Bridge comment on Coleman Memorial (US 17) Bridge

Comment by: Joseph Dewitt, Escapade, on Aug 5, 2024
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 42'

The Alliance II schooner/tourist boat goes under this bridge daily, and their mast height is 72 feet. I have taken my Lagoon 42 under the bridge with a 68 foot mast height plus antennas on top with no issue. Pretty sure the 60 feet closed is not correct for the main opening near the control section.

• WG Editor Comment:
  

  NOAA charts and other engineering reports list the vertical clearance in the navigation channel at 60 feet.

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Marina Review for Charleston Maritime Center

Reviewed by: Joseph Dewitt , Escapade, on Dec 30, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.1'

Rating: 4

Stayed a day short of four weeks—we got lucky and booked when they had availability for a catamaran as we didn't want to stay on the hook during a cold spell and wanted the shore power.

Marina is small, with limited slips, and the current can be pretty strong, so we came and left near slack tide. The staff was excellent for everything we needed. They were very good at helping dock our boat and helping move boats so we could get out, and were very attentive checking boats and fenders before a storm passed through. Like others noted, with NE winds or just the routine cargo traffic, waves and wakes come right in hard and rock the boat pretty good. I got more stress on my ropes here than anywhere I've stayed and I made sure the fenders were in the right place and wouldn't ride up and out as the concrete floating dock doesn't move anywhere near as much as the boat. We stayed a while, so it wasn't a problem for us, but it's a fact of tying up here. The north side slips seemed to have less of an issue than us—we were on the long dock staring right up the river when wakes/waves came in. Depth in the marina was never lower than 8.5 ft.

The Marina restrooms and single shower were always clean and in working order. One shower isn't an issue given the small marina size. There's also free laundry during the day. The staff was great about receiving and occasionally delivering packages.

But, great location for exploring Charleston. Within a mile walk you can get to the prime shopping streets or the city market place. That also means lots of restaurant and pub/tavern choices. Within a 1.5 mile radius, you can see most of the old town. There's a free bus service that stops nearby if you do not want to walk. There's also a Harris Teeter about four blocks away for provisioning. A small sushi bar across from Teeters, 167 Raw, is well worth a stop. Aquarium, African American Museum and Fort Sumpter tours are right next door. There's a park a block east for dog exercise.

We enjoyed our stay.

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Marina Review for Beaufort Docks Marina

Reviewed by: Joseph Dewitt , Escapade, on Dec 13, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.1'

Rating: 5

Quick one night stay on a T-Head. We originally just stopped for fuel, but since we were staying the rest of the day and overnight for weather we opted to stay on the dock. They offer refueling at every slip, and the dockhands were professional and competant. Got two free beer tokens for the dockside restaurant where the dock master office resides. Lots of dining out choices,: we liked the coal fired Pizza place to the East for lunch, and Aqua for dinner. Quaint town, and cute with all the Christmas decorations up.

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Marina Review for Hazzard Marine

Reviewed by: Joseph Dewitt on Sep 22, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 47'
Draft: 5.7'

Rating: 5

Stayed 4-6 May. Booked a transient slip with Susan who was very helpful. They allowed us to dock near the fuel dock for two nights and were very easy to deal with. Facilities were fine, and laundry facility was very nice. Great help in docking and providing info about the town. Georgetown is a short walk down oak/Spanish moss residential streets to the historic part of town. Charming and historic town with lots of historic registered homes. Recommend a stop.

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Anchorage Review for East River - Long Point

Reviewed by: Joseph Dewitt on Aug 26, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 47'
Draft: 5.7'

Fairly well protected little bay from all directions, minor fetch east and south but not enough to develop any problems. Scenic and quiet heading up the river with plenty of room and depth. Shared the bay with a Cat and had plenty of room, but in the actual little bay can probably only fit three or four boats. Private property all around, no real landing areas. Cell reception was OK, no internet. No issues at night, but lots of power boats during the day going to and fro and some boats towing tubes, but after sunset very quiet. Not many bugs at all.

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