We came out of one river into another, with rather alarming frequency and after a while, they all began to look alike! The countryside is similar to what we have already been through...lovely large homes bordering the rivers, often over the Marshes, and just as often, along the waterfront. Their loooong docks almost need a map AND a GPS to find the end where the boat might or might not be.
I was up just before sunrise, this morning, and out taking photos. I think this is my favorite time of day. Waz stayed in bed for another half hour of snoozing.
Just before the sun came over the trees there...
Let me tell you, there were plenty of living, flying, biting things out there while I was snapping away! I didn't stay long!...looking down the river the way we came.
I love the reflections of some of the older boats. Love the rich dark reds and colors of the varnished teak railings!
Private docks up the river next to the marina..as you can see they are just behind the boat.
Waz finally ascended the stairs to the salon around 7.15. We had a cup of tea, which I had made a while ago, and decided to go back to the Beaufort bakery Café for breakfast as they had told us to!...well, invited might be the right word, achly!:)
And what delight!! A REAL HOT LATTE! wow. I wish I could wax poetic about the rest of the meal...so I wont even mention it! there!
Before leaving for our morning meal, at just around 8am, we untied a couple of other boats that were on the same dock as us. They were off to an early start, in the same direction we were going. Yes, we made the decision to go on to Charleston for a week. Better to spend our time them and rent a car, than to sit in Beaufort and not have enough to do.
Our neighbors were new to cruising, but the captain was doing really well with a single engine 36 footer with a stern thruster which he used to good effect. We pushed them off the dock, right before the older boat in front of them..third boat down the dock from us, was untied and pushed off. They were both going to meet up at their anchorage, for the night. We originally intended to do the same...three of us in one river anchorage, but things changed, yet again, for us.....later on that!
Once back from our breakfast, waz took the pump out of our toilet....yes, again! He knows that it is a small something in the system that clogs it. I must put all 50 toilet rolls in a large bag for him though, because each time he has to take the pump out, he has to get into the bottom of my closet in the bathroom and there are shoes and loo paper in there for China! and they all have to be taken out and put back! bah!
While he was doing that, I got waylaid being sociable...I was supposed to be putting the trash out!!! ...I swear the neighbors accosted ME...not the other way around, even though they had an adorable dog on board!! Serious!
We were minutes behind these neighbors on the other side of us, as they untied their lines and set forth for Charleston. They could go fast, so we didn't try to catch up, however, we were grateful that they went first, because we were almost at the bottom of the tide, and getting out of the river was anticipated as a bit tricky. ...and tricky it was. We watched them stop...and then realized they had bottomed out by going too close to the green post. We asked the Marina fellow who helped us with our lines, which way we should swing at the end of the river...he said as close to the middle as possible. We had more than a few anxious moments at around 4 knots, as we slid through the moored yachts which were supposedly in the deepest part of the river. Our mates in their fast boat were now steaming up the larger of the rivers and ICW, behind a Tow.
We came out the other end of the Factory Creek...you can see on the bottom right, where we have come from, around 10.30am. We didn't want to leave with the others, as we have 4.6ft draft, and at the bottom of the tide, we were going to run into trouble along the way...so we waited another two hours. It was well timed...kudos to our Captain Waz! He reads these things so well!
Waz knew what was ahead of us, but sometimes I don't want to know all the details, then I cant anticipate them. Good thing too, today. It was one skinny channel and shallow, after another. I lost count...seriously!
Our first tow for ages. We had to time the pass carefully and up the RPM to get past on one of the skinny channels. The river was wide at this point, but the channel itself was only about 8ft deep. He was doing about 6 knots, so we had to go around 9 knots to get past him before entering an even skinnier channel.
Yes, this is what the charts looked like ALL day. out of one, into another! endless!
Then we came out into another Sound. Relief! We could sit back and enjoy the 20+Ft under us and take our time to follow
Like I said...at least you can see over the top of the marshes, for the most part, but you cannot anticipate what is coming because the marsh kind of swallows it all up. You can see the shallow parts on the corner by the pole, cant you? Left! light blue!
This was a bit of a relief...getting into a wider river from the very shallow one we are leaving.
Yes, they all look the same, after a while. I cannot remember, let alone keep up with the many changes in direction, (although we ploughed our way north).
Here we go again...turning left into the next channel, :) This one had no marked depths, because it was man made and is assumed to be navigable. It was only 7ft at the deepest, but still navigable.
What a labyrinth of rivers!
On this chart you can see how they have connected the dots, as it were...and Look!! 24.9ft of water! Woohoo!
Once out of the Labyrinth, we were in the main river (ICW) leading to Charleston...which was always the goal...just how you get there is the problem:)
These barges were parked on the right of us, in very shallow water, and on the left of us, at the same turn in the river...
We hate it when arrogant boaters don't give you fair warning that they are going to pass, or ask for us to come down in knots for a 'slow' pass, which is etiquette on the waterways. This fellow was well up our spout and almost beside us before letting us know he was going to pass and could we all slow down. We wondered when he was going to ask, and didn't initiate the conversation over channel 16 , because of his rudeness. He passed at what we would call fast speed, and then sped away, once he was in front of us. Bah! It looked like the captain was a 'hired' captain, and his client was there for the ride.
Along this stretch of river, coming into Charleston, there were many pretty homes and lots of details worth noting. I loved the gazebo with chairs out front..in the shade!! much needed yesterday.
It was coming up High Tide. You have seen the boat lifts at low tide, so here is one at High Tide. Note the difference! 6-8 ft.
We were followed for the last couple of hours by another trawler. He kept up with us for the most part, but I guess Warren was in a hurry, or something, coz we notched it up a bit to 9 knots, along the areas we could. We needed to dock before the office closed, so I guess that was motivation enough. Lots of No Wake areas along this stretch of water, which rather draws things out, time-wise.
We turned at this corner and went under that bridge. I love the red roof!
This is obviously a public boat ramp. So many of them are under bridges. Lots of parking, I guess! They are already slow wake zones, so it makes good sense.
A celebration?
This home stuck out like....well...like none of it's neighbors...It somehow needs some softening, don't you think?
Finally!!! Our destination. It was late in the day, and we were very tired after all that hard work watching the depths.
I have to tell you, I have a NEW designation....Depth Watcher.
Voice Synthesized Depth...as Warren calls it...but he says I was ALWAYS watching the depth!:)
We know this, but it is now at HIS request! ha!
So this is how it goes.
He says.."Mon, I need you! "(nice to be needed!!)
Then I know that my place is perched on the end of the pilot seat on the fly deck, watching the chart plotter and the depth sounder screen, calling the numbers up and down for our depth of water. This is so that Waz can concentrate on steering us through the narrows and shallows without having to look down all the time.
I can also advise him to go port or starb'd if required. I tend to be a bit bossier than that, tho:) especially when it comes to cutting corners!! DONT CUT CORNERS!!!! they tend to be shallow!!! seriously!!!
Well, we didn't feel like eating left overs, (but may as well have), so we went up to the office when we had tied off, and signed our lives away before making our way to the Bar and Restaurant, attached. There is a nice pool...which I thought it might be fun to spend the day at with a good book and a servant to bring drinks (oh, you have to pay for that?? sheesh! I get mine for free, on the boat!)...oops got a bit carried away with THAT thought! (I could get MORE carried away, but you fellas might not enjoy the rest of the story!)....
anyhoo...we went to the bar coz the restaurant wasn't open...and ordered a beer for Waz and a Margharita for me. I didn't know what else to order. We also ordered a Jack Sparrow Burger for Waz and a Chicken quesadilla for me. Neither were high art food (you get the picture) but we were so hungry we ate them anyway, and watched the kids in the pool and observed human nature at it's most intoxicated at the Yacht Club.
Yes, this is a Yacht Club!Good weekly rates (which is why we are so far from the city center), but it is large, and there are no facilities (laundry and bathroom) our end of the complex. We will have to walk half a mile for both. Never mind! The facilities are superb, so we aren't complaining!
We have booked a weekend deal Enterprise car for the weekend, so we have wheels and can explore..yay! Stand by for our exploration photos and blurb...We picked up the car and found that it was inexpensive enough for us to have the car for a week..so we will turn it in on the morning we leave, which will be late because of tidal issues.
Signing off to go and cook breakfast! ciao
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