Sunrise over Winyah Bay
We continued to make our way south through SC from the Waccamaw River to Charleston for Thanksgiving. We spent extra time in this our favorite city, since it wasn’t clear when we’ll be back through on a boat. From Charleston, we made our way to Beaufort, traversing the low country bordering the ICW. As the month ended, we were anchored in Bull Creek near Hilton Head, looking to move into Georgia on the ICW for the first time in our travels.
Osprey Marina
North of Charleston
Our stay at the Osprey Marina in the wilds of the Waccamaw River was originally planned to be 3 days to allow us to weather a storm that was passing through, but we extended our stay by one more day to enjoy the amenities of this friendly place. It didn’t hurt that the slip fees dropped to $0.25 a foot for the fourth night either. It was easy to settle in here, with the friendly staff, the free breakfasts, a welcome bag that included cheese and crackers, which we put to good use getting together with a couple from Rochester on the front porch the first night. We worked on the computer, while relaxing in the rockers outside the office, overlooking the narrow entrance channel. Taking a walk to explore beyond the grounds, we discovered a small local zoo, with a herd of buffalo among other exotic animals.
Our stay at the Osprey Marina in the wilds of the Waccamaw River was originally planned to be 3 days to allow us to weather a storm that was passing through, but we extended our stay by one more day to enjoy the amenities of this friendly place. It didn’t hurt that the slip fees dropped to $0.25 a foot for the fourth night either. It was easy to settle in here, with the friendly staff, the free breakfasts, a welcome bag that included cheese and crackers, which we put to good use getting together with a couple from Rochester on the front porch the first night. We worked on the computer, while relaxing in the rockers outside the office, overlooking the narrow entrance channel. Taking a walk to explore beyond the grounds, we discovered a small local zoo, with a herd of buffalo among other exotic animals.
Camouflaged boats and their duck hunting pilots
We ended up leaving Osprey on a Saturday, which meant the local boaters were out in force. We learned later that duck hunting season started the same day, which meant that the boats were filled with hunters and the boats were themselves decked out in various amounts of thatch to disguise them from the unsuspecting ducks. Our destination that day was Georgetown, a small historic town at the top of Winyah Bay. Georgetown is home to some shrimping fleets, so we lost no time in finding a local seafood processor to buy some fresh local shrimp for dinner. Mmmmm! Leaving at first light the next morning, we had a long day ahead of us to reach Isle of Palms Marina. As we wound our way through the marsh on bays, rivers and cuts dug through the marsh, the currents alternately pushed us along and pulled us back, making it unpredictable how long it would take. But overall, we had a good day, pulling onto the dock before 3pm. We could have even made Charleston (since the Ben Sawyer bridge wasn’t on afternoon restrictions on a Sunday), but stuck with our plan to arrive Monday morning.
Leaving around 8:30am the next morning, the tide state was at dead low, but we were trying to arrive at the Maritime Center at slack current. Traveling the ICW stretch before the Ben Sawyer bridge, our depth alarm kept sounding, reminding us of the low water here. We were thanking ourselves that we were on Junior, not Orion, since the bigger boat would have been aground in the middle of the ICW, waiting for higher tide. (We spoke to someone the next day with a 5 ½ ft draft like Orion that did exactly that.) With only 2 ½ ft below us, the depths were merely an interesting sidelight, not the drama of past years. Whew! We traveled up the Cooper River as a container ship passed us outbound and pulled onto the dock before noon. The weather had finally warmed up and we looked forward to a beautiful Thanksgiving week in Charleston.
Leaving around 8:30am the next morning, the tide state was at dead low, but we were trying to arrive at the Maritime Center at slack current. Traveling the ICW stretch before the Ben Sawyer bridge, our depth alarm kept sounding, reminding us of the low water here. We were thanking ourselves that we were on Junior, not Orion, since the bigger boat would have been aground in the middle of the ICW, waiting for higher tide. (We spoke to someone the next day with a 5 ½ ft draft like Orion that did exactly that.) With only 2 ½ ft below us, the depths were merely an interesting sidelight, not the drama of past years. Whew! We traveled up the Cooper River as a container ship passed us outbound and pulled onto the dock before noon. The weather had finally warmed up and we looked forward to a beautiful Thanksgiving week in Charleston.
Fishing boats line the docks in Georgetown
Ravenel Bridge overlooks the Cooper River at sunset
Charleston – One last(?) time
Charleston holds a special place for us and pulling into a slip at the Maritime Center feels a lot like home. So, this was going to be a bittersweet stay. With plans to trailer Orion Jr north, it seemed possible that we might never get back to this city on a boat. While we could always visit by land, we both know that it would never be the same. So, we drank it all in – taking walks through the charming streets, down to the Battery, along the river; sampling pralines on Market Street, lunch at Hyman’s, church at The Circular Church; watching the container and cruise ships move up and down the Cooper river; and simply socializing with the dockhands and boaters at the marina. We celebrated Thanksgiving together with the other boaters, complete with turkey, ham and all the trimmings. The warm weather for much of the week seemed too good to be true, making it easy to linger in the cockpit, rather than being chased below by cold.
Charleston holds a special place for us and pulling into a slip at the Maritime Center feels a lot like home. So, this was going to be a bittersweet stay. With plans to trailer Orion Jr north, it seemed possible that we might never get back to this city on a boat. While we could always visit by land, we both know that it would never be the same. So, we drank it all in – taking walks through the charming streets, down to the Battery, along the river; sampling pralines on Market Street, lunch at Hyman’s, church at The Circular Church; watching the container and cruise ships move up and down the Cooper river; and simply socializing with the dockhands and boaters at the marina. We celebrated Thanksgiving together with the other boaters, complete with turkey, ham and all the trimmings. The warm weather for much of the week seemed too good to be true, making it easy to linger in the cockpit, rather than being chased below by cold.
As the week ended, we were given an unusual treat. Our friend in the SC Maritime Organization was going to be crewing on the Spirit of SC, the tall ship that docks at the Maritime Center, on Saturday. We agreed to meet him between trips to say hello and catch up. To our surprise and delight, we were welcomed on board the ship for its sunset cruise. We got to help raise the sails (a little more work than those on Orion Jr), and Dave even got to man the helm while we docked. It was great wind for sailing the harbor and the sunset was breathtaking. A beautiful night. Our thanks again to Troy for making it happen.
Orion Jr and Les Miserables side by side at Charleston.
Orion Jr ‘s shallow draft secured us one of the shallower docks in the marina (we saw 2.5 ft when we arrived at low tide). Again, in our new mode of travel, we were no longer stressed out about this. Our neighbor at this shallow location was another smaller boat, Les Miserables. Wiley and Merry were on a year-long trip from Chicago and were tiring of the stress of traveling the waterway with its shallow depths and uncertain hazards. The warnings from the guidebooks were taking their toll. Since they were also a smaller boat, they had difficulty keeping up with most of the other boats on the waterway, so they were having difficulty hooking up with a buddy boat. We asked them to join us for the trip south to Florida, and we would guide them through the shallow spots and other hazards. They gladly accepted and we once again were traveling in company. After waiting out some weather, we pulled off the dock late Tuesday morning, November 28th to make our way south with Les Miserables now our traveling companions, saying goodbye to this beautiful city and the friends we’ve made there for at least the near future.
Charleston skyline at sunset
Les Miserables anchored in Tom Point Creek
South of Charleston
Although we attempted to time our travel through the ICW south of Charleston carefully to take advantage of favorable currents and bridge openings, we were dismayed to discover the 20+ knot winds on the nose as we pounded west into the waves generated by the wind over the westerly flowing current. Orion Jr was seesawing through the waves, with the outboard frequently cavitating (popping out of the water) as we crested the larger waves. Rather than subject ourselves to more of this torture, we called it a day early and anchored in the protected Tom Point Creek, which was amazingly comfortable after the strong winds and waves outside its mouth.
Wiley poses with a local beauty
The next day we made much better time, traveling all the way to Beaufort, SC. With the weather moderating, the trip was much more pleasant. The only hitch being our mistaking the schedule for Beaufort’s downtown Lady’s Island Bridge, which has a noon time restriction and opens only on the hour all day. Since we had timed our arrival for 1:30pm, we had a half hour to kill. But we had not too far to go beyond the bridge, so this wasn’t too big a deal. We took the courtesy car into Beaufort for a tour of the town before sunset. The next morning dawned clear and cold. We had second thoughts about pulling out into this frigid weather. After waiting a couple of hours, we headed out for a much more pleasant run to what would be our last stop in SC – Bull Creek near Hilton Head.
Working to unwrap Les Miserables from her anchor rode
It had been 5 years since our last stay at Bull Creek, just before our first ever ocean run to Florida. This visit was eventful for a different reason. Soon after anchoring, Wiley and Merry were preparing to come visit us when they discovered their boat was laying at an odd angle. It didn’t take long before we both knew what the problem was. They had wrapped their rode around the keel – something Orion had done twice to us. The solution was simple enough – use the dinghy to push the bow around. Rather than put his motor on the dinghy, Wiley attempted to do this by rowing. However, the current was just too strong. Before he had to resort to mounting his outboard, we managed to flag down a local boat and they easily pulled the boat around. Then Merry and Wiley rowed over to Orion Jr to celebrate their good fortune at being rescued and our accomplishment of 3 days of travel together. Their stress had been greatly eased by having us to lead the way and talk through any trouble spots. We were enjoying having company again. It looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Wiley and Merry in Beaufort SC
Can you hear me now?
“Ben Sawyer Bridge, Ben Sawyer Bridge, this is Orion Jr calling.” Cathy repeated her hails a couple of times, getting no response. With the bridge only a mile away, this was the latest in a series of signs that we had a problem with our VHF radio. When we had a similar experience hailing the Maritime Center from a short distance away, we knew it was time to replace the weakest link in our radio system – the antenna. Dave had already ordered a replacement Metz antenna after we had been having difficulty talking to marinas, bridges and other boats all the way down the ICW. The antenna was waiting for us in Charleston. To check that the antenna was truly the problem, Dave connected it to the radio down below and called Cathy on the handheld on shore with the old and new antenna. The difference was dramatic. He then was able to talk to the Ben Sawyer Bridge from miles away.
Yep. The problem was the antenna.
This was going to be Cathy’s first trip up the little boat’s mast. We chose a quiet morning, with no ship traffic in sight. The little boat swings much more wildly from the passing ship wakes than Orion did. Cathy didn’t want to be up the mast with that kind of rocking. It turned out to be a very easy switch – an unusual event in boating repairs. With the antenna in place, Dave talked to the bridge west of Charleston, with several miles and tons of buildings in between and had no trouble hearing or being heard. Problem fixed. The only downside would be the increased chatter that would now disturb our travels. The price of success.
Water, Water Everywhere
Our trip south of Charleston, pounding into waves on the Stono River proved more eventful than just giving us a rough ride. We were shipping water over the bow with each wave. What we didn’t realize until we arrived at the anchorage was that the water was running through the edges of the forward hatch into the V-berth, making for wet bedding and cushions. With fading sunlight, we pulled everything up on deck and managed to get the wind and weak sunlight to dry the bedding enough to make for a warm and dry night’s sleep. Dave replaced the weather-stripping ( a delayed project from the summer) and we hoped for the best.
Just before we turned into the anchorage, we heard our small high water alarm go off. Cathy checked to see where the water was coming from. The bilge had enough water (not a lot), that the bilge pump float switch should have triggered the bilge pump to empty out. However, even turning the bilge pump on at the breaker was not causing the pump to work. After testing the wires, Dave determined the pump was bad. We installed a less-powerful spare on board and the problem appeared to be solved. The good news was that the extra water gave us a chance to test the manual bildge pump, which worked like a charm.
Georgia's coming
So, we're done with SC and as December began we moved south to head into Georgia on the ICW for the first time. Uncharted territory for this crew, but that's part of the reason why we're on a different boat this year.
“Ben Sawyer Bridge, Ben Sawyer Bridge, this is Orion Jr calling.” Cathy repeated her hails a couple of times, getting no response. With the bridge only a mile away, this was the latest in a series of signs that we had a problem with our VHF radio. When we had a similar experience hailing the Maritime Center from a short distance away, we knew it was time to replace the weakest link in our radio system – the antenna. Dave had already ordered a replacement Metz antenna after we had been having difficulty talking to marinas, bridges and other boats all the way down the ICW. The antenna was waiting for us in Charleston. To check that the antenna was truly the problem, Dave connected it to the radio down below and called Cathy on the handheld on shore with the old and new antenna. The difference was dramatic. He then was able to talk to the Ben Sawyer Bridge from miles away.
Yep. The problem was the antenna.
This was going to be Cathy’s first trip up the little boat’s mast. We chose a quiet morning, with no ship traffic in sight. The little boat swings much more wildly from the passing ship wakes than Orion did. Cathy didn’t want to be up the mast with that kind of rocking. It turned out to be a very easy switch – an unusual event in boating repairs. With the antenna in place, Dave talked to the bridge west of Charleston, with several miles and tons of buildings in between and had no trouble hearing or being heard. Problem fixed. The only downside would be the increased chatter that would now disturb our travels. The price of success.
Water, Water Everywhere
Our trip south of Charleston, pounding into waves on the Stono River proved more eventful than just giving us a rough ride. We were shipping water over the bow with each wave. What we didn’t realize until we arrived at the anchorage was that the water was running through the edges of the forward hatch into the V-berth, making for wet bedding and cushions. With fading sunlight, we pulled everything up on deck and managed to get the wind and weak sunlight to dry the bedding enough to make for a warm and dry night’s sleep. Dave replaced the weather-stripping ( a delayed project from the summer) and we hoped for the best.
Just before we turned into the anchorage, we heard our small high water alarm go off. Cathy checked to see where the water was coming from. The bilge had enough water (not a lot), that the bilge pump float switch should have triggered the bilge pump to empty out. However, even turning the bilge pump on at the breaker was not causing the pump to work. After testing the wires, Dave determined the pump was bad. We installed a less-powerful spare on board and the problem appeared to be solved. The good news was that the extra water gave us a chance to test the manual bildge pump, which worked like a charm.
Georgia's coming
So, we're done with SC and as December began we moved south to head into Georgia on the ICW for the first time. Uncharted territory for this crew, but that's part of the reason why we're on a different boat this year.
