posted 05-30-2014 09:22 AM ET (US)         

As long as you have a chart plotter or a good chart and know how navigational markers work, there is really not a lot to avoid. Shallow water is the biggest concern but the bottom is generally sandy, so even if you hit bottom you probably won't do any damage beyond scuffing paint off of your skeg. Obviously, you need to keep an eye out for ships coming and going, but if you manage to hit one or get hit you probably deserve your fate since they move at about 5 knots in the harbor and are very easy to avoid.

You can ride out to Fort Sumter and see where the yankees started the War Between the States or enjoy the beach (and a lot of great scenery, wink, wink) on the back side of Morris Island. The ICW runs behind Isle of Palms and Sullivans Island and there are a few restaurants on the water on the back side of Isle of Palms.

There is a Coast Guard station in Charleston Harbor so you will see a lot their presence. As long as you aren't out acting a fool they generally just wave as they pass by in their rigid hull inflatables. The SC DNR sometimes show up and they are bigger jerks than the Coast Guard. They [must have been] picked on mercilessly in school. Even when they do the cursory life jacket, signaling device, fire extinguisher, etc inspection they seem to be in a perpetual bad mood, like they have sand in their underwear. Luckily, they aren't exactly abundant.

posted 06-02-2014 09:09 AM ET (US)            

Launch at Remley's Point go by the aircraft carrier Yorktown, each lunch on Shem Creek, go out by Fort Sumter.

Launch at Folly beach, go south and beach the boat at Kiawah Island or go north and beach the boat on the backside of Morris Island.

Launch at Station Creek below Beaufort, go out to Trenchard's Inlet and beach on the north side.

posted 06-12-2014 01:31 PM ET (US)            

We will be in Charleston for a couple of days 2 weeks from now. We are towing our 1996 Outrage 19 from MN throughout the SE for a 2 week RV/Boating vacation. Fort Sumpter is on our list and we are really looking forward to experiencing the area. Our prior stop will be Hilton Head for 3 days.

Cheers!

posted 06-19-2014 01:41 PM ET (US)            

From a S Carolina boy, dont go to Myrtle Beach unless you are there to golf. People from SC go to the beach at Edisto and Folly, and my personal favorite is Hunting Island State park in Beaufort. Try to hit it during shrimp season, you wont be sorry.

posted 06-20-2014 01:56 PM ET (US)            

I spent many days of my mis-spent youth rock climbing and kyacking in the area.

posted 06-23-2014 02:32 PM ET (US)            

Reds
RB's
Waters Edge
Vickery's
Shem Creek Bar and Grill

Having eaten at all of these, I would only drink beer and people watch at Red's (food is not good) and Shem Creek Bar and grill's food is horrible.

Recently, stand up paddle boarding and Kayak rentals have taken over Shem Creek. On any given weekend, you will have to navigate in tight quarters not only with other boats, shrimp boats, and commercial fishermen, but hoards of people who have never been on any boat before, attempting to learn to paddle board or kayak. IOW, I'd avoid Shem Creek by boat. I put in there this weekend and it was ridiculous.

For the rest of Charleston, I can only think of a handful of water accessible restaurants:

Charleston Crab house (Wappoo Cut)
Morgan Creek Grill (IOP/Wild Dunes)
California Dreaming (West Ashley)
The Boathouse at Breach Inlet (between Sullivans Island and IOP) used to be water accessible, but I don't know if it still is. It is a nicer place and I probably wouldn't go there had I been fishing or boating all day.

posted 06-23-2014 03:00 PM ET (US)         

My recent experience has been that pretty much all of the places on Shem Creek have mediocre at best food and generally poor food. The beer drinking and girl watching is the draw for me in Shem Creek.

You are correct about the paddle boards and kayaks, they are becoming a serious problem. Trying to pull up to a dock and maneuver around the other boats coming and going, the commercial boats and the paddle boards with teenagers from Ohio who are learning to negotiate their boards and falling in because they are scared of the boats approaching them makes for some tense moments.

posted 06-24-2014 10:26 AM ET (US)            

I haven't been to the Wreck since the early 1999 or 2000. Back then it was cash only (no credit cards at all), with cold boiled peanuts as an appetizer and beer was served in 8 oz. Solo cups. Plus, the only thing that wasn't fried on their menu was boiled shrimp. Add to that the high prices (for what you get), the broken plastic garden chairs to sit in, and the cracked/busted concrete floor, and I never had a reason to go back. And much like Hyman's Seafood downtown, many tourists seem to think that is where the locals go eat, so I stay away.

posted 06-24-2014 01:21 PM ET (US)            

- California Dreamin in front of Ripley Light Marina has docks that would accommodate Whalers (little water at low tide) (chain restaurant, good food)

- The Variety Store Restaurant at City Marina has docks that can be used to eat at the Variety Store. The best way to do this is simply tie your Whaler up to the dinghy dock while you eat. (long time classic restaurant, laid back, good food). There is also a very large convenience store directly behind the Variety Store. I just tied my boat up and walked there a few weekends ago to get some items I needed.

- Morgan Creek Grill at Isle of Palms marina is located about 25 feet from the Intracoastal Waterway and is easy to dock at any tide, also a ramp is located there (pay) (bar on third floor, restaurant first and second). Fancier than the two above but good food.

- The Boathouse located on Breach Inlet is on the water, and I have docked there many times and eaten in my Whaler. There is no official docking, but there is plenty of docking at the marina right in front of it, and no one cares. You just need the 4 digit code to get out, which they will tell you when you call. Great fish, good food, also more expensive than other two.
- Shem Creek has Water's Edge, Reds, R.B.s, Vickerys, and Shem Creek Bar and Grill. Of these, Vickery's (chain) has the most reliable food. It does not have official docking. Water's Edge has a good outside bar scene and decent appetizers. Red's I offer no comment on food, same with R.B.'s. Shem Creek Bar & Grill has great "macho nachos" and that's all I will comment on for food.

- The (Charleston) Crabhouse is located right near the Wappoo Drawbridge. No comment on food.

- Bowen's Island Restaurant is great off of Folly. I have docked there and eaten many times. However, navigating to it is not particularly easy at its off the beaten path.

- For general beauty and boating without huge crowds, my recommendation is to find some landing and promptly head on the inside of Morris Island back behind James Island and Folly. You are going to need someone to show you around as to where its ok to go and where its not ok to go, but once you have learned it, it is absolutely beautiful and never crowded. No one knows how to navigate back there and no one goes there. Morris Island Lighthouse stands out in the middle of the ocean now, and there are sandbars around it that are great to pull up to, particularly in a small Whaler. Was just there a few weeks ago.

- With all of that being said, my favorite place in the entire world, for "atmosphere" is Murrells Inlet, SC. (note: I have lived in Charleston for 20 years and boated in every single body of water around). My recommendation for the best boating / staying on the water experience in SC is to rent a condo at Marlin Quay Marina (note I started working there on the docks 22 years ago and ran boats out of there many summers) and a slip to put your boat in. You can run across to Murrells Inlet in literally 60 seconds in a Whaler and go eat at any number of restaurants on the water, with a big river walk. There is also an absolutely excellent beach at the point of Garden City to hang out on (was there this past weekend), and small jetties that mean one can be in the ocean in no time. There is a reef only three miles out, plenty of fishing around the jetties, in the creek, and in the ocean, and one can run the Grand Strand on a calm day to Little River Inlet at the NC / SC border in about an hour and a half.

posted 06-24-2014 03:25 PM ET (US)         

The Pinckney idea is a good one, but I think would take Bill Gates money to turn that into a nice hotel/restaurant. I agree about the relative lack of good boat accessible restaurants/bars in Charleston. I imagine the cost of construction and maintenance of dock space is a limiting factor.