Reel, it was a lot of fun. I look forward to doing it under better conditions, though! We really thought, after checking out several radar sources, that it was going to quit raining soon after our departure, and that the trip would be made under cloudy but dry conditions. We were SO wrong!

Yes, Willy, it's an HPDI. I had been looking forward to making a trip like this in order to find out what it would really burn, and I'm really pleased with the results. 5.5 gph is the BEST that my old 155 ever did -- typically it burned more like 7 gph. I'm going to fuel up this weekend and see how we did on the return trip.

Good trip and great report! Congrats on your 15th anniversary too. I've never been to Charleston. I wouldn't mind making the trip on the ICW DOWN to Charleston from Murrells Inlet. Mapquest shows 83 miles by land so it looks to be a similar journey as yours. Speaking of sandbars though, I'd be on pins and needles the whole time! Did your buddy get stuck too?

I love that pic of the spray...

We were relying on our friend's experience, because he's made the trip so many times. And we would have never run aground except that we left the ICW to make a side trip. He was really mad at himself (we were way out of a clearly marked channel), but when you're wet and tired stuff happens. We were running down a wide river at about 30 mph, me behind him and off to the side a little, when suddenly my engine felt funny -- I thought I had spun the prop -- but then when I realized what was happening it was too late. Our boats ended up only 20 feet apart, right beside each other. Checked the tide tables and found it was still going out but only about 45 minutes until low. My friend felt so bad, but we made the best of it, stepped out of the boat and walked around the sandbar as it became more exposed. We were there almost 2 hours. I'm sure the people in the nice houses across the river had a good laugh at the sight: two boats stranded, and us strolling the sandbar in our rain gear (it was still drizzling). We had a lot of laughs ourselves later, when we were warm and dry and enjoying a few drinks!

Yeah, the spray photo -- I asked my wife to take a few. That was near the end of our trip home, coming down the Broad River, winds behind us at 20-25 kts and gusting to 30, which made for about 3 foot following seas. A LOT of spray!

Trip
 

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them with those of us who never seem to find the time to have adventures like yours! Even wet and raining you have now created a memory that will last for a very long time.

:clap::clap::clap:

Thats an awsome trip!!!! Happy anniversary as well.

Some day I want to do the same trip, but from the north.

I bet your buddy in the cc was frozen on the way back.

Yep, and WET on the way up!

Hey Blue, I put in at a public ramp just south of Murrells Inlet and I have made the trip several times and it is a nice trip. If you follow the markers you will not hit any sand bars. I would suggest that you use the ramp at the Reserve Marina which cost $5.00 to launch, they have secured parking and nice bathrooms for the ladies. From there to Isle of Palms should be around 75 miles. In my opinion that is the best part of the ICW. As far as my mileage, I just divide the miles by two to determine how many gallons that I will need. When you plan the trip let me know and I'll try to meet up with you on your first part of the trip. Normally we are out on the water if the weather is half way decent and if we don't have other obligations.