Great Loop: Bucksport, Myrtle Beach and the Last Resort

Days 61-64: March 19-22, 2023

Bucksport

The day to leave Georgetown arrived. First, we got up early to get Jason, Austin, and Brantley to the airport. It was lots of fun having them and Tonia was sad to send them off, though Keely was surely happy to have her boys home.

The original plan was to head north and find an anchorage. Upon passing the Bucksport Marina, the plans changed. Boris called over and they had space. Just like that we were docked and having a safe arrival beverage on their nice dock. We met Maria on her boat Do It Now doing the Loop. We had a great time getting to know her.

There is not much at Bucksport other than a dock. They have a restaurant that is probably hopping in the summer for boaters and the adjacent campground though it wasn’t yet open for the season.

Onward to Myrtle Beach and beyond

This part of the trip is up the intracoastal to Myrtle Beach and surrounding area. It’s a narrow human-made channel that is pretty populated as you expect. After coffee at Barista Steve’s and checking the weather –sunny on our coast though not so much beach worthy, it was time for our leisurely voyage that included a low swing bridge.

We did an overnight stop at the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes, a nice marina just off the waterway. Not much to report here other than lunch at a place called Drift and a little provisioning at The Chef’s Store.

Barefoot Landing for a little Dick’s Last Resort

We decided to mix things up a bit and do a short stop over to have lunch before resuming the longer day’s voyage. So where else do you go? Dick’s Last Resort to spice up your life. While half the group was ambivalent on this lunch location, they conceded and had a good time anyway. You can’t beat being harassed a bit during lunch.

After lunch we continued the cruise up the intracoastal thru the area named the rock pile. Don’t go out of the channel here or it would be a bad day. We navigated through unscathed. The long voyage brought us to Southport for the night and another nice sunset. 🙂

A bumpy ride to Beaufort, NC

The fleet decided that the weather would be good enough to go into the ocean and save 2-3 hours versus the intracoastal. The problem was the day was 10 hours. The overall weather was fine. However, the swells were enough to make the crew of Lil Sudden and Saga very unhappy. A few were pretty green when we arrived in Beaufort.

Below are a couple short clips crossing the Crossing Carolina Beach Inlet out to the ocean. This part was pretty choppy though doable compared to the 8+ hours of “gentle” swells that followed.

Upon arrival to Beaufort, NC, we were great by wild horses on the beach. A welcome sight to the end of the looooong trip.