Mariners-in navigating the Folly River to Stono Inlet at low and negative tides our 3.5 draft boat hits bottom going from green bouy #17 to cross the river to red # 16 in the Sunset Cay Marina (Danny’s old place) area. Does anyone have waypoints to share for this area or an alternative route at low or - tides to safely navigate this area?
Thanking you in advance
I don’t have waypoints but I know that once you turn right at the green buoy going towards the red can aim wide of the red can to the right. last time I went through at a negative tide it was still around 6ft deep I believe. if you hug too close to the red can it gets shallow. once you get around that first red can, you can run pretty close to the river bank as it is quite deep for that area. The cans are actually really close to the sandbars, this summer on a low tide, saw one of the red cans sitting on a sandbar. as always, go slow for the first time.
im not to sure, but im pretty sure…
That specific section you mention (17 to 16 crossing the river), I have run several times in the last 12 months and haven’t found a channel. Seems to always be 5’ deep or so, no matter where I put my boat. ERAD is correct about running close to the bank once you clear the red can, but as far as the section you’re mentioning (between 16/17) I haven’t seen a channel. The sand in that area seems to change daily!
There’s no I in Barbeque Team.
The sand around folly switches with the tide, I would always operate slow and cautiously in that area. 5 feet deep is good depth but with chop/ways it alters your plain and draft and there are humps on the sand flats. That area use to sketch me out and I had a very shallow drafting boat (inches). An alternate (longer) route would be to go out by the light house but that area also has some shallows to navigate, wish I could be more help but I have not been through these areas recent enough.
Thanks for the input. I have seen boaters from Sunset Cay following the Folly River on the County Park side of the Folly and crossing the river toward bouy # 14. I would ask anyone from Sunset Cay to comment if this is a safe passage at low tide?
Is it time for the Corp of Engineers to provide us a safe dredged passage from the Folly River to the Stono? FYI-The Army Corps of Engineers will receive $6 billion of our tax dollars in the 2016 Federal Budget, 10 percent more than it was appropriated last fiscal year and 26 percent more than it requested. Appropriators justified the boost, saying for every one dollar the corps spends it adds $16 to the economy. That’s us buying boats, rods and reels, and supporting the sponsors of this forum. I contacted the US Corp local office at 843 329-8123 asking for a review of the difficulty navigating the Folly River and they never responded.