We left St. Johns Yacht Harbor a little later than usual, about 9:00. We traveled six or eight miles and entered Charleston Harbor. Not so busy on a Saturday morning, at least from a commercial standpoint, but as we traveled on there were more and more boats with weekend warriors fishing in various locations and tributaries. The harbor was relatively calm and transiting the harbor was no problem. It is a big place. As we continued across we could see Ft. Sumter, and yes, it has the stars and stripes flying from the flagpole. After crossing the harbor there were a series of canals and creeks and small rivers. The farther we went the scenery became more of the same as we had in Georgia. Salt marshes with small streams and creeks everywhere winding through the marshes. We could see small boats with fishing gear pass us in either direction turning into these creeks and continuing on. There are no markers or landmarks, it all looks the same. You really have to know where you are going and how to get back. They would just disappear into the grasses never to be seen again. I think maybe I did hear banjos a couple of times. As has become the norm, as the day wore on, the tide begins to recede. And as the tide recedes, the shoals become more prominent in your thoughts, and avoiding them is a priority. There were a couple of time where the depth finder read less than 4 feet under the keel, and it wasn't even dead low yet. I can only imagine what the depths would be at dead low. Nonetheless, we made it to Wynyah Bay and the channel that would take us up the Waccamaw River north toward Myrtle Beach. It was time to top off the fuel tanks again so we stopped in Georgetown S.C. at the Georgetown Landing Marina. It was after 5:00 p.m. by the time we were done, and my plan had us traveling only another ten or fifteen miles, so I decided why not just stay here and tie up for the night. So hear we are in Georgetown S.C., not far from where we used to vacation each summer, and occasionally still do.
Tomorrow we continue northward toward Myrtle Beach and potentially beyond. Tomorrows challenge is the rockpile, a narrow part of the canal just south of Myrtle Beach with large boulders jutting out into the channel, some under the water so you can't see them. It is so narrow, that you don't want to be caught there with another boat, or heaven forbid, a barge coming the other direction. There is not enough room for two across and if you hit the rocks,.....well you get the picture.
Statistics for today - 71 miles traveled, 8hrs 34mins moving, 53mins stopped, 9hrs 27 mins total time. Total distance traveled 886 miles.
A couple of pictures from today
Fort Sumter
Charleston Waterfront
Charleston Waterfront
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