Georgetown to Isle of Palms, SC

Today:       55 miles        8.9 hours          ICW St M “456.8”

Total:      633 miles    103.5 hours

I was impressed when we saw this last night.
  It was nothing compared to what we found
 next to PEKABU this morning!

     Pete was already awake when the alarm went off at 5:30. The dog walked, the lights and electronics on, electricity off and disconnected, and just waiting for Pete and Bailey to return from the walk.  That’s when I had to clear the mat of floating plants and reeds between the boat and the dock.  There was a good 20- foot mat.  Unfortunately, the reeds formed a solid mess, that took quite a lot of time and energy to clear.  We even had to push the boat away from the dock so that the mat could float away from the boat. Thankfully, Mark came over to help us clear the mat and then cast off. Pete was able to use the 6.8 knot current and the steerage to maneuver the boat past the end of the dock and then head down river.  We were away by 6:30, just about 20 minutes later than we planned. We had a fleet of boats behind us.  Most of them were heading to the ocean rather than the ICW.

          Once off Wynnah Bay, we were still against the current.  We saw only 2 boats heading south on the ICW all day.  I guess it was the skinny water from above McClellenville all the way down to Charleston.  Florence definitely modified/silted in many areas that were passable last spring even at low tide.  Now, low tied might be a challenge.  Once again Navionics Solar Charts made knowing where the skinny areas were and finding the deeper water easier. Pete said it was a more intense ride, requiring a lot of attention to everything.  While passing a shallow area, we were narrowly missed the Corps of Engineers’ boat, which was surveying the area. We still don’t know why he didn’t change course.  He’s smaller, less draft, and more powerful than we are, plus as a licensed captain, he should have know better.

      Today’s wild life includes a pod of dolphins and 3 eagles.  At one point, Pete commented on the racket coming from a bunch of birds.  That when I saw an eagle in their mist.  They landed in the trees, while he tried fishing, but was unsuccessful.  He then joined them in the trees and the racket continued.

     Shortly after, Pete asked me to check radar. The clouds forward looked suspicious.  No sooner did I bring up the radar and see nothing, when the heavens opened up!  It took another 10 minutes to see the rain we were experiencing on radar.

     We were placed on the face dock at Isle of Palms Marina.  It is a great point to stop, but there is a lot of traffic.  Lots of smaller fishing boats as well as a ferry are constantly coming in or out of the harbor. The waves are usually small.  Just enough rocking to encourage sleep.  Not exactly what I need when I am cooking dinner or catching up the blog, and I suspect it will not occur once it is really sleep time.

     Well, Pete crashed and burned tonight, so I will take Bailey for her final walk.  I have the blog written.  Hopefully, since tomorrow will be a short day, I will be able to process the photos and post everything.  Just checked radar.  I have to go now, before the rains some!  (I made it back with about 5 minutes to spare!)

    It is time to wake Pete from his beauty rest on the sofa so he can go to bed!

 ~  ~  ~  /) ~ ~ K & P