On the Edge of Georgia

We opt’d for a late 11AM departure from Beaufort, SC. When we went to leave the current was pushing us so hard against the dock that our bow & stern thrusters were not able to move us away from the dock. A fellow boater on SV Bay Dreaming came over and held our spring line so I could motor the stern off the dock and then back into the current. Amazing how strong the current can be in this area with 7-8′ tides.

Soon we were at the Southern tip of Paris Island.

Our friends Ann & Todd’s son Conner is there going through boot camp as we pass. We are reminded by the sounds of freedom (Jets screaming overhead).

My brother just let me know that yesterday a guy caught a 17′, 3500lb. great white shark off Hilton Head Island.

17′ 3,500 lb Great White Shark Caught off Hilton Head Island on 12/4/18

Today’s trip was short and we only passed a few sights pictured below

Soon we were dropping anchor in the 20 kts winds and it surprised me when after lining up bow into the wind we quickly spun around in the strong current with our stern facing the wind.

The sunset’s here in the lowlands of South Carolina are amazing.

Today’s short leg looked something like this..

Charleston SC Thunderstorms

We weighed anchor at first light in the Waccamaw River and it was foggy.

Waccamaw River Fog
Looking down the ICW
Closing in on us

I felt bad that we had to put on our automatic fog horn so early in the morning as there were other boats sleeping on anchor (or at least they were sleeping). At times the fog was thick enough that you would not be able to see the small duck hunting boats that zip around in this area.

It rained all day. Not good for the folks who lived along the river banks. The river had already overrun its banks and many of the riverbank homes were dealing with flooding. More rain was the last thing they needed.

Then the fog would return.

ICW Fog
Fog Bank
Daymarks Easily Seen
Looking for Duck Hunting Boats
Fog Horn was Blowing..

When it was clear we got to see the lowlands of South Carolina. Beautiful grasses that extend out to the Atlantic Ocean.

Along the way we passed a steel hulled sailboat that was anchored in the same location as when we came up this part of the ICW in the spring. I guess like many is just permanently anchored along the ICW?

We passed someone’s boat that was still tied to the dock but had sunk for some reason or another.

Our plan for today was to attempt to make it all the way to Charleston, SC. The currents were helping us along and there was not traffic or bridges to slow us down. We ran right up until dark and had to settle on a wide open commercial anchorage just off Fort Johnson in Charleston Harbor. Kelly asked that we pick an anchorage that had cellular service as it was football and she had been watching the Giants / Bears game but the Patriots game was on next.

Kelly Enjoying the Game
Patriots Game @7 Kts.

We anchored next to a large sailing catamaran and the winds were blowing. The weather was bad as there were thunderstorms moving through that were bring wind gusts up to 55 MPH. A quick look at my weather apps showed them passing directly over us on anchor.

While on anchor I captured some of the storm.

Our leg today looked something like this … (80 NM)

Downtown Marina Beaufort SC

We had reservations to be at Downtown Marina in Beaufort, SC and the weather was not looking good. With 25 knot winds and gusts to 35 knots.

Gusts 35 tonight — 35 knots = 40 MPG Gusts

As we rounded Hilton Head Island the only thing my radar saw was rain.

Hilton Head Rain Radar — That Magenta on the screen is rain reflecting my radar

Our route would look something like this:

Route 6 New River - Beaufort — Our Route from New River to Beaufort, SC

There were only a few locations where I knew we would have to face the wind if just for a short bit. When we rounded Hilton Head and came out of Skull Creek to cross Port Royal Sound inlet was one of them.

The weather worsened just as we were crossing Port Royal Sound Inlet. High winds shutdown the Lady Island swing bridge but luckily we have a reservation @ Downtown Marina in Beaufort, SC just feet from the shutdown bridge.

Waves maybe 3-5’ with the occasional 6-7’. The challenge was that I was hitting each new wave in under 2 seconds and having to work the throttle to slow down from say 6 kts to 4 kts for the larger waves. Being an unstabilized trawler we headed into the waves (rather take them on the beam) till we got a little shelter from the Northern side of the Inlet. Then we had to turn and run at 10 kts with the waves on our stern.

As we approached Downtown Marina the Lady Island Swing bridge was shutdown due to high winds. Docking in high winds and strong currents makes for an interesting learning experience but the dockhands and fellow boaters came out in the driving rain to help catch lines. We had to put out extra fenders to keep the waves from smashing us into dock but it was time for a beer and to sit back and watch the storm.

The next day we observed the rushing sounds of water around the boat and took a short video of the current alongside the dock.

Beaufort, SC is a wonderful stop and we always enjoy the local restaurants like Plum and the gastro pub, Old Bull Tavern

We’ll use the time here to re-provision the boat and get ready for another week of anchoring out as we attempt to push North into North Carolina.