This evening finds us anchored in a creek off of MM "516" of the ICW. It is about as far away from civilization as I have been in awhile. Cell coverage is iffy, my Sprint wireless modem is iffy, the anchor holding is iffy...but at least we are out of the rain after about 88 miles...YIPPEE!
We started this morning at 7:15AM at MM '430". About 30 minutes after we got underway, the rain arrived. At first it was just an annoying drizzle, but eventually become an incessant downpour. Even though we have canvas over the cockpit of the boat, there is no getting away from the blowing rain. The charts and guidebooks got wet, as well as my camera..and ME! I had rain gear on, but after 9 hours of being in the weather, it eventually finds its way into most of the dry spots.
This was a shame because we sailed through Isle of Palms and then Charleston Harbor around 1PM and saw enough to know that we were missing some beautiful scenery.
One of the first things that I learned as I motored and sailed south is that there is a major difference in the tide changes as we travel through SC and GA. This evening, the tide change at our anchorage will be 7.6'. I guess folks get used to it, but it always surprises me to see things like this.
Lots of boats just end up sitting on the ground until the tide rises..just strange...
About 2 hours after we started, the ICW cut just north of Isle of Palms. From what we could see, there are some beautiful homes here. Apparently, the island was pretty much wiped clean by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, so just about everything here was rebuilt from scratch. Here are a few photos of what we saw from the banks of the ICW as we motored past.
The architecture in Charleston is always a treat with the great verandas, beautiful tree lines streets, and just a stunning location. As we sailed into the harbor, our first major event was to run aground. The coast guard was working on a marker. Unfortunately, their boat was in front of the marker. There seemed to be way more room to the right side than the left, so I went right..and ran aground in 3 feet of water. It took me a few minutes to back off and then proceed on my way, but it is always humbling..this is the 3rd or 4th time that I have run aground since we started..oh well..somebody told me a few weeks ago that if I told folks that I did not run aground on this trip, that I was a liar..looking at the places that have shoaled up, it is pretty easy..but today, it was just an old fashioned screwup!
Once out in the Harbor, the rain had picked up to the point where it was tough to see where we were going. We headed out toward Fort Sumter and then turned to starboard in the main shipping channel. Unfortunately, we headed up in the Cooper River rather than the Ashely River. It took a mile to figure this out and shift gears..
Here is Fort Sumter in the rain..and following are some pics of Charleston through the raindrops.
These guys may have had the right idea today. As we turned into the shipping channel that ran up into the Ashley River, two sailboats were anchored out..right about this time, I would have liked to have changed places...it was a miserable day today.
Once again today, there were lots of bridges, but our timing of the tides made the bridge transitions pretty easy. This is the kind of picture that I like to see as we approach a bridge.
If you look closely, the boards will show 67' clearance. This makes me smile! We crossed under 4 fixed bridges, two swing bridges, and a bascule bridge. We encountered the Ben Sawyer Memorial Swing Bridge as just west of Isle of Palms. We had to wait about 10 minutes for an opening and almost rain aground one more time as we were maneuvering against the current while waiting for the opening.
About 10 miles out of Charleston, we had a traffic jam when a tug boat pushing a couple of barges, another sailboat, and a motor trawler (and our boat) all got backed up going under a bridge.
It felt like we were trapped behind a 90 year old couple doing 25 in a 50 zone and we could not find a passing zone!..even at 8 knots, the same adrenalin flows..how sick is this:)
Even though it was raining all day, I still managed to get one bird shot..a lonely, wet pelican!
While I am sitting here writing this evening, I have been churning over whether or not we are dragging anchor. I was topside a couple of times, but it is still overcast and there is NO moonshine. My flashlight is worthless, but my cellphone has brought me a level of peace as I know that I am sitting in a creek with at least 1 knot of current as the tide runs out (not to mention the wind). Being an Iphone junkie, I have many many applications downloaded. One of the best apps for sailing is a navigation program called "Navionics". So I thought that I would track the motion of the boat in the creek as a function of wind/current and see if we were dragging anchor. Here is a poor photo of my Iphone, but it is an interesting picture.
The boat wandered around a bit with the wind change until the tide started to run out. Now it is in its present position, and has been for the last hour or so..guess the tide is running pretty aggressively.
Tomorrow, we hope to get a bit south of Savannah, GA. I don't want to push it too far as it is Vicki's birthday. She is "way younger than me" (according to her), although I suspect this trip will age here:)...I am hoping to find a nice marina and see if we can have a good meal out somewhere along the way. If you get a chance, "Text" or email Vic a happy birthday!
680 miles down, 820 to go.....
What a great adventure you two are on. Thanks for the postings, I certainly know how to pray for you during this trip. Happy Birthday to Vic....
Posted by: John Hilliard | 10/15/2009 at 02:54 AM
Wow, what a fun adventure Paul! Much, much more involved weather and tide planning than I had imagined. Nancy has been reading regularly but I just caught up and enjoyed all these first eleven days at once. (Here in Annapolis were at day 3 of 6 straight days of continuous light rain.) Reading along it felt like I was there with you and on the edge of my seat encountering each bridge and shoal, etc. It is very nice of you to blog this trip and share your photos. Yep, I recognized the CRE Grand Strand VOR! And happy BD to Vicki! I look forward to all your posts!
Posted by: Dave B | 10/16/2009 at 08:36 AM
John,
It is indeed an adventure..occasionally a bit too adventurous! Today was one of those days with some very tough travel in marginal weather and shallow water..but we are hanging tough..thanks for remember Vic on her BD..hope that you and Joann are doing well..Will be back in town for a few days around November 1..see you then!..Paul
Posted by: Paul White | 10/16/2009 at 07:03 PM
Hi Dave!..glad to see that you had a chance to share a bit in our journey..reminds me of Vic's and my honeymoon trip when we circumnavigated the US in the airplane..but this one is a lot more intense. When the weather is good, it is a hoot. When it is raining and shoaling/bridge issues become difficult, it is definitely intense. About a month ago when we all had dinner at Snyder's, I was lamenting to you and Nancy that we had not had a chance to enjoy the boat this summer with all that has unfolded with the family..well, I think that we got an entire year of sailing/motoring in and we are just past 1/2 way done...neat stuff.
Keep following and I will try to keep current as well..Vic's and my best to you and Nancy!..Paul
Posted by: Paul White | 10/16/2009 at 07:11 PM