Lake Moultrie to Atlantic

[thinplaces]

This may well be a dumb question, but I just read the thread on the stolen boat, so I'm in the mood I guess. Stories about alleged drug runners being worked-over by rapists, as the USCG holds the boat, it always gets me worked up like that.

Anywho . . . can you sail from Lake Moultire (SC) to the Atlantic, or would you have to take the mast down? Are there other concerns? What is the current like? I can't seem to find bridge heights where can I find bridge heights?

Thanks in advance - ThinPlaces

[Alannc44]

Originally Posted by thinplaces

Anywho . . . can you sail from Lake Moultire (SC) to the Atlantic, or would you have to take the mast down? Are there other concerns? What is the current like? I can't seem to find bridge heights where can I find bridge heights?

Thanks in advance - ThinPlaces

Boy did I just have a flashback! When I was 15 ( 36 years ago) I borrowed my dad's Catalina 22 and got a buddy to help me drop it at Lake Marion. We sailed down Marion through the canal that separates it from Moultrie...and then down to Charleston. What an adventure that turned out to be. Little did I know that Lake Marion still had the trees beneath the surface and that we ran the risk of actually knocking a hole in the hull. Little did I count on the railroad bridge at the base of the 90 foot lock at Lake Moultrie....and little did I count on the 3-4 knot current down the river that carries you out of that lock towards the bridge!

I scrambled to toss out the anchor before hitting the bridge (approximately 100 yards below the lock) but that didn't work. The anchor grabbed so hard it almost pulled the cleet out out of the bow. I cranked up our 5 hp outboard and ran it as hard as I could against the current but to no avail. Finally, I spotted a muddy bank just in front of the bridge where ran the boat up on to before getting sucked under the bridge. (about 15 feet of clearance). At that point we were able to lower the mast. From there down to Charleston we had a sleigh ride on the river. We camped along the bank once and got eaten alive by mosquitoes We tried to pull in to an area in N. Charleston on afternoon that was on a military base. Of course we got run out of there. By the time we made it to the City Marina we looked liked we'd just come through a gale.

Sorry to elaborate so much, but you really tripped my memory. Perhaps the bridge is gone or open now, but knowing the railroad companies, it's probably still there even if not used.

Alan
Kon Jeni-Al
PSC 37