New Words
Monday 26th April 2021
The 2022 version of the Oxford English Dictionary will have a new verb “Myrtle” … Mur.Tull. > To render ugly and distasteful what was previously attractive … “The barber cut my hair today but he completely myrtled it and now it looks terrible”. This new word is based on Myrtle Beach, or at least the Intra Coastal Waterway section of Myrtle Beach, which has to be one of the least attractive sections of this amazing 1200-mile passageway. In most places waterside property would be considered desirable, but in my mind not by the ICW in Myrtle Beach. It’s not that the properties built along its banks are old or falling apart, in fact quite the opposite, they are brand spanking new, probably cost a fortune and to me are just plain fugly.
Whilst I’m on a rant let me introduce “Bridgehole”, another new word for consideration. This is a euphemism for a “screaming flaming incredible asshole”, such as a powerboat Captain who comes up close behind you, ignores your radio call to discuss how to pass safely and then overtakes you in super-shallow water (our depth gauge showed 8 feet) as you are lining up to pass through a swing bridge. That particular vessel didn’t even have a name painted on it so hailing “Bridgehole” on channel 16 might have been appropriate.
Despite my unseemly tirade we did actually have a good day. We carefully planned our route to arrive at Calabash Creek on a rising tide, a couple of hours past low, because the entrance is reported to have a 5 foot sand bar. When we came to pull up anchor at 11.30am we noticed a tiny problem. During the course of the night and reversing current our anchor trip line buoy got tangled up with our dinghy tow line so effectively we ended up stern anchored via the trip line! Just as well it didn’t blow hard last night. Thankfully it wasn’t too hard to untangle. Anyway, we made good progress along our route, managing to get through three bridge openings and the infamous “Rock Pile” without incident and then realized we were going to be a little early to Calabash Creek. So we travelled the last 3 miles with the engine at idle speed to allow more time for the tide to fill in. As it turns out, with + 2 feet of tide, we never saw less than 9 feet depth at the mouth of the creek. I suspect that the creek has probably been dredged since the review was written. Now we are safely anchored and looking forward to a quiet night and an early start.
Mike
33 52.348 N, 78 34.202 W
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