Cruising guide authors Mark and Diana Doyle continue their Intracoastal Waterway Tour de Frugal, trading South Carolina’s big city lights for quiet anchorages and laid-back marinas.

South Carolina’s Intracoastal Waterway reminds many of a road trip, each leg marked by landmark towns.

Myrtle Beach meanders to Georgetown, Georgetown to Charleston, then on to Beaufort and Hilton Head. Firsttime ICW cruisers typically stop and sample each of these unique ports of call, but after they’ve done the route once, they probably won’t visit every town again.

Veteran cruisers pick and choose among their seasonal and regional favorites, sometimes stopping here and sometimes there. Truth is, you won’t find many unlikeable stops in South Carolina. But remember, this series highlights the lesser-known and frugal faves, it isn’t the chamber-ofcommerce tour. So don’t be surprised if your cruising favorite doesn’t get spotlighted.

A good example is Charleston: an absolute must-stop for all boaters, despite the pricey dockage, swift current, and lessthan-ideal designated anchorage. The cheapest marina to stay within walking distance of the historic district, Charleston Maritime Center, frankly isn’t a favorite. It’s tolerated in order to visit this lovely city despite serious wakes, limited capacity, and some surprisingly shallow slips.

So instead, here’s an alternate itinerary, designed for short easy days between memorable Lowcountry anchorages, with a couple frugal marinas mixed in for sightseeing, laundry, and provisioning.

OSPREY MARINA Well-named Osprey Marina (Statute Mile (STM) 373.3 at 33°40.88N 79°02.50W) is tucked into a protected keyhole basin just off the scenic Waccamaw River south of Myrtle Beach. Look for the aid with the huge osprey nest—oh wait, osprey nests are everywhere along here. Exit the ICW west of R26 and head for the eastern end of the oxbow, then follow the marina’s well-marked channel. (Note that some paper and electronic charts may not show the cut.) Once you’re through the narrow wooded entrance, the basin opens up and has many large boats. Surrounded by grand old cypress

and tupelo trees, you’ll feel miles away from the ticky-tacky t-shirt shops of nearby Myrtle Beach.

Your stay at Osprey Marina begins with an arrival bag of fun, cruiser-relevant goodies. No, not one more cheap beer koozie, this gift bag has boxed laundry soap, crackers, and country-style pumpkin butter or jam. Food will be a theme here. Every morning, boaters gather for the free continental breakfast of fresh donuts, English muffins, breads, and—for those boaters who miss this luxury aboard—toasters. You can sample the many jams in case you want more than the jar included in your arrival bag.

While you’re at Osprey, consider buddying up with cruisers you meet at breakfast to share an Enterprise rental. Brookgreen Gardens, a world-famous sculpture garden chosen as one of the top ten public gardens in the U.S., is only a few miles south. And a West Marine, grocery store, and other provisioning pitstops are conveniently on the way.

When it’s time to check out, you’ll love Osprey’s price. The marina charges $1 per foot for the first three days, thereafter dropping to 25¢ per foot (up to a month). They also consistently have the lowest diesel price in South Carolina.

MINIM CREEK Just south of the Estherville Minim Creek Canal, Minim Creek anchorage is located between the popular ports of Georgetown and Charleston. For a quiet night in the Lowcountry, Minim Creek’s west anchorage (STM 415.5 at 33°11.55N 79°16.71W) is a great choice.

This is a scenic, wide-open-feeling, marsh anchorage with good all-around low protection. Exit the ICW south of R4 and proceed northwesterly into Minim Creek, favoring the northern shore with its fire tower landmark. Anchor beyond the charted tide gage structure, where you’ll find less current.

There is no shore access, and no nearby services, but be ready for an African safari-esque experience as the sun sets. Huge flocks of birds come in to roost in the vast adjacent rice fields and wildlife refuge. One evening we counted about 2,000 gorgeous white ibises gliding by our flybridge!

LONG CREEK If you’re short-stopping Charleston this run, you’ll face a challenge finding a carefree anchorage. Despite only five to six feet of tide, the narrow and unusually deep saltmarsh channels create tricky anchorages due to their strong reversing currents.

Fifteen miles north of Charleston, overlooking its twinkling bridges at night, Long Creek is the best anchorage in this area (STM 454.3 at 32°49.23N 79°45.19W). It’s a textbook-example of a bend-in-the-river anchorage, a crucial concept in the fast-moving waters of southern South Carolina and Georgia.

Because water moves more slowly on the inside of a river bend, there is less current along its inner curve. In addition, with less current, sediment gets deposited, making it shallower with better holding in sand or mud, rather than the deep, scoured, hard bottom typical of the outside edges. Around-the-bend anchorages also provide excellent wake protection from the main ICW channel, reducing another source of stress on your anchor set.