICW for its natural beauty.

We arrived at the Marina at Grand Dunes at 1630.  We stayed here on our way south in the fall.  It is a very nice marina just off the ICW with a long face dock which we prefer to a slip.  We had several tasks to accomplish before settling in for the evening.  After registering at the marina office, we walked over to the nearby shopping center and had a wonderful meal at the Ducatis Pizzeria and Trattoria.  It was a very nice, well-patronized establishment serving delicious meals at reasonable prices.  We arrived just before the evening dinner crowd and didn’t have to wait for a table.

After dinner, we walked a few doors down and began our grocery shopping.  We rounded out our provisions with purchases of more fruit, lettuce, cheeses, cold cuts, yogurt, croissants, bread, and cookies.  We should not have to do any additional provisioning until we reach the Chesapeake Bay.

After storing our provisions, we headed to the marina building for showers and Carla did the last of the laundry.  She was very excited since we had the laundry room to ourselves, the washer and dryer worked very well and best of all, it was complimentary (free).  We went to bed on clean sheet and smelling good.

A highlight of our stay was discovering Duchess docked behind us.  She is a classic 50 foot long flat top motor yacht built in 1930 by the Electric Launch Company (ELCO).  She currently hails from Sarasota, Florida and was north-bound with a delivery captain.  We suspect she was on her way to Moores Marine Yacht Center in Beaufort, North Carolina where she was rebuilt a few years ago.

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1930/Elco-Motoryacht-3063843/United-States#.WSSHnOvyuM8

https://www.elcomotoryachts.com/royalty-renovated-mayjune-2015/

The history of the Electric Launch Company is quite interesting.  ELCO built yachts for John Jacob Astor, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, Grand Duke Alexander of Russian, Czar Nicholas II, Admiral Dewey, Hiram Walker, H.J. Heinz, George Drexel, Mrs. George Westinghouse, Alfred DuPont, Charles Lindbergh, and many other rich and famous personages.  Bernard Baruch’s family at one time owned 5 ELCO cruisers sailing as a fleet.  Besides, pleasure craft, ELCO built anti-submarine launches during World War I, as well as, submarines and PT boats during World War II, including J.F. Kennedy’s PT-109.  After WWII, ELCO craftsmen supplied Plymouth with parts for wooden car bodies (woodies) and produced baseball bats for the Chicago Cubs.

 https://www.elcomotoryachts.com/history-of-elco.shtml