Next stop Florida - Friday November 14th

We leave our anchorage at Shellbine on a high tide, waving and wishing Captain Gord of the Lady Simcoe a 'pleasant voyage' as we manoeuvre past and head back onto the ICW. There are still more dolphin sitings and the camera is getting slightly better at catching them as they crest.
Suddenly the weather is much more humid and muggy; Florida must be closer than we think! Tiger Marina is unable to accommodate us today so we make alternate arrangements.
Fernandino has two prospering paper mills and many boats have chosen this area as their anchorage. A small yellow boat is pulling up to the fuel dock at a marina here, and after closer examination through the binoculars, it is discovered to be PIGGY BANK, 'The Little Yellow Sailboat That Could'.
We continue on to just before the fixed bridge and turn in at Amelia Island Yacht Basin. This is where Argo will rest for the next few months. The crew sets about making everything ship shape and preparing for tomorrow's haul-out. Argo is going for the Full Spa Treatment, bottom rub and all!
The crew spends the last night on board enjoying Nachos and playing a final game of Scrabble, none of which make us want to vomit(or is that puke?).

It's a Foggy Day in Georgia

Visibility is very poor this morning and we are sitting in the cockpit listening to the weather reports and hoping the fog will lift.
The Cruising Club is departing but most of them have radar and don't rely so heavily on visual markers. But wait, the two cruisers that had left are now returning, with the news that it is just too thick out there, even for them.
I make use of the time with a bike ride into the town of St. Simons. It has cute shops, a picturesque vantage point, and an historic lighthouse.
By eleven o'clock the fog has lifted and we are on our way out of the harbour. In the bay we join a large cluster of vessels all heading for Jeckle Creek. Jeckle Creek is known to us by reputation. The night before, the Cruising club had spoken of its narrowness and shallow waters. As we leave the bay and make the turn to enter the river, we all hold our collective breath, uncomfortable in the knowledge that low tide is on its way. For the next half hour the silence on the boat is deafening: all eyes are focused forward and I am certain we are all concentrating on thinking LIGHT & AIRY thoughts, in order to buoy up Argo. Because we are part of a convoy going through the Creek, it could create quite a domino effect if some poor unfortunate DID go aground. Once again, Chas steered faultlessly and Argo skidded along in the wake of the leading sailboat.
We reached our anchorage shortly before sundown and were soon joined by another sailboat, Lady Simcoe. The captain had had his boat trucked down to Savanna and is single-handing for a few days until his wife and brother come to join him.
One of the highlights of this trip has been the siting of many dolphins, and tonight we are even joined by a group of them right at our anchorage. They add to the wealth of sounds and impressions that Nature provides for our after dinner entertainment.

Wednesday November 12th

Because we stopped rather early yesterday, we want to get an early start this morning and are motoring down the Wahoo shortly after 7:00, but the four cruisers that had come in late last night are up even earlier and have headed off before we reach their spot. They were in a much more exposed area and probably had a bit of a rough night. They were likely awake anyway and decided to depart.
The tide is extremely high and the salt marshes are completely submerged as well as the landing spot on our little island.
The day starts out overcast but the sun manages to burn through and provide some warmth.
Again it is a day of big open Bays and gusty winds followed by serpentine rivers that twist and turn back on themselves. We use the Stay sail and are getting quite good at tacking back and forth with it.

Our marina of choice is full, so we continue under the fixed bridge and backtrack slightly to Golden Isles Marina. There are several boats anchored just outside the marina and out of the corner of an eye a spash of yellow catches my attention. I momentarily wonder if this could possibly be the small sailboat we had seen near Southport, but dismiss the idea because that boat was only about 2o feet, only had a small outboard motor, and didn't have a dingy or any means of getting to shore. No time to speculate further, all hands are required in docking, and a smooth landing is accomplished once again. I even manage, for the first time, to jump from the boat to the dock with a Spring line. It's so easy when the Captain eases the boat right up, inches from the dock like that, as if Argo had bow thrusters!
We are now docked at Golden Isles Marina which is near St. Simons Island Georgia. There is a Cruising Club of large, fuel guzzling, floating homes tied up all around us at the transient dock. They have been travelling down the Intracoastal together, stopping at different marinas and taking turns hosting the nightly get-together. Their number has dwindled from an original flotilla of 12 boats, down to the current 7. Some of these boats would spend $35,000. to make one trip from Baltimore to the Bahamas!! It is no wonder that some of them have opted for staying tied up at a dock rather than burning more fuel.

Tuesday November 11th

Left our anchorage at Herb Creek at 7:30, motoring slowly toward the bascule bridge which we expected to open at 9:00. When we arrived at the bridge at 8:40 and radioed the bridge tender to inform him that we awaited his 9:00 opening, he told us 'to bring it on up' and he would open immediately. Later we mused that perhaps it was because it was Veteran's Day and a holiday that the bridge was opening upon request, - lucky for us.
Today we travel across a series of large Sounds and Bays with open water. It is much windier than had been forecast and we are able to do more sailing today than we have on the entire journey. We begin with just the Jenny sail up, but that proves to be too much sail for these conditions so we switch to the Stay sail, which is much more manageable. At one time we reach a speed of 8.4 knots, not bad for not having the Main Sail up!
We pass through Hell's Gate, a narrow cut, unscathed.
St. Catharine's Sound has some big rollers and lots of whitecaps, but when we head up the Wahoo River toward our anchorage things calm down considerably and we find a calm anchorage behind a small island which resembles a beautiful tropical oasis. After putting down the anchor, we take the dingy and go ashore to explore the island and collect some shells, but we are run off by some small biting flies that descend upon us - there is always a serpent in paradise!

Southward

Heading southward once again on a mild and hopefully sunny(too dark to tell yet) day. Have met some interesting cruisers at this location and have heard their stories of travelling the intracoastal but now it is time for us to add to our own repertoire of anecdotes. We will be anchoring for the next several days, so no internet.
We leave Beaufort and the Port Royal Marina behind at 8 o'clock, heading south toward Hilton Head, Savanna and finally Herb Creek which will be our next anchorage.
There are more dolphin spotting today than any day so far.
Yes Virgina, that is a dolphin!

The weather is fine and sunny, a perfect day in every way.
Field's Cut, which is reportedly the most difficult bit of navigation on the whole Intracoastal lies ahead. We approach with caution after hearing over the radio of other boats that are experiencing shallow waters and groundings. Argo does us proud though; she climbs up one side of a shallow bottom, but then manages to slide down the other side without breaking speed. She touches bottom a second time, but continues to plow through and we never come to a complete halt.
We are the first boat at our anchorage, but soon there are 9 other cruisers and sailboats joining us in this sheltered spot. When the tide goes out we feel like we are sitting at the bottom of a wishing-well, with steep sides all around.

Relaxing on shore

Today is a day for catching up on the internet, doing some laundry, taking a bike ride, buying a few provisions, having a shower, reading a book and relaxing.
It is a bright sunny day and I could take these temperatures all year round. We continue our southward trek tomorrow.

Port Royal Marina, Beaufort South Carolina - Saturday November 8th

Today was a beautiful day of motoring from our protected spot on the South Edisto. The other sailboat that was anchored in the same river with us did drag during the night but our anchor held firm, and if anything, was a bit difficult to pull up, but with the help of Walkie-talkie communication, departure was flawless. Motoring was not quite as warm as yesterday and the wind was always on our nose, but it was still pleasant. Unfortunately we still can't convince Louie that it is safe to take off her long underwear and shed the yellow foul weather gear ..... baby steps, baby steps. This stretch of the ICW is suppose to have the most difficult and shallow sections, but with the help of Range Markers, Chas steers dead on target. We pass a dredger and do get many shallow readings, as it is low tide, but Argo comes through once again and manages to keep her bottom off the bottom.
We pass through the Beaufort Swing Bridge, which opens on request, and arrive at Port Royal Marina around 1:30, where we have internet on the boat, but once again find it is a bit unreliable. The Marina staff couldn't be more friendly and give us a free ride into Beaufort(same spelling but different pronunciation from the one in North Carolina). Chas and Louie take a short walking tour of the town while I enjoy myself at this internet cafe. The Marina is having a customer appreciation BBQ tonight so we are going to head back and sample some Southern hospitality and taste their finger-licking good chicken and pork! It is costing us $25. a piece to stay at the Marina and we figure we can eat at least that value at the BBQ, so the dockage will be free - burp! And wonder of wonders, look, Louie gets nakedin the cockpit!!!

Charleston to South Edisto River - Friday November 7th

It is an absolutely perfect morning. The sun is shining and the temperatures are already mild. It is predicted to be in the 70s today. Chas and Louie did a quick Cook's tour of Charleston yesterday and we replenished our galley with fresh provisions. Louie is filling the water jugs and Chas is checking the engine. The boat docked in front of us is debating whether to take the ICW or to head off shore for the next stint. There is a hurricane going over the Bahamas which they have been monitoring and because of it they will probably play it safe and follow in our wake. We are about to depart and will probably not have internet for a few days after this. Thank goodness we have recovered from the scare of seeing the photo Al sent of ESCAPE with a huge hole in her hull; you might think I would recognize OUR Escape, but it did take us aback initially. The problems we had with the Internet here seem to be resolved but it is 9:00 and it is time to cast off. The water is calm and the departure is likewise. The bridge keeper at the Charleston Bascule Bridge is chatty and pleasant and SHE is one of the few who has asked for the name of our boat and wished us a pleasant journey. This is the nicest day we have had for motoring down the ICW. There are many dolphin spottings and very little else. I have been learning all about Range Markers and quite like using them as a navigational tool. It seems that we have left everyone behind in Charleston and the whole of the Intracoastal belongs to us. There are many warnings of possible shallow depths but Argo moved along effortlessly and never touches bottom all day. Passing through the Elliot Cut, we reach a record motoring speed of 8 knots, thanks to the current. One of the few vessels we see all day is a Catamaran called COOL CAT; as it passes us, the Captain shouts over 'Which way to Florida?' Those Cat owners have quite the sense of humour! It made us smile. Because the motoring is so fine, we travel further than had been anticipated. Tonight we are anchored in the South Edisto River which is a beautifully secluded spot. Another sailboat has joined us but there is plenty of room for everyone.

Charleston - Thursday November 6th

Today it is beautiful, clear, sunny and milder. We can see across the fields of grass as we pull up anchor and there are a few small fishing boats buzzing around. The tide is coming in but the water is low and the inevitable happens. We go aground once again. This time it is as we attempt to leave the creek and enter the ICW. A small fishing boat, with a motor the same size as the one we have on the dingy, tries to pull us off to no avail. Chas decides it will be a good exercise to try different techniques to see what will work best in dislodging us. He puts out another anchor by dropping it from the dingy and also tries heeling over the boat by pulling on the halyard. We finally pull ourselves off by winching the aft anchor in and heeling over. It was good practice. The rest of the day is bright, sunny and uneventful. We just miss the Ben Sawyer Swing Bridge opening but still arrive in Charleston by 1:00.

We are at the Charleston Harbour Marina, right in the heart of the harbour.

There are Container Ships, cruisers, Tall Ships, Air Craft Carriers, tugs, and every other imaginable type of vessel.

It is the complete juxaposition of our quiet anchorage of last night, but in its own way it has a spectacular beauty.

The suspension bridge which we see from our deck could rival the art sculptures from any museum.

Toward Charleston - Wednesday November 5th

We leave our quiet anchorage in Thoroughfare around 7:00 and head off under overcast but dry skies. It is a quiet day for traffic and we don't see many other boats except big cruisers. We pass through a very swampy area with few houses and marinas. The anchorage that we are staying at tonight is down a narrow offshoot of the ICW and there are flat fields of tall grass for miles and miles on either side. It feels like we are stranded in the middle of the Prairies and seems quite bizzare for a sailboat to be in the middle of this vast field. There are small shrimp in the water; we can't see them but we can hear them. They are working very hard, pecking away at the hull of the boat, giving it a real good cleaning. It is too bad we don't have some way of catching some so that we could have a shrimp supper. The evening is clear, pitch black, and extremely peaceful. There is one other Catamaran that has join us in this 'Field of Dreams' but they have moved further in as they have a shallower draft.

Myrtle Beach to Georgetown - Tuesday November 4th

Left Barefoot Marina, avoiding the huge log in the middle of the canal and headed down the ICW on an overcast but slightly less wet day than yesterday. This is a motoring day, passing some magnificent homes that look like they could house a whole institution and then passing a stretch with small cottage size homes, so it is a real mixed bag. Myrtle Beach is much classier from the water than it is from the land and there isn't a miniature golf course to be seen anywhere! The canal is scenic and is more like what we had expected the Dismal Swamp would look like than it really did; gnarly trees, moss hanging precariously from branches, mangrove swamps, and lots of twists and turns.We pass under a couple of fixed bridges and got to Socastee Bascule Bridge just as a Shrimp Boat was going through and were lucky enough to sneak through when the bridge had a mandatory opening for this vessel. Came across an exotic Jungle Cruise Tour Boat parked in the backwaters in the middle of nowhereand looking quite out of place. Put down our anchor in a quiet little offshoot called Thoroughfare Creek. Chas put down two anchors, one at the front and one at the back just to test the method and we held firm and still all night.

Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head

When we arrived back at Argo yesterday from Southport, we found that the tide had gone out further than expected and we were firmly aground. This meant that we had to wait until the tide came in this morning in order to float off and take our leave. The little yellow sailboat 'Piggy Bank' continued to bob up and down in the water all night, demonstrating that the depths were always at least 2 and 1/2 feet, but this was small comfort to Argo who's 6 and 1/2 foot draw means that we will be extremely aware of high and low tides.
We pulled up the anchor in the rain and began our first soggy motoring day down the ICW toward Myrtle Beach.

We passed St. James Plantation and passed under the new bridge under construction which will lead over to Oak Island.

We passed through several Swing Bridges, a few stationary 65 foot bridges, an old Pontoon Bridge and finally arrived at Barefoot Marina Club (still raining) where we are safely docked thanks to TowBoat USA who pulled us off when we went aground trying to dock.
In its own momentous way, another uneventful day!!!

From Wrightsville to Southport

Woke up to another sunny day and much warmer temperatures today.

Left Wrightsville behind and headed down the ICW toward our destination of Southport.



Smooth motoring and even put the Jenny up toward the end of the journey. Once we entered the Cape Fear River we encountered several large ocean going vessels and freighters.



Approaching Southport we had hoped to dock at the Public Pier, but it was just not feasible. We tried the Southport Marina, but they were fully booked. As we passed The Provision Company we could smell the fish&chip dinners frying and could see that it was hopping with customers. We were tempted to anchor right in front of the restaurant but weren't sure we would have enough SWING room.

We found a nice safe anchourage up Dutchmen's Creek which is just a stone's through from the marina. After going out in the dingy to test the depth of the water, my double knot did not hold it secure and another little dingy had to retreive it for us - never a dull moment! A small yellow sailboat joins us in Dutchmen's Creek but continues up past us, ensuring us that they only draw 2 and 1/2 feet, so there is no fear of them going aground.

Chas has motored us in to Southport so that we can use the internet at Port City Java, and he has returned to watch over the boat and ensure that the anchor is holding.

Tomorrow we move on to Myrtle Beach. I will wave at St. James Plantation as we float past.