We just moved our 23.5 to Charleston, SC from Pensacola, FL and we are just about ready to launch. I am seeking advice on the area and/or sailing conditions. I am concerned about the strong river currents, the tides and the shipping traffic. My outboard is a 5 HP Tohatsu. Is anyone familar with the Remley's Point Landing or have a recommendation on where to launch? Or the best spot to anchor? Would the St. Helena Sound area between Edisto Island and Beaufort be a better sailing area for a novice like myself than in the Harbor? The slips down there seem to be more available and affordable. Does either of the large lakes just north of here, Marion or Moultrie, have good sailing conditions? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Ben
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Cantact John Sayer
John knows the waters very well and is the local Hunter dealer. You are correct about the currents but Charleston is a nice place. Crazy Dave Condon
John knows the waters very well and is the local Hunter dealer. You are correct about the currents but Charleston is a nice place. Crazy Dave Condon
Lake Murray
Columbia SC, 3 active sail clubs, many Hunters, good racing, 510 miles of shoreline, 1hour40 minutes from downtown Chas. Charleston has some wonderful sailing, check out these sites. www.sayra-sailing.org www.Charleston.net/org/cora/ www.columbiasailingclub.org www.seacats.org David Mosley
Columbia SC, 3 active sail clubs, many Hunters, good racing, 510 miles of shoreline, 1hour40 minutes from downtown Chas. Charleston has some wonderful sailing, check out these sites. www.sayra-sailing.org www.Charleston.net/org/cora/ www.columbiasailingclub.org www.seacats.org David Mosley
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Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie
Lakes Marion and Moultrie are suited more for fishing than sailing. Having said that I have been sailing there off and on for the past 20 years. I have sailed a Lightning, Laser, Daysailor and a US-1 when I have been there on vacation. I now have a Hunter 170 that I will take there sooner or later. The areas I sailed in are known as Potato Creek and Wyboo. These are 2 fairly large and populated areas. The boat and jet-ski traffic is pretty bad on summer weekends and holidays. Lake Marion is also relatively shallow and a little wind will make heavy chop rather quickly. Right now the lake is almost 4 ft below full and there are thousands of sandbars. You are only an hour away, take a trip to Lake Marion one weekend and check it out. I agree with David, Lake Murray in Columbia is the best. Look at WWW.LMSC.ORG, Lake Murray Sail Club is a beautiful place too. Check with the yacht clubs in Charleston. I'm sure they will show you where the best sailing is.
Lakes Marion and Moultrie are suited more for fishing than sailing. Having said that I have been sailing there off and on for the past 20 years. I have sailed a Lightning, Laser, Daysailor and a US-1 when I have been there on vacation. I now have a Hunter 170 that I will take there sooner or later. The areas I sailed in are known as Potato Creek and Wyboo. These are 2 fairly large and populated areas. The boat and jet-ski traffic is pretty bad on summer weekends and holidays. Lake Marion is also relatively shallow and a little wind will make heavy chop rather quickly. Right now the lake is almost 4 ft below full and there are thousands of sandbars. You are only an hour away, take a trip to Lake Marion one weekend and check it out. I agree with David, Lake Murray in Columbia is the best. Look at WWW.LMSC.ORG, Lake Murray Sail Club is a beautiful place too. Check with the yacht clubs in Charleston. I'm sure they will show you where the best sailing is.
Check out the Lake Murray Sailing Club
It's like comparing apples to concrete blocks when talking about ocean vs. man-made lake sailing. That said, I keep my H27 on Lake Murray because it's closer/cheaper than Charleston. I live in Columbia but I can make it from the lake to the aquarium in Charleston in 90 mins or less, so I could put the boat there if I wanted the expense. Likewise, there are quite a few folks from Charleston that keep boats on Lake Murray because it's cheaper. Lake Murray is kinda big for a man-made inland lake, and a lot of the time the wind is pretty good. But it's not like sailing the coasts. OTOH, it has a lot of facilities and the motorboats go away right around the time the winds are picking up in the fall. If you don't mind a bit of a nip in the air (I'm from Buffalo) you can sail year round, a number of folks do it. There are a number of sailing clubs covering the spectrum of sailors ("upscale" to "self help") and a number of public marinas that cater to both motorboaters and sailors alike (although it's about a 10/1 ratio of power to sail in the public marinas). There is a planned 24 month lake drawdown in the fall for new construction on the dam. With your short draft you shouldn't have a problem with skinny water - any of the sailing clubs with available berths should be able to accomodate you. I know for certain that LMSC will have the depth - we're moving all the docks to deeper water and adding about 40' of concrete to the end of the ramp. LMSC is a "self help", family oriented sailing club. Pretty quiet and laidback, a lot of racers but a fair number of cruisers, too - all very nice folks, ranging in age from early 20's to retired, all experience levels. Check out the link below. You might be able to work something out with the club as a trial - this is pure speculation on my part, I have no idea if this has ever been done, but the club folks seem to be an accomodating lot. Right now the lake winds aren't too hot during the day (which is fine because the temperature is!) but the breeze picks up most evenings and night sails are pretty good to excellent. I don't know if you folks overnight on your boat, but that isn't a problem at the club - just too warm for *me* right now. Just some thoughts I wanted to share with you about alternatives to the expense of berthing in Charleston. Good luck! David s/v kupono
It's like comparing apples to concrete blocks when talking about ocean vs. man-made lake sailing. That said, I keep my H27 on Lake Murray because it's closer/cheaper than Charleston. I live in Columbia but I can make it from the lake to the aquarium in Charleston in 90 mins or less, so I could put the boat there if I wanted the expense. Likewise, there are quite a few folks from Charleston that keep boats on Lake Murray because it's cheaper. Lake Murray is kinda big for a man-made inland lake, and a lot of the time the wind is pretty good. But it's not like sailing the coasts. OTOH, it has a lot of facilities and the motorboats go away right around the time the winds are picking up in the fall. If you don't mind a bit of a nip in the air (I'm from Buffalo) you can sail year round, a number of folks do it. There are a number of sailing clubs covering the spectrum of sailors ("upscale" to "self help") and a number of public marinas that cater to both motorboaters and sailors alike (although it's about a 10/1 ratio of power to sail in the public marinas). There is a planned 24 month lake drawdown in the fall for new construction on the dam. With your short draft you shouldn't have a problem with skinny water - any of the sailing clubs with available berths should be able to accomodate you. I know for certain that LMSC will have the depth - we're moving all the docks to deeper water and adding about 40' of concrete to the end of the ramp. LMSC is a "self help", family oriented sailing club. Pretty quiet and laidback, a lot of racers but a fair number of cruisers, too - all very nice folks, ranging in age from early 20's to retired, all experience levels. Check out the link below. You might be able to work something out with the club as a trial - this is pure speculation on my part, I have no idea if this has ever been done, but the club folks seem to be an accomodating lot. Right now the lake winds aren't too hot during the day (which is fine because the temperature is!) but the breeze picks up most evenings and night sails are pretty good to excellent. I don't know if you folks overnight on your boat, but that isn't a problem at the club - just too warm for *me* right now. Just some thoughts I wanted to share with you about alternatives to the expense of berthing in Charleston. Good luck! David s/v kupono
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