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.

Saturday November 1st

Pleasant sailing down the ICW; more dolphins and still more beautiful homes.

Found the bottom for a few minutes but managed to get off again. Followed three other sailboats that left Casper's Marina around the same time as we did, until one of them went hard aground right at the edge of the channel.
Chas tried to assist but a fisherman was able to pull them off before he arrived in the dinghy.

We missed the opening of the last of our bridges for the day and Chas got lots of practice turning Argo on the spot. Arrived at the busy port of Wrightsville and found an anchorage with lots of room around it. In its own momentous way, another uneventful day!

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.

Louie Blogs

After a lovely and relaxing night at anchor, actually attached to a mooring ball, we awoke well rested and set off in the dingy a short distance to the town docks. Beaufort seems to be a thriving community that really welcomes cruisers.Everything we need from a place to dispose of garbage , the "Big Mug" internet cafe , wine store, and laundromat are all conveniently located within a few blocks of our boat. Yesterday's sail across the sound was lovely and being greeted by several pods of dolphins in Adam's Creek was especially delightful. As you can see from the blog photo though it was a little chilly out there on the water but my thermal t-shirt, two turtlenecks, leather vest, down jacket and yellow foul weather gear kept me cozy!(Not to mention the touque eh!) Today I hope to shed the yellow coat and pants layer!We are really enjoying our little side trips into these quaint and historic seafaring towns and the friendliness of the locals has really added to our visits. Everyday is certainly a learning experience , both out there on the canals, sounds and rivers and as we walk through the local environs. This morning several people have come into the coffee shop in Hallowe'en costumes- I guess I should have kept yesterday's outfit on.