On Saturday, 11-14-15,
we woke up to a chilly morning, with condensation dripping from the ports.
Fortunately for us, this was the ONLY day of the trip that was cold enough for
the “interior rain” phenomenon. This is in distinct contrast to last year, when
this problem went on for weeks in all of the cruising boats.
 |
Leaving the Calabash River, NC, in the morning
|
We left the Calabash River anchorage and again entered South
Carolina. We passed uneventfully through “The Rock Pile”, a narrow, 2.3 mile
cut, which can be dangerous. The passage was blasted through rock, and there is
still rock on the sides of the channel. So everything is fine (as long as you
pay close attention and stay in the channel!), unless you have to move over for
a large ship to pass. The procedure is to announce your intended passage over
the radio on 2 channels before entering, so that anyone coming the other way
can either finish or wait. Oh, good communication, so vital to all healthy
relationships!
We passed a lot of fancy homes up on hills, and a lot of
more modest homes that are closer to the level of the water. Unfortunately,
these lower properties suffered a lot of damage this fall after Hurricane
Joachin and the resulting flooding. They are still feeling the effects. Many,
many docks were damaged, and some yards are partially submerged. Some houses
have large pipes pumping water out, back to the waterway. Even the power boats
tried to go very slowly through this stretch to minimize any further damage.
 |
Boat wake between the docks and us
|
 |
Damaged docks
|
 |
Bottom of bridge is 63 feet from the water.
It should be 65, this
means there is 2 ft of flooding.
|
 |
Ice-tea colored water, that’s just the way it is here in SC
|
 |
Power boats trying to minimize their wake
|
 |
One of many flooded properties
|
We stopped in lovely little Osprey Marina for fuel and
water, and jelly. The jelly is handmade by someone from MA who stays at the
marina. Last spring we stopped there for fuel and we just happened to be out of
jelly and jam, so we bought some to try. We loved
it, so we came back for more!
 |
Osprey Marina, a gem with jelly
|
Our afternoon was quiet and peaceful. We saw very few other
boats, as we passed scenic abandoned rice fields. We anchored in Schooner
Creek, warm, pleasant and beautiful.
 |
Schooner Creek Anchorage
|
Sunday 11/15/15,
another chilly morning. Back to jackets, hats, and gloves. The waterway is wide
here, and not as picturesque. Power boats pass far away from us here, but still
not far enough or slow enough to keep from rocking us. We saw one lone sailboat
heading north. We always wonder what their story is – just going for fuel, or
heading up to some marina for the winter, or something else?
 |
7 AM, along the waterway
|
 |
Commercial fishing boat
|
Today is Sunday. I no longer have the 5-on 2-off weekly
calendar in my head, I no longer have the sense of what day it is, and I no
longer mind “working” on the “weekends.” Each day is just a fresh day to fill
with adventures, grand or small. If we are tired, or the weather is too windy
or rainy, we do less. If it’s nice and sunny, we do as much as possible,
whether that is exploring a town, or making mileage southward.
 |
Pontoon Swing Bridge at Esther Minim Creek
|
We saw lots of cars at the local boat ramp near the pontoon
swing bridge, boats going fishing on Esther Minim Creek. A quiet, uneventful
day for us, with beautiful, clear weather.
 |
Local kids fishing off of a pole-propelled boat.
|
At 4 PM, we anchored in Whiteside Creek, STM 451.5, while we
watched dolphins stirring up fish for dinner.
 |
Whiteside Creek Anchorage, STM 451.5
|
 |
Whiteside Creek Anchorage, STM 451.5
|
Monday 11/16/15.
We were up and on our way at 7:20 AM, leaving our beautiful cove on a clear
morning. In contrast to the peacefulness of our life and the security of our steady daily march south, we were reading about the horrible attacks in Paris and the
counter attacks on ISIS headquarters.
 |
Leaving Whiteside Creek anchorage in SC, in the early
morning
|
We saw dolphins in the ICW, at the mouth of Whiteside Creek.
Always a delight, and most of us can’t help but interpret this as a good sign.
At 9 AM, we went through the Ben Sawyer Bridge, their first opening of the day.
 |
Calm water, just before the Ben Sawyer Swing Bridge
|
 |
Ben Sawyer Bridge
|
 |
Charleston SC Harbor, with the anchorage at the left
and the
Charleston City Marina to the right.
|
 |
In the Wappoo Creek Anchorage
|
 |
Wappoo Creek anchorage – that tiny strip of land
extending
from the left protects us from ICW wakes
|
We passed through Charleston, SC, and the Wappoo Creek Bridge,
to anchor in the snug Wappoo Creek Anchorage, STM 471.0, at 10:52 AM, just off
the ICW and surrounded by beautiful homes. We chose Wappoo Creek because we had
finally easy access to a lab. We motored the dinghy against the current, over
to the Charleston Crab House, where the manager graciously allowed us to leave
it at the dock. We brought the bikes to shore and rode to locate the lab, stopped
in a real estate office for info (they always have local maps), found a CVS pharmacy
and a brand new Harris Teeter grocery store, and then rode over two bridges to
do a quick, quick circle around Charleston before dark. We didn’t really ride over the
bridges, we walked the bikes on the “safety curb” which is about 18” wide. Very
uncomfortable, but we were not going to ride in the traffic lane on this fast
road! In Charleston, we saw the marina (with a very shallow/muddy area near
shore), the “lake”, some historic houses, a highly recommended sandwich shop
(Burbage’s), and a “less affluent” area, not far from some pricey
houses that were newly or partially renovated and offered for sale. A lady
asked Chuck if she could ride his bike, but he declined.
 |
Burbage’s
|
 |
| Charleston Crab House |
 |
Chuck had the crab cakes with Charleston red rice, lima
beans and corn salad.
I had seared tuna with cucumber slaw, creamy grits and
collard greens.
|
Tuesday, 11/17/2015.
We chose the Wappoo Creek anchorage because I had been trying for almost 500
ICW miles to find a lab for a blood test. This place had a lab, covered by our
insurance, and within comfortable bicycling distance. Oh, and it’s a fasting
test, so I had to do it first thing in the morning. So this morning we got up
early and headed out. While I went to the lab, Chuck went off in search
of propane and returned with a filled cylinder, yay! Then we both went over to
the brand new (now 3 days old) Harris Teeter to get breakfast from the
breakfast bar, and coffee from the Starbucks inside the store. We picked up a
few more needed groceries as well.
By 11:30 AM, our very productive morning outside of
Charleston was complete, and we were on our way again. We saw a familiar boat, s/v
Full Moon, come into our anchorage, but he decided not to stay. We went through
Elliot’s Cut, a very narrow channel with gorgeous homes, into the Stono River.
To our left was a capsized sailboat, near the Stono Bridge. We saw another
sailboat being boarded by local law enforcement, and we observed a lot of
damage to small boat house roofs as well as more docks, from the recent
Hurricane Joachin. We passed winding open areas with yellow grass, and green
trees in the background. At 2:05 we observed very dark clouds ahead.
Fortunately they were not followed by bad weather for us. Not this time.
 |
Another damaged dock
|
 |
Dark clouds ahead
|
At 3:22 PM, we were securely anchorage in Tom Point
Anchorage. On our way to our spot, we again encountered s/v Full Moon, a Cal
29. We had met her owner, Neal, at the Deep Creek Lock breakfast. We gave him a
shout and invited him to come over for dinner. What an interesting person! He
is sailing alone, and has been traveling in his small boat since 2004. He is from Vancouver,
British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada. He got to the east coast of the
US the long way – around the world!
 |
Tom Point Creek Anchorage, STM 495.5
|
 |
Neal Groff, s/v Full Moon, from Vancouver, Canada
|
No comments:
Post a Comment