South Carolina for the winter

Looking for Marina recommendations to winter in SC hopefully in a protected area in case of storms. We have a Holland 38 LOA 40 and daughter lives in Charleston but we would like to be any where in SC.

Osprey Marina in the southern part of Myrtle Beach was always an inexpensive, desired storm hole, but recently raised prices I have heard.

In the norther part..... "Offering simply the best in boating amenities, Myrtle Beach Yacht Club is situated in the picturesque and well protected waters of Coquina Harbor in Little River, South Carolina." Plus there are several other marinas in Coquina Harbor which is on the intracoastal just south of Little River inlet. Spent a Summer there, great place and convenient ...except way down to Charleston. Weathered Hurricane Dorian there without issue, good Hurricane Hole.

Last place I stayed out of the 3 was St Johns Harbor on the Stono River just south of Charleston. Not near a lot but very close to Charleston. Nice liveaboards there in the past. Not as good for storms but not real bad, though winter nor'westers kick the river up pretty good if out near the end of the docks.

We've also stayed at MBYC (Little River), Osprey (Socastee), St. Johns... as well as McClellanvile, Ashley in Charleston, Port Royal Landing (I think before SH ownership), Beaufort Town Docks (before SH ownership), and at the Harborwalk in Georgetown. We spent last winter at Safe Harbor Charleston City.

I'm not so aware of the surrounding areas, aside from downtown Charleston and Georgetown... but the marinas all have pros/cons. For instance, Osprey has been very inexpensive and is very well-protected... but also relatively isolated, so ground transportation can be a thing. St. Johns is indeed a bit exposed; ditto Port Royal Landing. And we survived last January's storm at SHCC -- because we were on the opposite side of the dock from S winds, "inside" the original Megadock" -- but many boats on the outside got beat up, trashed, a couple actually sunk... Et cetera.

Charleston is of course the most "social" of those. Easy access to a nice town with lots of stuff to do/see. Very well run marina. OTOH, if your SHCC slip assignment is way out toward an end of the original Megadock or the new Megadock... just getting off the marina grounds can be a tromp. (Or we could call for a golf cart...) I think if we were to try SHCC again, we'd maybe only do it if we could get one of the inside non-Megadock slips... which have in the past mostly been for all local boats. Or maybe we'd try again for an inside protected slip at Ashley, just next door.

Beaufort was pleasant. Only happen to have stayed there once, though. Nice town, docks not great, at the time. Might have been other options in the area.

We do like our visit to Georgetown. Nice downtown. There are other marinas there, of course, but Harborwalk is so convenient to the downtown area that it's been our go-to for when we've passed through there over the last several years.

-Chris

Check tax implications for SC.

Last I checked (2021) it was 181 days in coastal counties (not necessarily continuous) before they look for registration and taxes.

Best to check with county tax office for where you plan to stay....but I think they are all similar. Get away from the coastal snowbird counties and the time drops.

Safe Harbor Bristol Marina is the next marina on the Ashley River past the Ashley Marina and the Highway 17 Bascule Bridges. The bridges’ clearance is 14 feet and they do not regularly open for marina tenants but clearance will be around 20 feet at low tide.

Well run. Very few transients. No sailboats.

No one has mentioned Charleston Harbor & Resort Marina in Mt. Pleasant at Patriots Point. IT looks exposed to any wind with the word "south" in it (namely a 3 mile fetch across the harbor), but it has a large breakwater around it and a secodnary one in front of the main breakwater opening that seems to work well. I have not stayed there, but I visited a friend over a Thanksgiving holiday who had a 46' sailboat there. The wind was howling--pretty steady at 30--but it was impressively calm in the marina. Perhaps someone who has stayed there can jump in. There is a periodic daily water taxi from the marina and the nextdoor (has a walkway) Yorktown museum complex to Charleston itself. Don't know about expenses or amenities, but adequate shopping is less than two miles away. Or via going into Charleston on the water taxi.

Taxes: someone said watch out for the boat tax and another said 181 days before authorities look. Allow me to add "amen," and be careful about the 181 days. I have kept and keep a boat in VA, but every year Charleston or Berkely County come a-calling. They must get the USCG documentation list. I fend them off with a copy of my slip lease agreement from VA, but technically SC law says to aovid SC personal property (boat) tax, the boat must be kept out of state for a preponderance of the year. Absent a slip agreement from some place else, I would not want to get into that fight. Look and ask before you leap. I've seen grown men cry over far less than the boat tax, which is annual by the way. Too bad, because Charleston and other SC locales are wonderful places to winter over.

Just carry out due diligence.

We just finished a month at Shelter Cove Marina in Hilton Head SC. Wonderful marina well protected pricey

Check out Bohicket Marina. About 20 road miles from Charleston. Right where Kiawah Island and Seabrook island meet. There are restaurants and a Publix at Fresh Fields, which is within walking distance. Also a nice Mariott. Stayed there about a year, and loved it.
Could be difficult to get an Uber into Charleston. Bohicket creek drains a long way inland, out to the Edisto river, and the tide is fierce. Really. So plan to enter and leave the marina strictly at slack tide. Even docking on a T or the fuel dock can be dicey. There is no room for any timing miscalculation. Saw several folks get tangled up.