South Carolina’s Low Country

Sunrise on Awendaw Creek

 

Brunelle heading north on the ICW

Father and son spending Easter morning fishing

     We pulled anchor to a very beautiful sunrise.  As we entered the ICW it was so peaceful and still.  That should have been a warning, but the beauty around us was captivating.  Once we passed the Georgetown area and onto the Waccamaw River, we were in Cypress and abandoned rice field country.  We had bypassed this area on our way down with the ocean passage.  This area is one of the prettiest if not the prettiest on the ICW.   Pete said that this area reminds him of boating on a lake. The cypress trees, with their flowing moss come in such varieties.   
The lighting, the color variations and the textures leave me wanting to just stop and try to capture them with my sketch pad and pencil. Even at 7 knots, we are moving too fast to take in all the subtleties.  Even though it is driving our allergies crazy, the air is sweet with something that is blooming.  We have not figured out just what it might be, but it would be nice to bottle the scent.   

     However, there is a dark side to all this beauty. .  .  .  They have wings and bite!  With all this swampland, the various species of flies are prolific.  We were inundated by horse/deer flies (which didn’t get a chance to bite) and a biting black fly on and off for hours. They came in clusters.  Andiamo was lucky with their screens. We were very busy with fly swatters.  We had to wash down the cockpit once we dock of all the dead flies we didn’t discard during our trip.  Pete had the worst encounters as I was able to hide down below for some of the trip prior to Georgetown to work on the blog pictures.

I couldn't make out the type of birds,
but they had multiple nests in the tree.

     After lunch, Brunelle developed engine problems and wound up sailing the remaining 2 1/2 hours of our day.  They eventually had to take a tow from Andiamo to the Marina; then Pete was able to do a hip-tow with the dinghy into the gas dock at Osprey Marina.

This old tree is completely hollow
yet there is growth on the top.

One of the many ospreys' nests we saw along
the water's banks

    The staff, here at Osprey Marina, was extremely helpful. The facilities are great, the service super, even on a holiday.  The marina stay is $1.00/ft. and the welcome package is equal to about 1/3 of our payment. They deserve the wonderful reviews they have received in Active Captain.

    Once secured, Dan spent about an hour replacing the fuel pump.  Thankfully, he had a spare. 

    We had the steaks, John made a wonderful rub using coffee as a base, and Pete cooked them on the grill. Betty and john had the potatoes, the green beans with bacon, and French bread. Martha added the Pound Cake to the strawberries Betty and I brought.    We had a wonderful impromptu Easter Dinner with “our cruising family”.    

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete    

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

South Carolina Flag

     Patience sometimes pays off.  Today turned out so much nicer than yesterday. It is clear in the mid 70s, with winds out of the east at 10-15 knots.

Fort Sumter

    The Marina van was waiting for us at 8:45 to drive us over to Liberty Point, where we were able to purchase the tickets for the ferry ride over to Fort Sumter.  The ride out was informative and so was the information session given by one of the park rangers. Fort Sumter was never completed in her 31 years of building.  Today, she is only a third of its original height. Her wooden barracks stood 3 stories tall, but burned during the attack.  The bricks that remain create an archeological sense of what the fort was like, but also creates an ominous tone of destruction during the Civil War. The fort was used during other wars as well as a navigational aid until it was created into a National Park.

 

Castle Pickney, another fort in Charleston Harbor

     While at the Fort, I was able to introduce myself to Mike, Lisa and their 3 teens of Sheet Music. I saw them drop anchor by the Fort. While coming up from Hilton Head, we had assisted with information between boats.

       Once back to the terminal, we called for the van so that we could return to the marina and prepare for our departure.  The original plan was to head out around 2, into the Atlantic heading towards Cape Fear, NC.  However, the winds continued to build beyond the forecasted 10-15.  We were experiencing 20-25 out of the east.  So plans were change to take the ICW instead and see how far we could go by dusk and find a good anchorage along the ICW. 

 Race Day in Charleston Harbor

 

   



    The other hiccup in the plans is that it is a holiday weekend. Tomorrow is Easter and with the nice weather everyone is out on the water.  There were racers in Charleston Harbor and anyone who had a boat or a fishing pole was at or on the ICW. Most were considerate, but there were quite a few who forgot their manners.

Brunelle north of Palm Island and clear of all the traffic!

   Around 6:45, we were able to anchor in a very quiet spot in the Awendaw Creek, which is behind the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.  As we headed up the creek, we were escorted by a couple of dolphins.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete

Charleston in the Rain

    Our plans were not firm so we had a staff meeting on Brunelle around 9:30 this morning. The weather will be factor for today and possibly for our departure tomorrow.  We will have to check the sites later today for updates so we will know better as to tomorrow’s plans.

     John, Betty, Pete and I caught the 10 AM shuttle. Dan and Martha will catch the 11 and meet up with us.  We decided to check out the Charleston Market Place.  Since Pete had a conference call at 11, we left him at the Customs House and wandered down East Bay Street.  In the kitchen store, John asked for a recommendation for lunch.  She suggested the Fleet Reserve, which we had already sampled last trip, so she said her favorite was Slightly North of Broad (SNOB), but you need reservations.  Since it was only 3 doors down, we stopped in and were able to get reservations for 11:45.

    Since we had some time to kill, we continued our walk south.  Dan and Martha spotted us from the shuttle and joined us.  Shortly after, the rains came. I went to get Pete while Martha did manage to spend time in the kitchen store, while we waited for our reservation.    

   We had a wonderful lunch at Slightly North Of Broad.  I can understand how they have won so many awards. The food, presentation, service and ambiance, were impressive and price were reasonable.

     We held a staff meeting and based on the current radar, decided to forgo today’s excursion to Fort Sumter. If we head out tomorrow to Bald Head Island, we will leave later tomorrow afternoon.  We will still be able to make the morning excursion.  Hopefully, tomorrow’s forecast will be better that today’s

   We still had time to walk up to Harris Teeter’s for provisioning.  I know, it seems that is all we do, but honestly, we need fruits, veggies, bread, juice and other perishables.  I had my list and we were done in 20 minutes.  We actually waited for the marina shuttle.

    We no sooner unpacked the items when the heavens open up again.  Yep, we made the right decision not to head out to Fort Sumter this afternoon. The shrimp were defrosted, cooked, and peeled, the fruit cleaned and sliced, the dilly beans and the brochette made and the drinks chilled. Another feast was had aboard Andiamo.  After dinner we walked to the end of the dock to check out the large wooden sail boat that was recently confiscated by the federal marshals.  As we reached the end of the dock we heard screeching of tires and the crunch of metal.  Pete and Dan actually saw the car as it took the turn improperly and flipped over on the road that runs along the shore.  Thankfully, no one was hurt.  We also had a chance to talk to our neighbors on Catspaw, from Wickford, RI and on Faux Castle of Block Island, RI.  On the opposite end of the dock we had a chance to speak to one of the officers from the Coastal Cruise Ship American Independence. Before we headed back to the boats, Martha was able to herald the setting sun. We think the practices are helping.

     It might have been a rainy day that caused a change of plans. but it is the first time in 6 months that we had to do an immediate change of plans to do weather.  Kudos to our Cruise Dictator and all of us for doing our homework and planning that we were prepared. We were in a good place to handle inclement weather and if we can’t do everything we wish this time though, perhaps there will be a next time. We have been so very fortunate to have seen and done as much as we have over the past six months, I won’t complain.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete  

Heading to Charleston

     I was able to take a few early morning photos before we departed.  While I was shooting, a dolphin came up right next to the boat and me and puffed. Needless to say he startled me and I jumped.  He was gone before I could take a picture of him.

While waiting for our fleet, I watched
the pelicans waiting, then join the fishermen
 as they checked their catch.

    Even though we had traveled through this area of the ICW before, I am still captivated by the beauty, serenity, and subtly of these ever changing vistas.  One thing I notice between yesterday and today is the number of dolphins we have seen.  Perhaps because it is spring rather than fall, over the last two day I have probably seen about 100 dolphins. . .and each one just as special as the first.

Brunelle through one of the cuts

Home in Elliott Cut

North side of Elliott Cut with alll the whirls and eddies
due to the current.  At just above idle we were doing 7.3 knots!

Some boats are timeless.
This Trumphy is one of them.

    
      We were able to tie up to the Mega Dock at Charleston City Marina by 4 PM.  This place is so large, they will come and pick us up with a golf cart to take us to the marina office to do laundry, get ice, etc., or to take us out to the parking lot to get the shuttle into town.  I took advantage to laundry.  Unfortunately, the marina laundry was full, so they took me up to the restaurant, which had additional machines.  It was great.  I waited in the bar and had a complementary ice tea in a comfortable booth overlooking the marina and I read a book while waiting for the laundry.  I was almost done when Pete called.  We were just about to get a bad thunderstorm. I wound up sitting the storm out in the restaurant; then called for a ride once it had passed. I was able to make it back before the next storm came.

   Hopefully, these storms will be gone tomorrow so we can explore some more of Charlestown, especially Fort Sumter.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Mosquito Creek Revisited

Andiamo and Brunelle departing Harbor Town Marina.

Players already doing practice rounds
on the 18th hole as we left.

   We were first to leave the marina prior to our planned 8 AM departure as Pete had a conference call.  Thankfully, the tide was still rising so we had no problems leaving.  In fact we were able to ride the incoming tide for quite a while, which made our speed over ground at times up to 8 knots.

    Our two day destination is Charleston.  We discussed our stop last evening.  On our way down we bypassed Beauford, a pretty historic town.  It was one of the places we wanted to stop at on our return home.  However, if we stopped today, tomorrow’s travel would be very long.  Instead, we opted to stop again at B & B Seafood on Mosquito Creek as it is more of a halfway point. So, on to Mosquito Creek we went. We once again passed green channel marker 177, which sits high and dry during low tide on the Ashepoo Coosaw Cutoff and Rock Creek intersection.

Granted, we are here at low/low,
 but the channel marker is 30 feet from the water on a turn!

    We were able to tie up to the B & B dock.  Richard, one of the owners, came in special to collect our fees and open up to sell us the last 5 pound of frozen shrimp.  Due to the very cold winter, they have not been shrimping. It will not be a good year for shrimp in this area.

     Once settled, we needed to get the screens up.  Mosquito Creek was once again living up to its name.  All sorts of bugs were out in force.

     John and Betty hosted a wonderful dinner again. We will use the shrimp another night.  For the time being they will reside in our freezer.  We will dream of the wonderful things John might create with them.    

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Explorations and Another Ocean Sail - Fernadina to Hilton Head

     Pete had work, so the rest of us headed in to explore the revitalized town of Fernandina. It is a charming town, with a main street full of shops which offer a variety of things; unique items from souvenirs to jewelry, baby and children’s’ items to women’s fashion, galleries and hair salon, coffee shops and bakery, taverns and restaurants, home decor and antiques; all of this in a very pretty setting. We gals managed to see most of the stores.  I found a really nice simple black dress on a clearance rack. It fit perfectly and at a great price.

     We came back to the marina at noon so that Pete could join us at the restaurant at the marina for lunch. 

    After lunch, Pete and I walked back through town to the post office. Then we came back and readied the boat for tonight’s ocean voyage.  We were ready when our departure time came at 5 PM.

     As we were pulling away from the marina, there were 3 brand new Catalina’s pulled up to the fueling dock, a 335, a 375 and the 445.  We could not leave without motoring close by and exchanging a few words with the crews.  Of course there was a suggestion to upgrade to the 445 by the crew. . . Hummmmmmm.  Well enough of the commercial, now it’s back to the trip.

     We headed out past Fort Clinch, then out past the extremely long, rocky jetties.  These jetties must extend about 2 miles in a effort to keep the inlet passable.  Once clear of the MOA buoy, we set out heading for the Savannah, raised our sails, and cut back our engine.  We wanted to keep our speed over ground at about 6.5 knots to insure that we did not get to Hilton Head any sooner than 8:30 AM.  We have our marina reservations for tomorrow, but they do not know if they will be able to accommodate us that early.  We will just have to see.

Sunset over Georgia

    The only excitement that I encountered was when I was at the helm was when we needed to alter our course early in our travels.  There was a cargo ship bound for Brunswick, GA that would cross our track.  Martha spoke with him and we altered our course.  As we were approaching the MOA for Brunswick, the ship was traveling at less than 3 knots, while slowly crossing our path ahead by ½ mile.  At night he looked much closer.   We were able to cross behind him while he waited for the harbor pilot.  Pete had a cool, damp, but otherwise uneventful watch.  

   Coming up the Savannah River, we turned into Calibogue Sound. Dan was able to call Harbor Town Marina and they could take us.  The current was running with us.  We once again were able to hit 9 knots.  Around the same time we saw a tree float by.  Those storms that came though on Saturday probably will have deposited a lot of things in the water.  We will have to extra watchful.   

Our Greeting Party

Harbor Town Marina Light House

Harbor Town 18th Green
Stands and Leader Board!

TV vans !!!

    On our way into the marina, we could see the 18 hole of the golf course.  The leader board was lit and there were tents set up further down the fairway. . .very interesting. By 9 AM we were tied up and plugged in to our docks.   The dockhand informed us that this week is the PGA Heritage Tournament . . .very interesting.  We are allowed to walk over to the 18th hole and watch the players, but warned not to venture any further without a pass; very, very, very interesting.  Pete went right down to the computer to find out who was playing and start work so that he could go check it out ASAP.

     By 3 PM, most of the boats on the outer ring of the marina we sitting in the mud.  We are in a moon and spring tide, so when the tide went out, it really went out!  In this area there is usually a 6-7 foot tide.  Today, it was probably more like 8 foot.  We spoke to some people who live here.  They cannot dredge unless “they ship it about 500 miles away.” They are losing a lot of revenue with the number of slips that cannot be used. Our boats were among the many boats that were sitting in the mud as the tide went out. 

     Well, “ASAP” wound up being 3 pm, but we did see a number of groups on the 18th hole.  The sun was not at the best angle to be able to identify the players.  There are also 140 players starting the tournament, so Pete is not familiar with all the players only the top ones. We also were able to get over to the Pro shop and see a lot of others on the putting green.  Pete was also able to get a tournament shirt. We also found out that the tournament was moved over the past few years and this year returned to its regular usual time slot (3^rd weekend in April).  This change caught a lot of yearly ticket buyers off guard.  They booked their reservations for last week and never checked the dates of their tickets.  It affected the marina and probably the hotels and time shares.

    We walked the shops here at the marina and then met up with everyone for dinner at the Grey Goose.  We despite the fact that everyone was tired, we all had a great time at dinner.  We headed back to the boats with little expectations of staying conscious for very long.  

  

   What a wonderful and unexpected pleasure Hilton Head has been; the complementary bottle of wine with our check in, the tournament, the shops, the scenery, the music and of course the ongoing friendship.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete