Charleston Harbor: Wappoo Cut to Folly Beach
According to a recent survey, Wapoo Cut is the second busiest boat landing in Charleston County. On weekends, especially during the summer, it is best left to the trailerboaters and avoided by kayakers.
However, on a recent June 3rd morning, Helon and I found it at 50% capacity when we launched around 8:30. Both kayaks were atop Helon's SUV and my pickup was pre-positioned at Folly Beach Landing, our take-out.
We've paddled from Wappoo and Folly several times but we had never made this one way trek. The high tide was about to turn when we launched so we rode the falling tide through Charleston Harbor. Because it was a weekday, we cut directly across the harbor while keeping a sharp eye for powerboaters. On a weekend, we would have skirted inside the channel between the green buoys and James Island.
Some photos from trips out of Wappoo.
Usually when I arrive at Ft. Sumter, the tide is low and I have to paddle between Sumter and Ft. Moultrie. Today, however, we found a shallow channel around the sand bar and paddled the inside passage. Unfortunately, we hit the strongest of the ebb tide behind Morris and our forward speed slowed.
If you haven't or in my case have paddled the maize behind Morris Island, you can get lost easily. Today, we followed Helon's intuition and made the direct route. There's a small sandy beach on Lighthouse Creek where one turns towards Folly River. According to my topo, the beach is on Rat Island and the waterway off Lighthouse Creek is unnamed.
After lunch we paddled the back side of Folly Beach. This route can be tricky if you aren't familiar with it. Helon and I have paddled it many times but for the uninitiated, I suggest getting a copy of Kayak Charleston by Ralph Earhart. Click here to purchase a copy of this must-have guide to over 100 paddle trips within an hour or so of Charleston.
We landed at Folly Beach boat landing 5.5 hours and 17.2 miles after our launch at Wappoo Cut.
