Sailing: Beauford to Casper's Marina

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Beauford to Casper's Marina - Swanboro

Friday October 31st

We enjoyed a sunny day of smooth travel with lots of beautiful homes along the ICW.

We anchored off of Casper's Marina with only one other sailboat; took the dingy and went for a walk around Swansboro, a sleepy little hamlet with many old homes with historic plaques. Tried to connect to the internet to no avail.

Went to bed early and woke up with the fishermen.

Historical Sidebar Beaufort South Carolina

Founded in 1711,Bearfort is a popular ICW stopover and a history buff's dream. Many of the town's majestic homes are visible from the water, high on the green banks that edge the town side of the river. Most of the antebellum plantation houses have been restored, but others remain in ruins as monuments to halcyon days when silks, indigo, rice and Sea Island cotton created vast fortunes for landholders hereabouts. Live oak trees through the city are magnificent in their size and shape. Given this panorama, it is small wonder that Hollywood studios made several movies here, including 'The Big Chill' and 'The Princeof Tides'.

Historical Sidebar - Charleston South Carolina

Founded in 1670 by the British, Charles Towne soon welcomed French Huguenots who imparted the Creole flavor that still colors the area. Charleston today is a city of pastel houses and tidy brick-walled gardens behind lacy iron gates. Much of the city's beauty stems from hard times. In the years following the Civil War, little building or demolition occurred in depression-gripped Charleston. While other cities tore down their old structures to build Victorian houses, Charlestonians had to make do, fighting to keep the buildings they already had from decaying. Because of this, Charlestonians are fiercely protective of their town and its heritage.