Tag: Beaufort SC

Geo-Rida

We were on our way to Southport, NC to see our friends Jim & Wende. We had to slow down to no wake speed to keep from swamping this fella who was motoring a small work barge down the ICW.

Cooler Seat Captain

We arrived at St. James Plantation Marina just before sundown. The homes along the harbor are beautiful.

St. James Plantation Marina

The Big 😀

Jim and Wende let us use their truck to reprovision which was perfect as it was the day before Thanksgiving and we needed TURKEY!

Later that night Jim & Wende took us to dinner at a Joseph’s Italian Bistro @ Safe Harbor Marina. We had dinner with some good local IPAs & lots of laughs. I wish we had taken a photo but I think we were just having too much fun. Jim and Wende told us all about their trip back from Buzzards Bay, MA to Southport, NC in their new Pursuit OS 355. The weather was a bit ruff off the RI coast but they made great time with stops in places like Atlantic City.

Capt Jim & Wende

In the AM we were off and Capt T was at the helm.

Capt T @Helm

We passed a boat dock that was more boat than dock. Capt T thought she recognized a casino boat as we passed and sure enough the “Big M” hailed from Fort Myers, FL.

As we made our way into the Waccamaw River preserve we had to get through the Socastee swing bridge but we were staring straight into the sun. The best we could do was go slow and use the radar to see in front of the boat.

Camera may see the swing bridge on the right but we only saw a bright spot looking out the pilothouse

We anchored in what I call the Waccamaw River (ie. swamp) and it’s beautiful. We had a great night on anchor as the high trees provide protection from everything but the cold.

It was COLD.

Cape Coral, FL
Conway, SC
Foxboro, Ma
Warwick, RI
Here in Conway, SC it’s the same freezing temp as back home in Foxboro, MA

We weighed anchor at first light and the swamp was steaming due to early morning low temps.

Waccamaw River pre-dawn

We had to slow to no wake so as to not disturb this Nordhavn anchored right off the main ICW route.

Peaceful Anchorage

The next swing bridge is actually a floating swing bridge. Very cool. It simply uses drop-able drive-on ramps and a huge tilt-able bow thruster.

We arrived in Charleston, SC and the marina we requested a slip from had us “wait-listed”. We anchored for the night next to the USS Yorktown.

The sun was setting on Charleston.

Sunrise in the AM and we were off… bound for Beaufort, SC

Sunrise in Charleston, SC

We anchored in Beaufort with hopes of getting off the waitlist for the marina. In the AM we called and they found a spot for us on the outer face dock.

Docked at Safe Harbor Beaufort, SC

Beaufort is a fun town and we wasted no time getting ashore at Plums Restaurant for some lunch.

Plums in Beaufort, SC

We napped after lunch and made a second run on the town before we would leave in the AM. Beaufort has a great outside park area right in front of the marina.

Beaufort Park
Swings along the Water

In the morning we were off to Savannah, GA. Last time I docked right in downtown around River Street but felt it a bit seedy at night. We decided to stay at Thunderbolt Marina and Uber’d into town for a Savannah pub crawl.

Are impromptu pub crawl consisted of the following venues:

  • Spanky’s
  • Boar’s Head Grill
  • The Cotton Exchange
  • Huey’s
  • The Warehouse Bar

We ended the night singing Journey.

Up early to a Whiskey Sunrise & potato pancakes and off to Fernandina Beach, FL

This post consists of 5 legs of our journey

Leg 15 – Waccamaw River, SC to Charleston, SC
Leg 16 – Charleston, SC to Beaufort, SC
Leg 17 – Beaufort, SC to Thunderbolt Marina, GA
Leg 18 – Thunderbolt Marina to St. Catherine’s Island, GA
Leg 19 – St. Catherine’s Island, GA to Ferdandina Beach, FL

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with family!!!

Beaufort South

We started the day with a Mexican breakfast on the griddle.

warm tortillas

Then it was onto the Dawhoo River which has some depth issues.

North Creek near Dawhoo River

We would occasionally have to move over and let a tug pushing a barge past.

  • Approaching Tug/Barge
  • Dangerous Cargo
  • Gun Trader or Sun Trader

This home sadly lost it’s live oak to a bit of wind it would seem.

Such good looking trees if there is such a thing?

Soon we passed under the ladies Island Swing bridge, hailed Beaufort Downtown Marina on the VHF radio. They responded back “Safe Harbor Beaufort”. Safe Harbor is the same marina corporation that purchased my marina in RI. Heck, Safe Harbor seems to be buying dozens of east coast marinas.

Safe Harbor taking over the world of marinas

The Safe Harbor Beaufort marina has a strong tide that is not quite parallel to the face dock. This means as you pull up to the dock, the current is either pushing you onto or away from the dock. I took an approach that kept the current aligned to my keel and soon we were tied up and plugged in.

MV Simple Life on the back side of the face dock

We snapped a few quick photos of a sun low in the sky.

Sun on Safe Harbor Beaufort docks
Sun over Ladies Island Swing Bridge

The large 100+ foot yacht next to us lit up as night arrived.

Large Yacht Lit

Not to be outdone, MV Simple Life lit our lights 😉

MV Simple Life Lit

When you walk off the docks there is a beautiful waterfront park.

Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in Beaufort, SC

Walking along Bay street in front of the marina you’ll find many restaurants and shops.

  • Bay Street
  • Panini’s – Live Music
  • Southern Sweets Ice Cream Shop
Downtown Beaufort, SC

We decided to stay two nights in Beaufort so we could hit some of the local restaurants and pubs.

  • Wood Fired Pizza Guy
  • Menu Front
  • Menu Back
  • Telephone booth leads to the next room
Bull Tavern in Beaufort SC

We wanted live music and that can always be dangerous. I’ve had the mic turned off while singing karaoke and lets just say it does not get any better with IPAs.