Out of the Marshes and into Civilization Again!

Crazy tourists!  It was only in the low sixties.

We continued north out of Georgia in gray cold weather. We thought it was cold, having long johns, fleece and socks and shoes on and that is inside our cockpit enclosure, but some people must have thought it was warm. Near Hilton Head, SC there were these para-sailors out which we could not believe because it was nasty! They were probably tourist from some place in the north who thought otherwise. It's all in your perspective!

We made it into South Carolina and stopped in Beaufort (that's pronounced with a long u). We decided to take a break from our long days and stayed two days. We anchored in Factory Creek right off of Lady's Island Marina. As we were passing by in our dinghy to motor into town, the dock master hollered over and invited us to a cruiser's gathering that evening for chicken and whatever else people brought. That was mighty friendly of him and told him we would be in. Over in town I got to go in various shops which was nice because we usually are here for some reason on a Sunday and not much is opened. We had a nice lunch out and walked the beautiful waterfront. 

Beaufort, SC waterfront.

The small cruise ship called the Independence was docked there. They travel the inter-coastal to a variety of cities. We often see it down in Fernandina, FL. So if you don't want to take your own boat, you can do part of the ICW with the Independence.

Yummy banana bread.

After lunch we hiked about a mile for some groceries and prepared for the potluck. Luckily, I had baked banana bread that morning. When you have a bunch of bananas that are over ripe and it is a cold morning, turning on the oven to bake is the thing to do!

The people could not have been friendlier at the marina. It was a small marina and so people knew each other. This was a going away party for one couple who had been there all winter and were leaving. We found out it only cost a $1 a foot and laundry was free! We will definitely think about staying there next time we head south.   

Al talking to a cruiser at the potluck.

We left Beaufort on another ugly gray day. We motored the entire time again to a place called Church Creek. We got in just as it started to rain. And rain it did, and blow! Our trusty anchored held. Later we talked to people who had been at the dock in Charleston City Marina for that storm and said we were lucky to be out. The wave and wind action at the docks caused a jerking motion and 3 inches of rain caused some problems as well.

The next day we motored into Charleston Harbor Marina on the Mt. Pleasant side. We were in by noon.

You can see how gray it was in Charleston!

 Had hot continuous running showers (a luxury not found on Blue Heaven, hot but not continuous) and met some past neighbors who now have a house on Isle of Palm. They took us into Charleston and we had lunch at Blossoms which is next door to and owned by the same people who have the infamous, Magnolias. It was very good and we did not have to wait 45 minutes to get in!

Patty and Harold, former neighbors.

Shuttle Bus used to go into Charleston.

On Easter I used the shuttle provided by the marina and hotel there to go into Charleston and go to Mass. The shuttle runs every two hours from 10am to 10pm so it works out great. Even though it was Easter, many stores were open and the Market House was totally open. Al stayed behind and did a lot of the chores that needed to be done before moving on the next day. Later that evening Ron and Mercedes from Samana who we met in Georgetown and dock their boat here, came over for a drink and chat.

We made tracks from Charleston all the way past Georgetown, SC to Butler Island for a night at anchor. I got this unusal photo at dusk. There was no wind blowing so what you are seeing is the reflection of the trees in the water. The sky was dark and so was the water except for the strip of light left from the sunset.

Butler Island after sunset!

The next day was a short day into Osprey Marina traveling on the pretty Wacamaw River. No more marshes but tall trees and hanging Spanish moss. 

The pretty Wacamaw River

Al filling the tanks with fuel.  Ca-ching, ca-ching$$$$$!

Osprey Marina has some of the cheapest fuel and docks are only $1 a foot so we usually make this one of our spots. Al's hand was cramping from holding the nozzle so long filling the two tanks.

 While there, I decided it was time to get some walking in, so I headed out. I was walking around the harbor and someone yelled to me that there was an alligator on the bank. Sure enough, I looked over and there was this 10 -11 ft. alligator sunning itself!

Local gator sunning itself along the bank.

It was one of the first we have seen other than when we toured Cape Canaveral on our first trip. If you look at it's mouth, it almost looks like he is smiling. I don't know for how long he'll be smiling, because the dock master told me they have a nuisance permit which allows them to shoot them if they are out of the water. They are not allowed to shoot them in the water because they will sink and them bloat up and come to the surface and be a hazard in the water.

The real thing!

The following day we had a record breaking day going 68 miles in ten hours with a combination motoring and motor sailing. We hit all the favorable currents and in the Cape Fear River we did 10.4 knots for a time. You have to keep your eyes open because while I was steering I saw something that looked like a moving island or sand bank. It ended up being a huge tree, not only lengthwise but circumference of the trunk was huge too. It was floating down the Cape Fear River. We would not wanted to hit it! Earlier that morning, we passed by Myrtle Beach which had some interesting sites. One which was the gondolas high above the ICW taking golfers across to the course.

Golfer gondolas.

The other was the long boats with everyone paddling in unison and the person standing yelling the orders. It wasn't sculling because they each had a paddle rather than an oar. Does anyone know what sport this is?

Early morning practice on the ICW near Myrtle Beach

 That afternoon we anchored in Carolina Beach for the first time. We did not go ashore because it is mostly private cottages and condos which did not provide much interesting scenery but the two cute girls on paddle boards did for Al!

Carolina Beach Paddle Boarding Beauties.

We had a short stretch to Wrightsville Beach where we put the dinghy in and went ashore to go for some more needed groceries. Since it was lunch time, we ate at a small deli nearby and then did our shopping. We got our 3 miles of walking in which felt good after the long days on the boat.

We are headed to the Oriental, NC area for the weekend. Should be back in the Chesapeake area by the end of next week.