I am dictating this post on my phone, because this marina has no Wi-Fi. We also learned it has no restaurant, despite what it said in the waterway guide. Apparently it flooded several years ago. So we will make do.
Charleston was wonderful; what a livable city. Big enough to support a vibrant restaurant trade, but not crowded at all.
Connie left this morning to return to Aspen, and Guinness and I set out to cover some miles. It was a long day: almost 7 hours, and we fought the tidal currents the entire way
We have several more long legs coming up: tomorrow we leave for the Carolina Beach area, and then Beaufort North Carolina on Sunday
I’ll post again when we get to a better stopping point.
Yesterday was wonderful. Perfect weather; azaleas popping; and HUMAN COMPANY!
It was very nice to spend time in Charleston: it’s such a pleasant city. But human nature is funny: it’s so much more pleasant when you can enjoy things with someone else.
Frankly, I had some doubts when Connie suggested that she meet me in Charleston. I really didn’t know how that was going to work out. But I have to give her credit:
She brought everything she needed in a single canvas bag (no hard-sided luggage)
She can shower and dress for dinner in 15 minutes
She’s a good conversationalist
Here’s Connie and Guinness and me and Guinness at the Cooper River Park. You can tell which of us is the better photographer.
We walked for almost three hours; very little human or automobile traffic.
We had lunch in a French bistro; drinks at a rooftop bar; and a very nice dinner at a restaurant called Revival. Great chocolate martini! Yes, I know, it’s a chick drink. But boy was it yummy.
Looks like it’s going to be another nice day today – we were shocked to realize that we both leave tomorrow. Connie flies back to Aspen, and I am heading 90 miles north to Wacca Wachee. Or maybe I’ll go outside to Murrel’s Inlet. We’ll see if I have a weather window.
We made it to Charleston with no drama, and I’m looking forward to some fine dining: I’ve booked a few of the Top Ten restaurants.
It was VERY cold on the way up from Beaufort, but the weather is improving markedly. It should be high 70’s the next few days. There are two problems: pollen and no-see-um’s, both of which are pretty ferocious.
But I’m not complaining. Connie has arrived, and it’s very nice to have some human company for a change!
I’m getting a little tired of the Covid mask requirements, so I’ve come up with a somewhat more festive mask for Charleston:
Today we left Palmetto Bluff for Beaufort, SC (that’s BEUW-FORT). On the way down, we stayed right in town; this time, we are across the river at Lady’s Island Marina. We were hoping to meet up with Beth, the captain of the sailing vessel Stargazer. We met Beth in Beaufort NC (that’s Bow-fort) on the southbound trip. Unfortunately, she is away visiting friends / family. Stargazer is here but not Beth.
I decided to break the Charleston trip into two legs; we can do 100 miles a day, but I am feeling cumulatively tired. So, we did 30 miles to Beaufort today, and we’ll leave for Charleston tomorrow (Tuesday morning the 23rd).
Yesterday, at Palmetto Bluff, we got 2″ of rain; the good news is it washed all the pollen off the boat.
It was still cold and windy when we left this morning, and it was choppy as we transited Calibogue Sound and Port Royal Sound (sounds open onto the ocean). But the trip wasn’t long – just 3 hours dock-to-dock including refueling, and we’re now in a quiet, protected marina.
Ladies Island is a pretty little spot, with marsh views and a couple of good restaurants. What else does one need?
*****************
BTW, when I left Key West, I was planning on 22 travel days, not counting layovers and extended visits. As I leave Palmetto Bluff, I have 11 travel days left, including today, so I am exactly halfway home! The entire homeward trip will take 22 travel days and 34 TOTAL days including visits and repairs.
It’s cold and rainy here in Palmetto Bluff today, and we’re indoors in front of the fire. it’s 55 degrees here today – roughly 10 degrees colder than in Pennsylvania. Sheesh.
But it gives me plenty of time to write, hence the multiple updates!
Here’s a shot of Freedom tied up at Wilson’s Landing, the dock at Palmetto Bluff. Isn’t the Low Country setting just gorgeous? This is on the May River, just across Calibogue Sound from Hilton Head Island.
This is our third of four days at Palmetto Bluff with Jeff and Kathy. The storm (and tornados) that were expected the day I arrived never materialized. The front passed through, but behind the front, the temperatures have dropped.
It’s in the low 50’s this morning, and it reminds me of mornings in Jackson Hole. The sun is bright, but we are layered up.
What we HAVE HAD is a pollen storm. There is a TON of it down here. Everyone drives a greenish-yellow car. I now have a greenish-yellow boat.
*********************
Last night we made some great memories, gathered around the fireplace out on the dock. Magical.
Go back to my November posts to see photos of the dock and the fireplace.
***********************
Meanwhile, we got a very pleasant surprise: Connie (my friend from Aspen/Captiva) is flying into Charleston to spend three days with me and Guinness. I think it will be very nice to have someone to spend a few days with. We’ve been pretty much alone this entire trip.
We made it into Palmetto Bluff at noon – just ahead of a major storm (with tornado warnings)!
We finished tying up just as the rain started to patter down.
The weather the next few days is supposed to be sketchy, so it is great holing up with Kathy and Jeff. Guinness and Cooper are racing around the house, getting re-acquainted. All is well.
Now we are truly out of Georgia: snug in South Carolina.
We left St. Simon’s Island at 7:15 on Tuesday, before daybreak under heavy cloud cover. We were thinking of waiting longer order to have daylight, but the cloud cover was pretty solid, so we left in darkness, with our running lights on, following the chart plotter. No problem.
I had been reluctant to run at night, because of an earlier experience: about 20 years ago, I moved my sailboat down from Long Island Sound to the Barnegat Bay, and it required sailing at night. This was before the advent of Global Positioning Satellites. There were no chart plotters; we used LORAN, which was very primitive compared to today’s equipment. I recalled how difficult it was to identify which navigational aid you were looking at; even when they are lighted, it’s difficult to tell one lighted buoy from another at night, particularly in a congested area like the western end of Long Island Sound. We completed that earlier trip safely, but it made me skittish about traveling at night.
The new chart plotters totally change the paradigm. Absolutely no reason to actually see land. Just follow the course on the screen – like a video game! Of course, you have to remain alert for other boats, but there were none yesterday.
The sun broke through by 7:45. From then on it was even easier.
****************
Surprisingly, Georgia has less than 100 miles of coastline. The ICW, however, winds its way through Georgia, sometimes doubling back on itself, so it takes a little longer than taking the outside route. But we made great time; we saw only ONE OTHER boat the whole way, and we arrived in Skidaway Island, just below Savannah, by 1PM.
It’s early spring here, and the redbuds and azaleas are starting to pop!
I’m visiting my friends Jim and Melissa, whom I have known since the 70’s. They built their first home at The Landings on Skidaway Island in the mid-80’s, and they are now in a beautiful home on the marsh. I love marsh views, and theirs faces west.
This couple has traveled even more than Cathy and I did: more than 60 countries. And tons of major golf tournaments, including the Masters. So happy for them.
We had lunch at the sports complex and dinner at one of the clubhouses (there are 6 golf courses). A very nice place to be.
****************************
Tomorrow we leave for Palmetto Bluff – just 40 miles away. Right near Hilton Head. We’l spend 4-5 days with my brother-in-law Jeff and his wife Kathy.
Safe and sound in St Simon’s Georgia. We left Saint Augustine at 7 o’clock-before the sun was up. What is the point of daylight savings time? We are in the ocean from Saint Johns to Saint Simon. Sunny skies in flat seas until we got to the Saint Simon inlet. They got a little sloppy, but we are safe and sound. I’ll report more this evening.
We enjoyed Florida, but it’s good to leave it behind. We are almost halfway home!
Here’s a sight you don’t see everyday:
This is a massive salvage operation underway at the head of the St. Simon’s Inlet. It’s the wreck of the Golden Ray, a 656-foot car carrier that capsized in the channel while carrying 4,200 brand-new vehicles. YIKES! At least we never capsized!
It’s difficult to get a sense of the scale of this contraption, but the white boat in the foreground is larger than my boat. The huge gantry looks like the one in the Jodie Foster movie Contact.
It’s nice to be out of Florida…Georgia looks different: we’re in the Low Country now!
Rod & Guinness' Amazing Adventures 