Chapter 2.3 Up (and Down?) the South Carolina Coast
The South Carolina Coast - Hilton Head to Southport, North Carolina
April 21, 2025 Hilton Head to Morgan Island. 53 miles
After a pleasant Easter at Susan and Paul's home on Hilton Head, Liz and I headed north up the coast again. This time with our sights set on the Chesapeake, just under 600 miles away. Our immediate plans called for a stop in Charleston, SC, to see that famous city, and another in Southport, NC, to visit with some friends.
As we left Hilton Head, we got a call on the radio from "Ecks2Sea" a motor catamaran just starting the loop (from Hilton Head). They had seen our Looper flag and wanted to chat. When they heard us say we were planning to anchor at Morgan Island, they directed us to the eastern most anchorage - further up Morgan Creek - where the Federal Government does research on Rhesus Monkeys.
Heading in over the bar on Morgan Creek was a bit like heading into Blackbeard River earlier on our journey. Feeling our way over the sand bar at the mouth of the Creek and then entering a relatively deep channel winding through a beautiful salt marsh. The sand bar not a place you want to be in rough or windy conditions particularly at low tide.
We spent a quiet night at anchor, and did hear monkeys howl as the daylight faded. However, we did not see any monkeys. Since low tide was just after sunrise - and I did not want to find ourselves inching over the bar at low - we were already on the move at dawn heading out on the ebbing tide.
April 22, 2025 Morgan Island to Charleston, SC. 54 miles
We had been back and forth about visiting Charleston, primarily concerned that maybe we couldn't afford the time, but things had been going well so we decided that yes, we would stop - in fact we decided to spend two nights.
We did enjoy the city, and Liz captured many nice details.
April 24, 2025 Charleston to McClellanville, SC 40.3 miles
Our last morning in Charleston was also our 100th day on the boat since taking ownership. This was brought home to me as I made coffee and found I was taking the last coffee filter out of the box, a box of 100.
However, the 100th day did not get off to a good start and we encountered difficulty getting away from the dock. When we had come in two days earlier, the marina staff had us tie up on the inside of a long "T" dock, with our bow up in the corner of the "T" and in front of a sail boat. Docking had been easy. We had come in bow first with no wind and no appreciable current.
Leaving our position meant backing out, but first getting out and around the sailboat astern of us. My plan was to spring forward slightly getting the stern away from the dock and then backing out. I had asked a dock hand to assist and he agreed but he asked I wait just a minute so he could start fueling another boat. He said he would be right back... I started up our engine and turned on the bow and stern thrusters putting them on standby.
Unfortunately the dock hand did not come back for quite some time, so when I started my maneuver, the stern thruster had unbeknownst to me, 'timed out'. I sprung forward putting the stern out, started backing, then reached for the stern thruster to straighten the boat back out. No stern thruster!!!
The other thing I hadn't counted on was that the ebb current had been increasing by the minute. Without the stern thruster, the boat spun broadside to the current and I could neither go forward or backward without hitting something. In seconds the current pinned us alongside the "T".
Our predicament brought out all the dock hands (and a few fellow boaters) and with them heaving on a long line run from my stern to the outside dock, and with the stern thruster now back 'on' we were able to get the boat pointed the right direction and get away from the dock! Whew! Aside from some small scratches and a bruised ego, everything was OK
April 25, 2025 McClellanville to Butler Island 34.3 miles
From just north of Charleston all the way to just south of Myrtle Beach is the Lowlands of South Carolina. Beautiful, wild salt marshes at first giving way to fresh water cypress swamps in the north. We saw Eagles, Osprey herons, egrets and alligators along the way.
Our anchorage at McClellanville looked out over the salt marsh to the open ocean in one direction and up at McClellanville, a quaint southern town up on a hill, in the other. McClellanville is the site of the largest storm surge in South Carolina history - 20 ft during a direct hit from Hurricane Hugo.
We had hoped to stop at Georgetown but the marinas were full so we passed on to Butler Island on the lower Waccamaw River and spent a lovely evening feeling like we were no longer in salt water. Just as we had dropped anchor I got a phone call. It was a marina in Hilton Head calling to tell me a slip had come available - wondering did we want it? I had called them over a month before and left my name on a wait list, but had written them off having not heard a word from them.
Wow, talk about a curve ball! Here we were having left Hilton Head 130 miles in our wake, having had our sights set on the Chesapeake ever since leaving Ft. Pierce, and suddenly this new possibility. What to do?
At first we discounted it. We were heading to the Chesapeake. It didn't seem to make sense to reverse course. But then we realized how intriguing the idea was. We had a marvelous time visiting my cousins. And despite it being Liz's first time meeting them, she really felt at home there. Wouldn't it be fun to spend more time there, with them?
A lot to think about. Meanwhile we had already arranged to met some friends in Southport, NC. So we put any decision aside and continued north.
April 26, 2025 Butler Island to Grand Dunes Marina Myrtle Beach 39 miles
Saturday. Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge and on to Myrtle Beach. It seemed like everyone who owned a boat in South Carolina was out on this stretch. In the Wildlife Refuge it was good ole boys in small skiffs with oversize outboards rigged with tillers. As in, no steering wheel, but a handle attached to the engine with a grip handle type throttle - kind of like you find on a motorcycle. With one hand on the tiller, you steer by pushing the handle left or right, and speed up or slow down by twisting the grip. Generally you find tillers on small outboards, - 2 1/2 to 10 hp or so, but these boys had 90 or 110 hp engines! They were out running up and down the river in gangs of 6 or 8 boats, stopping suddenly in the middle of the channel to joke about something, then race past us one way, they the other. It felt a bit like a Mad Max movie.
As we headed into Myrtle Beach later in the day the packs of skiffs gave way to packs of jet skis -exhibiting much the same behavior. We were glad to finally get off the water!
April 27, 2025 Myrtle Beach to St James Marina in Southport, NC
As this was Sunday and we still were within the grips of Myrtle Beach, we got a 7:30 AM departure and were rewarded by pretty much having the waterway to ourselves all morning and by 10:15 AM we left South Carolina behind and entered North Carolina. Another state whose coast line we have traversed!!
We were at the St James marina before 2. That evening we had dinner with Caroline and Joe, friends of Liz's. She and Caroline were neighbors in Yonkers when they were just kids. A relaxing evening kicked off by cocktails on Navigator and dinner at the restaurant in the Marina.
As the restaurant was closing and we were saying good bye out front we heard screeching tires and the sound of a golf cart in turmoil - I thought one had rolled over on it's side. My ski patrol instincts kicked in and I ran to the scene. There I found a rather startled young man half in and half out of an upright golf cart. The golf cart was in an unusual spot - sideways between parked cars, just 10 or 15 ft from the side of an expensive looking car. I wondered how he had ended up there???
I asked if he was OK. He was clearly startled and a bit confused but adamant he was unhurt. He said something about having to avoid a head on collision (with what car I wondered). I gave him a chance to collect himself and kept looking to see if was OK. I found his vape on the floor boards of the cart. I realized that there were cart tracks through the landscaping behind him and pieced together that he had been cruising along an adjoining road, must have swerved and catapulted over the curb, through some shrubs, then slammed on the brakes coming to a halt just short of the expensive car.
Looking at how he was dressed, I concluded he was someone from the restaurant and probably had been taking out the garbage (the dumpster was just around the corner). Probably vaping, maybe texting - and just not paying attention to his driving.
The next day I had a Cummins diesel mechanic stop by. Jason was extremely knowledgeable and got much more clarity on our alarm problem - mainly by confirming that there was no sensor, and by confirming the gear box fluid was clear and that the filter showed no signs of catching any debris. I also had him change the oil on the generator. All in all hours well spent.
Late that afternoon I finally had a some time to think about our next problem: Continue on to the Chesapeake or Return to Hilton Head? Stay on the path that we had been following - or make a sudden about face? I was feeling pretty stressed. It seemed crazy to turn around and head back 215 miles. I even called Rob and told him we were continuing on.
Fortunately Liz and I decided to pause and stay an extra day at St James Marina. It just seemed like we had not given this decision our undivided attention. First, we slept late and had a good breakfast. Then we took a 6 mile walk through the gated community connected to the marina. Pretty much the whole walk we talked about how intriguing the idea of leaving the boat in Hilton Head seemed. My cousins are there. The island was attractive to both of us. Maybe we should just be guided by this turn of events and take advantage of the opportunity.
April 30, 2025
North or south today? We had pretty much decided the night before but it wasn't until we got up in the morning and looked at each other that we knew we were heading back down to Hilton Head.
Wow, adventure upon adventure. Best wishes in return to Hilton Head, a marvelous place to be at! Glad the impeller was able to be fixed, yikes! May the now one be steady and intact for a long time.
ReplyDeleteRick aka Burl