ICW north of Charleston

[jalea]

Last fall we came through the ICW between Winya Bay and Charleston and there were a couple of very shallow spots, one at Sullivan Island, just north of the bridge, and the other just south of McClellanville. Both were so shallow that no sailboat could pass at anything less than half-tide. Anyone know if either area has been dredged?

[Kjretlaw]

Sorry do say they haven't been dredged and are still difficult to pass through in anything lower than mid-tide. The area just south of the fixed bridge crossing to Isle of Palms to the Ben Sawyer bridge being the worst due to the Breach Inlet run out.

Rumor is funds should be available for next year though.

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by jalea

Last fall we came through the ICW between Winya Bay and Charleston and there were a couple of very shallow spots, one at Sullivan Island, just north of the bridge, and the other just south of McClellanville. Both were so shallow that no sailboat could pass at anything less than half-tide. Anyone know if either area has been dredged?

I was last thru there right after Christmas...

Don't recall any particular problem near McClellanville, but that spot just north of the Ben Sawyer bridge is still bad, hadn't been dredged as of then... I was on a Valiant 42 drawing a bit over 6', and would definitely have been outside had the weather permitted. But within about 2 hours of high water, if memory serves, I came close, but never touched bottom...

Definitely one of the shallowest spots on the entire Ditch, nowadays...

[AnchorageGuy]

James, Neither area has been dredged so you will still need to play the tides. McClellanville is not quite as bad is Inlet Creek. Good luck. Chuck

[Waterway Guide]

As Chuck said, most boats can make it through playing the large tidal range, and you're best to transit these two areas on a mid - or even low - rising tide – you can see the channel better and, if you do bump or soft ground, the tide will lift you off in no time.

The really good news (hopefully) is that after all these years of neglect, these sections might actually be dredged soon. The SC 2015 USACE work plan allocations rose from $500,000 to $2.4M, and a county has chipped in some moolah, too – and this is for the ICW (not the mountains of dough to make the ports of Charleston and Savannah ready for the new huge freighters).

[AnchorageGuy]

Thanks for that Mike. We can only hope the more serious spots get some of these funds, but there is no guarantee where the money will be spent. We'll keep our fingers crossed. The Inlet Creek area has been dredged in the past, but due to strong currents, quickly shoals back in. Unless there is a provision for regular maintenance dredging, it will only be a temporary fix. But better than nothing. Chuck

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, James.

[rgary]

My wife and I transited that area the last week of January 2015 in a 36ft cat that draws a little less then 4ft - I can verify that there remain many very shallow areas in some pretty narrow channels the entire stretch from Isle of Palms Marina to south of the Sullivans Island swing bridge.
I traveled from the Potomac River to Savannah GA, and found that the shoaling and other navigational warnings posted in the on-line Waterway Guide were consistently very accurate and definitely to be heeded.
Overall trouble spots in the entire trip always seem to happen wherever there are other water channels crossing the waterway.