Georgia and the Carolinas

4/18/08

We left Jekyll Island yesterday to start the trip to Savannah. People on the loop say that one of the hardest places to get through is Georgia and especially the Little Mud River. It is not ever dredged and can get very shallow at low tide. We spent quite a bit of time studying the tide tables. There is also another shallow spot just after we leave Jekyll. They are several hours apart so if you hit one at high tide you will hit the other at low.  We decided to just get the first one at the 7 am high tide and then when we get to the Mud River to throw down the anchor for a few hours until it comes up again. As it worked out we left the marina in the middle of quite a flotilla of four sail boats and four power boats. Rolf got on the radio and asked the sailboats if they had been through before and as it turned out one of them had done it many times and they had a 6 foot draft. So we followed them through. They said it was ok to go through on a lowering tide so we did. We did not run aground which was a great relief. It pays to be sociable I guess. We anchored out in a small creek called Cattle Pen Creek. The change in scenery from Florida to here is quite striking.

It is easy to figure out why they call it “The Low Country”. It is mostly grass and water with some occasional trees. When sitting in the anchorage you can see boats all around but they look like they are in a hay field. The nearby “solid ground” is really marsh flats. It doesn’t take too long to get through Georgia. It is a big enough state but the coastline is only about 140 miles long so in a few days we will be on to South Carolina.

Today on the 18^th we got to the Isle of Hope Marina outside of Savannah. Since we were delayed by the weather we, and the Wakes, arrived around the same time. The folks that say cruising in the ICW is a little more difficult are right. It is not particularly physically hard but more mentally challenging. In the rivers you could aim for the buoys and be comfortable that you were in the channel. The difference here is that instead of the water always going one way downstream, this is all connected to the ocean and tidal so the water is going both ways. That means the silting is not consistent. The streams are meandering and the shallows are not well defined. So if you aim at a buoy, there could be several curves between where you are and where you want to go. All of the sudden you are quite near one shore or the other. Also there are a lot of ranges and some of them you have to watch from behind. We start to lose a little concentration after about 30 miles.

4/20/08

This weekend we are sightseeing with the Wake Family around Savannah. On Saturday we went downtown for a trolley tour and had oysters on the riverfront for lunch. We went to the Six Pence Pub for supper. If any of you saw the movie “Something to Talk About” with Julia Roberts the scene where she sees her husband having lunch with the blonde was filmed in that pub. We did not see Julia but the food was good. We were not planning on doing a movie tour but they also talked a lot about the movie and book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” which was set in Savannah and filmed there. We did try to go to Paula Deen’s restaurant. What a deal. They do not take reservations so you have to stand in line at 9:30 am to put your name in for that night. When we got there the line was at least 3 blocks long so we figured there would be other good places to eat. Also with that many people on the list we thought it would be a little like herding cattle. So we took a pass.

We also took in a tour of Fort Pulaski. It has a similar history to the one we saw in the Dry Tortugas. It was also made obsolete at the same time because of the upgrade in technology of the cannons. The boys enjoyed the demonstration of a civil war musket. After that we headed out to the Atlantic and dipped our toes in. The water is quite warm here because the gulf stream comes in real close. We also had lunch at an interesting place called “Fannies on the Beach”. Catchy name.

4/21/08

Today we left to go to Hilton Head. Todd had to drive the car but Kris and the boys came with us. Doug was a little disappointed at first that we were not going to be able to sail but he had a good time especially after a dolphin came up and performed for him. Usually each time we leave they are around the boat early in the morning. Today one stuck his nose out of the water as if to say hi. Then he jumped up and turned over so we could see the underside. I have never seen that behavior other times since we have been here.

4/23/08

The kids all left yesterday.  Today we rented a car and went back to Savannah to check out the houses a little more. We went through the Mercer House. This was the house that played a big part in the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” If you have read this book, it is a fun place to go through since it is a true story. A lot of the characters in the book are still around. It is also just glorious walking around the town squares. They are every bit as great as described in the book and other places. The Live Oak trees are stately and beautiful. The Spanish moss hanging from them with the dappled sun shinning through also gives them a soft floaty quality. We also took a bike ride along the trail at Hilton Head. I think it is the prettiest bike trail I have ever been on. Of course we forgot the camera. So you will just have to go and see for yourself. The next picture is one Rolf took of the marina we are staying in.

Harbor Town Marina - Hilton Head.

4/25/08

We are leaving Hilton Head Island to go to Beaufort, South Carolina. I enjoyed the excessive display of wealth. Plus I liked the trees. The mix of real pine trees and palms was nice. It smelled like a real “Carolina Pine Forest.” That is an inside comment for Carolyn because for some reason that nobody knows her nickname when she was a teenager was Carolina Pine Forest.

Beaufort, SC is a nice little town, the usual mix of gorgeous mansions, lovely waterfront and nice people. Yeesh, how much can I take of this. I also have to explain something because people up north (Yankees) don’t know. If you are in South Carolina the town of Beaufort is pronounced Bewfort, like beautiful. If you are in the town of Beaufort North Carolina it is pronounced Bofort. I don’t know the reason for this but if we find out when we get to North Carolina I will let you know. We go through both of them and they are both supposed to be nice.

On Sunday the 27^th we left to head for Charleston. This part of the ICW is also difficult. It seemed like I spent most of my time below staring at the computer telling Rolf where the channel is. So we finally figured out how to put the computer up under the dodger. That way the person steering can see the better map program. It saved us from running aground several times. We don’t know why we didn’t think of this sooner. Oh well, better late than never. Joyce gave me a small portable umbrella last year for Christmas. It worked perfect to protect the computer from the sun and helped us to see the screen. Thanks Joyce. We went 50 miles today and that is a long day for us but we have to start heading north sometime. Can’t lay around in the sun forever.

4/30/08

We got to Charleston on Monday. We only needed to go 18 miles. That is great because it is blustery and cool. We met up with Jere and Diane Bremer at suppertime and headed out to eat. During our meal it really poured. By the time we were done the streets were pretty flooded.

 On Tuesday we headed out in the morning to see the Yorktown at the Maritime Museum. It is an aircraft carrier that served in WWII and Vietnam. We got to tour the bridge, wheelhouse, flight deck, living quarters etc. We spent most of the morning there.

After lunch we headed out to Drayton Hall. The house was built for John Drayton, begun in 1738 and completed in 1742. This plantation was built with indigo and rice money. It is the only plantation house on the Ashley River to survive the American Revolution, the Civil War, a major earthquake and Hurricane Hugo intact. Seven generations of heirs preserved the house in original condition. It has not been updated in that there is no electricity or running water in the house. They have chosen to show it without furniture or ornamentation. It survives with original paint, floors and some ornate ceilings and fireplaces intact. It was quite striking and a different approach to preservation.

On Wednesday we took a carriage ride around the city. It seems a good way to get an overview of the place and figure out which things would warrant a longer visit. One thing that surprises me about Charleston and Savannah is that they are not bigger cities. Both of them are around 100,000. I always think that because they are quite famous they would be bigger. We then checked out another mansion. This was the Williams-Calhoun House. It was about as opposite from the Drayton house as you could get. This is what the book says. “It is the largest privately owned home in Charleston at about 24,000 sq. feet. It is filled with decorative splendor, exquisite antiquities, and works of art as well as compelling architectural spaces. It was built in 1876 by George William for $200,000 and the lot was $40,000. Louis Tiffany installed decorative paintings and lighting at the turn of the century.” The guy that owns it now is a massive collector. My personal opinion is that the guy must have OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). You have to own a lot of ____ to fill every nook and cranny of a 24,000 sq. ft house. The house itself and gardens were well worth seeing but I was getting a little dizzy just trying to see all the stuff inside.

Another aspect of our visit to Charleston was the mud flats exposed at low tide. Many boats would tie up at high tide and not care if they were high and dry later. One sailboat sat up on the mud flat with a groove showing where the outboard had dug a channel. Kind of limits your choices as to leaving the dock.

We also saw the 200 foot boat “April Fool”. Sounds like another April fool joke but it isn’t. This one was not up on the mud flat and seemed to have plenty of room for a crowd.

Jere and Diane left for home on Thursday and we got the boat stocked up and cleaned up for the big trek up to the Chesapeake.

5/02/08

We left Charleston this morning to head to an anchorage at Minim Creek. It was pleasant day weather wise. However it was our slowest and shallowest day yet. We struggled all day to stay exactly on the sailing line that the computer plotted out for us. Sometimes we got down to about 3 or 4 mph. That way if we hit the bottom we wouldn’t be too jammed in. The lowest depth we got was 5.1 feet. We had a whole inch to spare.  Once we touched bottom lightly but were able to scoot through with luck.

5/03/08

We left Minim Creek early and went 40 miles to Osprey Marina. I felt like we really left the Low Country of South Carolina today.

All of the sudden we have green trees, flies, mosquitoes and song birds instead of pelicans. Osprey is a small marina but very nice. It had one of the most scenic entrances with tall trees on either side of a narrow channel. They tried to put us on a wall in front of a power boat with the area being obviously too small even to me. I am notoriously bad at judging distances so it had to be bad. Plus there was a sign on the wall that said “Danger - Rock Pile” Needless to say we asked for another place and they put us on the gas dock. They were very nice about it and said they just wanted us to be happy. Boy that is a tall order. The Osprey Marina is small but they aim to please. They gave us a goodie bag when we got there. I felt like I was there to get an academy award. Most marinas give you a couple of maps and a floating key chain. This bag had cheese, crackers, candy, cookies, matches, map for town, whistle, pen, magazine, and paper clips. Quite a good haul.

5/04/08

Today we went another 40 miles from the Osprey to Myrtle Beach Yacht Club.   The traveling is taking a little bit out of us because there is absolutely no off time when you are underway. I am not exaggerating when I say that if you lose concentration for more than a minute or two you will be up on shore in the mud. This is not to complain but just to say how it is. For some reason, is feels harder to do than the rivers even though it looks similar.  It is fun to see familiar green colors again and this morning when the sun came up the trees were so green they looked computer enhanced. I kept taking my sun glasses off to see the real color because I thought it was just the glasses. Also there are some bushes around here that smell like lilacs. I can smell them while we are running but don’t know what kind of bush it is. We went out for dinner tonight and ran into a couple we met in Ottawa, Ill and Green Turtle Bay, Ky. They are Sally and Oliver from Port Washington WI. We had a lot of catching up to do about loop stuff and they told us all about the strange and mystical workings of politics in Port Washington. It makes Sheboygan sound almost normal. You notice I said “almost.”

5/05/08

We are now in North Carolina as of 8:07 this morning. The last couple of days we have been in the part of the ICW known as “The Ditch”. Based on what I have been saying about it the last couple of days you can understand what it looks like. The hardest thing for me to get used to is keeping my eyes on the land close to the boat. All the other years on Lake Michigan and driving a car you are always looking ahead and planning what to do next. Now I have to look to each side and then to the depth sounder. I keep an eye on those with an occasional glance to see I am actually not running into anything like an oncoming boat or a bridge. I look to one side and think I am a little too close to the bank and go to make a correction then I glance at the other side and see I am actually closer. So then I figure I am in the middle and stay where I am. I have noticed that my range of motion in my neck is getting better.  We actually had quite an eventful day today.  There is quite a current which is either pushing you along or holding you back big time. That is dependable because of the tides. But, there are also occasional inlets connected to the Atlantic. When you go past those, there are big swirls and eddys. The boat gets pushed sideways somewhat.  Plus, that area gets silted in so it is much shallower than the rest. Lots of excitement there. We are going 50 miles today but it was a much longer day than the mileage suggests. We went against a tide for quite a while which slowed us to 2.9 mph. Next we had to wait a long time at a pontoon bridge. Also, remember when I said if you lose concentration for a minute you hit the mud, well we did. Again I won’t mention names of who was steering other than to say we have all had our turn. But, luckily it happened at low tide so we just waited for the water to come up. But that took about a ½ hour bite out of the day.

Another thing slowed us down but we were having fun with it. In the Cape Fear River it is dredged to 50 feet because there is a submarine base nearby. That makes it nice for a while and Rolf kept saying he wanted to see a sub. All of the sudden this big power boat in front of us slowed down almost to a stop. Then a fully armed Coast Guard patrol boat was circling them. We thought they must have had some trouble. But then they started circling us. We stopped and they pulled alongside. It was quite impressive with the guys standing on the bow manning those big machine guns. So the Coast Guard said we needed to leave the channel because a sub would be coming out and we needed to stay 500 yards away so “something bad doesn’t happen to us”. He said it with a smile but I think he was only half kidding. Luckily the river was wide enough at that point we had a place to go.

Just as we got out of the channel a big Polaris Sub went by with fully armed ships in escort. It was quite a sight to see.  We ended up at our anchorage at 5 pm after 10 hours on the water. I was pooped. So we put down the anchor and I went below to make supper. Well after about 10 minutes we hear shouting. The anchor dragged and we are heading close to a catamaran. So up comes the anchor and we try again. It just didn’t seem to hold there either and the book said it was a hard place to get a hold. But luckily there was a marina close by and I gently suggested being at a dock would help Rolf to sleep better tonight. So that’s what we did. Oh, and I almost forgot, in the middle of that we had a lightning storm. So, all in all, a busy and exciting day. I hope tomorrow is a little easier. 

It is generally turning out to be very difficult anchoring with the wind pushing you one way and the tide pushing you back and forth. It is not as if all boats respond the same to these effects. Sailboats seem to be more responsive to the tide and power boats more to the wind. One anchors with plenty of distance to nearby boats and then the tide puts you close to a boat being affected by the wind.  The only solution is the Bahamian anchoring technique with two bow anchors set 180 degrees apart and plenty of room to swing.

5/6/08

Today we quit at noon. We stopped at Swan Point Marina. It is one of those generic marinas that you get in and get out of. The people were very nice but not much of a homey facility. It is more of a boat repair shop. They had a loaner car for shopping to go to the Food Lion. It was a reminder of the ones we drove in Mississippi. It was a 1989 Plymouth Van. Old and musty with part of the dash hanging by wires. It sort of floated you down the road sideways. The headliner kept hitting Rolf on the top of his head and the door panel fell in when he closed the door. I sort of like those old cars because there is no pressure. You just don’t worry about hurting them and they do get you to the grocery store and back.

5/8/08

We went the 40 miles to Beaufort North Carolina today. The tide was with us most of the day so we were easily being pushed along at about 9.5 mph. We were along side Bogue Sound. It is a 20 mile long body of water between the outer islands and the mainland. It looks very large but the depth of it is mostly 1 to 2 feet on the south and 3 to 4 on the north. You can get the perspective if you notice way on the far side there are substantial houses. That shows how large the area is.  So we still needed to stay in the channel.

We are at the Beaufort City Docks which is right on the main street. We are in the next slip from our friends Ray and Linda who we spent a lot of time with around Thanksgiving in Pensacola. I am sure there will be fun dinners ahead. We are planning to stay a couple of days because the weather is supposed to deteriorate tomorrow.

5/10/08

We stayed in Beaufort from the 7^th to the 10^th. It is a town of about 3 thousand. We waited out some windy and stormy weather here. I asked a clerk why this town was pronounced different than the other Beaufort. She said she thought it was the correct French pronunciation but wasn’t sure. I thought there would be a more interesting story. The weather cleared today and we headed to Oriental. It is getting easier to travel. I think we are pretty much out of “the ditch”. Oriental is an interesting little city. The population is about 850. The guide book we use says they have 2,700 sailboats and the bartender at the tiki bar says it is more like 4,000. So I think you could say this is a sailing community. We, of course felt right at home. It is real small town living. There seems to be some town dogs. They just wander around greeting people. One of them even wandered into our restaurant during the storm. There are very few cars on the street. There is a lot of horn honking and waving of people who know each other. Our marina is small but connected to a small motel so the tiki bar here is the town hub. Now you might think that not much goes on here but we have had some exciting times. First of all after my shower, I left my crocs on the dock like I usually do. Later I looked and one of them was missing. They float so I walked all over the marina looking for it. They are florescent green so should be easy to spot. No luck. This was on Mothers Day the 11^th. If you watched the weather you know that some big storms and tornados came through here at suppertime. So I figured it blew out to sea and that would be the end of that. The tornados were about 20 miles south of here near Beaufort so they were close enough. On Monday morning I heard a knock on the hull and there was Ray standing with my croc in a net. He had been out and saw it floating over by the shrimp boats. So he fished it out for me. I scrubbed off the slime and it is as good as new. Later that day I was cleaning and I hear another knock. There is Ray again holding Rolf’s shoe and it is wet. It seems Rolf was trying to help a single handed sailor leave the dock in 30 mph winds and the boat got safely off with him on it. In the process he lost a shoe overboard. The guy dropped him off at the gas dock so he did come back. Good thing we have Ray around and shoes that float.

On Monday we were having lunch at a diner and the guy next to us had a Packer shirt on. So of course we had to say hello and find out who he was. It turns out that his sister Diane has worked with Rolf at the clinic for many years and Rolf was trying to find him. He was a little surprised when Rolf asked if his name was Paul Olson and it was. Small world.

5/15/08

 On the 14^th the wind died enough for us to leave Oriental. We had a fine trip to Dowry Creek Marina. It is a good marina but once again off by itself. There were some great houses on the water and we had a great happy hour party with all the boaters in the marina lounge. Then on the 15^th we left for Elizabeth City. It was a long day and farther than we wanted to go but the weather was supposed to deteriorate the next day so we hustled to get there. I suppose you are wondering about the sailing picture above. We finally got into open water in the Albermarle Sound. We got to shake out the sails and scoot along. It felt great after being so restricted for a long time. The only big adventure on the way was when I had to reach far back in the locker to get a fender and my life jacked got caught on the edge. So there I was stuck head first in the locker for a while. Rolf finally undid my life jacket and I was free. We then tied up on the city wall at Elizabeth City. Everyone from around there says it is safe, but we are still a little paranoid about the wall since the big break in last fall. So we were careful about staying on the boat after dark.

 This city has a tradition they call Rose buddies. It was started many years ago as a custom of two gentlemen who brought gifts of roses or newspapers to women on visiting yacht. Now comprised of both men and women, the Rose buddies have taken over the tradition and through their personal touch of giving roses to all of us who stop there they remind us all to stop and smell the roses. They also hosted an evening wine and cheese party where the descendents of previous buddies gave out great information about navigating the Dismal Swamp.

Oh, I almost forgot. Today is our anniversary. Not our wedding anniversary. It is a year ago today that we moved aboard the boat. So we have been floating for a full year. Even though we still had the house for a while, we did not live there after May 15.  This year went FAST. It is a little hard to believe that things have gone pretty smoothly. The boat is still in pretty good shape, except for a little rust. I guess that sounds a little like us too. 

5/17/08

Today we left Elizabeth City for the Dismal Swamp. This sign is on the way in to the swamp. It was closed to navigation last year because of the drought. They are trying to remind people that it is open and to please stop in. There were several similar signs along the way.

The name sounds terrible but it is actually it is one of the most beautiful places we have been to in a long time. It has a very long history. The brochure says “The Dismal Swamp Canal, which connects the Elizabeth River in Virginia and the Pasquotank River in North Carolina, is the oldest continually operating canal in the United States. Now a historic landmark, the canal has experienced numerous changes and periods of prosperity and neglect.” George Washington, Robert E Lee’s dad and Patrick Henry were all involved with it at times. It has so much history and unusual geography and geology that I can’t begin to talk about the whole thing. So if you want to know more, check out this Dismal Swamp site. They are worth a look. The swamp is higher than the surrounding rivers so we had to go up 8 feet to get in and down 8 feet to get out. We entered on May 17^th at the 11:00 lock. On the way we touched logs 7 or 8 times. The hits were minor, just a tap on the keel when the depth sounder read 7 or 8 ft. There is a nice visitor’s center dock to tie up to about 11 miles in. We had 7 boats at the dock. There was another great happy hour at the end of the day. We stayed there over night and then headed out the next day.

Both days were warm and sunny. The whole canal was just beautiful. The trees were that dark green with a profusion of honeysuckle bushes growing everywhere. I guess they are planted to prevent bank erosion. They also have the sweetest smell, almost like lilacs. This is the area known as blackwater (yes, that company has a training area somewhere around here). But in the bright sunlight the water looks to be between black and a deep coffee brown. It gets that color from the tannic acid in the tree roots and is sterile because bacteria cannot survive in it. The dark water reflects the trees as even greener than they are. I just kept snapping pictures because it was so pretty though they will probably all look the same. We crossed into Virginia this morning at 8:50 and headed into Norfolk. With the big navy shipyards here it is quite a culture shock to be in the swamp and then an hour later to be in the middle of all those huge ships. So good bye to the Carolinas and hello Chesapeake.

This picture is a shot of what it looked like through the dodger as we were trying to stay in the middle .