Month: May 2020

We woke up somewhat early and departed our mooring. We wanted to get going with a high tide and didn’t even take Frank to shore because we weren’t going too far today- only about twelve miles. Once we were clear of the creek we continued up the Waccamaw River, which is the ICW route to our destination. We came upon the turn off and worked our way back to the anchorage. I noted the water depth was between ten to eighteen feet all the way back, which made me feel good about it. As we came to the last bend, we could see the large sand dune/ beach and started looking for a spot to drop the anchor. We dropped anchor and let out quite a bit of scope due to the current that was running through. We ended up being about fifty feet from the beach and yet we still had about fifteen feet of water under us. There was a couple of small pontoon boats beached with people walking around. Once I was sure we weren’t moving I took Frank for a quick trip to land but avoided the people. I walked up the large dune and saw we were in the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge. There were trail running in both directions, and it looked like we had a lot to explore later! We returned to the boat and I told Lauren about our scouting mission. We wanted to stay away from people, so we decided to have lunch and see if the boats left. Eventually we went to shore and went for a hike. Frank probably enjoyed this anchorage the most because he could run free without a leash as there was no one around. There was plenty of forest and trails we hiked through, even finding an old, what looked abandoned cemetery in the middle of the forest. There were trail signs so we wouldn’t get lost and informing us of local wildlife. We knew we had to stay another night…

Day 2- we were the only boat there on our first night. The sounds of wildlife came alive at night and it was awesome. The morning was nice- we were so close to shore I just rowed in instead of starting the dinghy engine. Frank got to run free and we explored some more. We noticed there was a rope swing from a cliff by us, which I checked out the first day and was thinking of doing today. Another trawler pulled in in the afternoon and anchored past us up river. At least they stayed pretty far away so we didn’t feel crowded. A few other pontoon boats came and went throughout the day and we relaxed on the boat. Frank got a few walks in and we explored more trails, looking for the wild pigs and other wildlife the signs told us about. As much as we enjoyed this anchorage, we figured we should continue moving northward, and the forecast for the next couple of days was not looking good. High winds and some rain was expected. We called a well known marina which a lot of Loopers stop at due to the cheap fuel prices and docks. We made a reservation for a few days so we could be safe during the storms.

The following morning I took Frank to shore for a nice long walk before we left. I realized I had not actually jumped from the rope swing, so I decided I was going to do it now before we leave. Our neighbor trawler had left earlier in the morning and so we were alone. I stripped down, grabbed the line and swung out to the water while Frank was probably wondering “what the hell is he doing!?”… Lauren may or may not have video… After we made it back to the boat, we readied for departure and pulled anchor. The wind was starting to really pick up, but we didn’t notice it until we were back on the ICW…

So we left McClellanville and headed to Georgetown South Carolina. Georgetown is the third oldest city in South Carolina, and the second largest port of South Carolina. We knew there was a free dock available in the river, but also knew we could not stay there overnight. We figured we would tie up there for the day and move and drop anchor close by like we did in Beaufort. We entered the river and it splits into two channels, with an island in between. The town is to the right, and an old steel mill is to the left, but they come together at the end of the island. As we entered, we could see there were many boats anchored about, some looking like they haven’t moved in a while. We found the free dock and pulled in and tied off. Once we were secure, Lauren took Frank for a walk around town to do some exploring and let him stretch his legs. She came back and we were hanging out, deciding what to eat for lunch. She mentioned a restaurant she had passed called Big Tuna, which we looked up online and decided to get some take out. We had lunch, then we unloaded the bikes and were ready to explore the town. “Georgetowns entire downtown is a National Historic District, where visitors can stroll along the live oakshaded streets and adjacent neighborhoods, admiring the city homes of former plantation owners. There are 63 downtown homes on the National Historic Register. The town and its residents welcome transients with a wealth of services, including good restaurants and interesting shopping…” there is also a Rice Museum, which was closed, as well as every other museum including the Maritime Museum. The rice museum sounded interesting for sure: “By 1840 the Georgetown District (later County) produced nearly one-half of the total rice crop of the United States.  The decade of the 1850’s was the most profitable decade for the rice planters. The Rice Museum chronicles the development of this most important American industry and its impact on not only South Carolina, but internationally as well.” Oh well- I guess we’ll have to come back some day… we continued on the bikes and had a fantastic cruise around the town and neighborhoods. We eventually made it back to the boat and figured it was time to find a spot to anchor. I mentioned there were several boats anchored, so it wasn’t going to be easy to find a good spot. I had looked at the charts and saw an anchorage up the other side of the island, so we departed and went around to the other side. We were making way when I noticed the depth finder dropping rapidly. I throttled back and soon we came to a complete stop. We were grounded. Again. I say ‘again’, it was the first time today but not lately it seems. Anyway- here we are, aground and not moving. I have now shifted to reverse and am trying to get us un-stuck. Dusk is now upon us and we don’t have too much time to find a good place to anchor. I finally get us free for our stuck position and we decide we will go back to the side we just came from and maybe approach that way. As we are coming back around, I hear the radio come to life and someone call out to us- “trawler looking for an anchorage- you can use the empty mooring ball you just passed “ I respond to him and clarify they are talking to us and where this mooring ball was. The guy on the radio said he saw us go past and assumed we were looking for an anchorage. I’m not sure if he owned the mooring ball or the marina it was across from, but I was very thankful for the offer and told him so. Lauren and I briefly discussed it, but we were running out of light and options. I wasn’t too sure of the depth around it and Lauren wasn’t too sure of the ball being secure, but in the end we tied off to it. Dinner was made and we watched to make sure we weren’t going to swing into the two boats tied together on a single mooring ball next to us. The guy on the radio had assured me we would be fine, so we ate and researched our next stop. We decided we would stop at an anchorage not too far down the river called Thoroughfare Creek. It looked like a well protected anchorage with plenty of depth. I looked at the satellite view and could also see what looked like a large beach, so it should be a good place to land a dinghy for Frank too…

We left Price Creek around 10am and headed to McClellanville. McClellanville is a small fishing town in rural Charleston County, South Carolina. The population was 499 at the 2010 census. Today’s trip was only about eighteen miles and we were heading to a marina of sorts. It is not a marina in the sense of several boat slips, but it was a dock for shrimp boats, it sold fuel, and had a couple of boats tied to the dock. Our reason for stopping here was the history and it’s reputation for seafood. The first store in this town opened soon after the Civil War, and the village became the social and economic center for a wide area that produced timber, rice, cotton, naval stores, and seafoods. Incorporated in 1926, McClellanville became, and remains, best known for its shrimping fleet and seafood industries. Once we got close, I called and was directed where to dock along the only long dock they have.

Once we were secured, we took the bikes for a tour of the village. We saw an oak tree that is claimed to be one thousand years old, we biked to T. W. Graham and Company a popular and locally famous restaurant. They were open for carry out only and on our first pass it was quite busy. We came back and it still had a few people outside waiting, so we decided to place an order. We had a couple of beers while waiting for our food, then took our order back to the boat to eat our lunch. After eating, we got on the bikes again and stopped at a Livingston’s Bulls Bay Seafood shop and bought pickled shrimp, crab dip, and some raw shrimp to make dinner later. We dropped our purchases off at the boat and continued on our tour of the town. By dinner time, we got back and went about preparing the shrimp so we could have shrimp and rice with old bay and butter. Delicious!

Tomorrow we plan on going about twenty five miles to Georgetown, which is half-way between Myrtle Beach and Charleston…

So after a few days of short hops, we took a longer one today. We went a little over fifty miles to make it to Charleston. The rain and storms had been on and off, and more rain was coming. We wound our way up the ICW and finally made it to the Ashley River, which is on the west side of Charleston, and northwest of Fort Sumter. We came up the river and past a couple of anchorages. The first anchorages we passed looked kind of exposed to us, so we kept going past them. We passed under the James Island Expressway Bridge and saw more boats anchored. The anchorage between the US 17 (Ashley River) Bridges and the James Island Bridge. There were several boats here, and we circled through trying to find a spot with enough room for us to let out a good amount of scope (anchor line) so we could swing with the wind and current and not be close to other boats. We finally found a spot at the back end of the anchorage, fairly close to the Ashley River Bridge. Once we dropped anchor and let out the line, we were probably about a hundred feet from the bridge. This was kind of close, but we had confidence in our anchor and felt we were secure. Obviously if the anchor would drag, we wouldn’t have too much time before we hit the bridge, but that is part of the ‘what-if?’… We did our routine of making sure we were secure, then finally took Frank to shore. The wind had picked up and was causing pretty good size waves in the anchorage. We saw there was a park next to The Citadel with a dock, so we headed over there in the dinghy. Once we were close, we noticed signs and barriers blocking off the dock. Due to the virus, it was closed. Ughh. We turned the dinghy around and headed toward the marinas that were across from the anchorage. Unfortunately, once we were turned around, we were now running straight into the waves, which were splashing overboard and getting us soaked. We were trying to get ot the municipal marina, but the waves were too big, so we ducked in to a private marina across from where we anchored. I pulled up to the gas dock and saw there was an employee coming over to us. I asked if we could walk the dog quickly and he said yes. We walked out to the parking lot, but then I turned around and retreated back to the dinghy to wait so we all didn’t get locked out if they closed the gates. Lauren and Frank returned after a short walk and we departed back to Klondike for the evening.

Day 2- The rain had started overnight and didn’t let up. We spent the day on the boat, staying dry and hanging out. We couldn’t really get to shore, so the day was uneventful. We watched the boat swing with the wind, and reverse with the current which was stronger than the wind. The anchor was holding well whichever way we turned, so we were happy with our overall situation, even though we couldn’t get out and explore. We have been here before and everything is closed, so it wasn’t too bad. We decided tomorrow we will carry on to our next destination: Price Creek, which is only a little more than twenty miles away, but has potential to be a very nice anchorage…

Again we were only going about twenty miles today. Since we are not in a hurry to get anywhere, these short hops are just fine with us…

*** Our trip home is one of three options, of which all are currently closed to navigation and/or delayed in opening- if they open at all, due to the virus. Our first option of routes will take us though New York Harbor and along the Hudson River to Waterford, New York, where we will continue north through the Champlain Canal into Lake Champlain and on to the Saint Lawrence Seaway eventually arriving in Lake Ontario. Traveling through this area is scenic and filled with early American history, but goes through Canada, which the border is currently closed. Our second option route will take us up the Hudson River again to Waterford, New York, but this time we will turn west through the 363-mile Erie Canal across New York State to Buffalo, New York, on Lake Erie.  Although traveling the full length of the historical waterway is scenic and educational, the route has two problems: There are bridges on the western half of the canal charted as low as 15’ and we will exit the canal in Lake Erie, not Lake Ontario. The third option follows the Erie Canal about halfway across New York State into the Oswego Canal that leads directly to Lake Ontario. The Erie Canal is currently closed. It usually opens May 15th, after they do routine maintenance in the spring. Due to the virus, the routine maintenance has been stopped, and the canal will not open until that is complete- and as of today (5/2/20) the maintenance still has not been started…***

Back to our story: Beaufort was on Lauren’s list as a place to stop. “Beaufort is a city on Port Royal Island, one of South Carolina’s coastal Sea Islands. It’s known for its antebellum mansions, especially in the downtown historic district. A notable example is the John Mark Verdier House Museum, an early-1800s Federal-style mansion, with period furniture and exhibits on area history”. We looked and saw they have a free day dock, right next to an anchorage. We made our way to the free dock and tied up there, paying no attention to the ‘dock closed’ sign. Once we were secure, we hung out on the boat for a little bit to make sure no one was going to give us a hard time for being there. We did see a police car cruise through the parking lot, but he didn’t pay us any attention, so it was time to get the bikes off and go for a ride. Once I had the bikes on land, we hopped on them and I realized my chain was now having issues. Damn. We called a local bike shop and he said he was open and would be happy to look at it right away if we could bring it to him. I realized that if I kept peddling, the chain was okay, but when I stopped pedaling, the chain would drop and get tangled. We decided to try to ride to the bike shop, and we made it there in about ten minutes. I showed the bike technician the issue and he said “Oh- your flywheel isn’t spinning- He then grabbed a can of WD-40 and gave it a spray- “Wait a couple of minutes then we’ll try it.” Lauren and I waited off to the side, and after a couple of minutes he picked up the bike, hopped on and rode around the parking lot. It worked! WD-40 does fix anything that is supposed to move! That was easy enough! He told us “no charge”- we thanked him and off we went to explore the town. We rode around the downtown area and the surrounding streets, marveling at the historic mansions and amazing scenery. We found a store that was open for take out- Lowcountry Produce Market and Cafe. Since it was lunch time, we decided to order some carryout and eat in a park overlooking the water. We shared a crab cake sandwich and shrimp and grits. The shrimp and grits were the best we’ve had. Yummy. After lunch we rode around a bit more then went back to the boat. We took Frank for a walk, then hung out on the boat for a bit. Soon it was getting close to sunset, and we had to move to the anchorage. We started up the boat, moved out by some other boats that were anchored and/or moored, and dropped the anchor. We made sure it was set well then had dinner and figured out our next stop.

The weather was once again forecast for some severe wind and storms. We left the free dock fairly early and headed toward Hilton Head. Today’s trip was only about fifteen miles, so it would only take us two to three hours. We are used to traveling at this speed, and it must sound funny to hear how long it takes us, but we’re not in a fast boat!

We made it to the marina and I called in on the radio to let them know we were close. They directed me to our assigned slip and we docked without incident. The dock hand that helped us was a little too close in contact for our comfort, but we were able to stay far enough away and finally get rid of him so we could go about our business adjusting the lines. This had been our docking procedure: pull in, get secure, then I go about adding bumpers and adjusting and adding spring lines as I see fit, while Lauren takes Frank for a quick walk. We got settled in and spent the day on the boat, we ordered dinner from a local restaurant which delivered and it was delicious! It was the first time we’ve had ‘restaurant’ food in a while… She-Crab soup, blackened fish sandwich, salmon with collard greens and potatoes. We stayed inside and dry from the rain that was coming down in buckets.

Day 2: Lauren did some laundry in the morning then we got the bikes off and went for a ride. As we were riding by a small creek I noticed an alligator sunning on the bank. We stopped to look at it and it looked like it wasn’t real- maybe a yard decoration to scare other alligators? – It was far enough away we couldn’t get close to it, so we decided we would check back on the way back to see if it was still there. We were riding to find a hardware store as our sink drain had broke. The ring that connects the drain to the pipe had cracked, so it was now hanging loose. We currently have to use a bucket under the drain to drain the sink…I didn’t think it would be too hard to fix if I could find the right pieces… we decided to see ride to a beach first and found it gated and locked shut. They are closed! We tried the next beach a little farther down the road and it too was closed, with a security guard sitting in a truck at the entrance to make sure no one got in! Oh well- we started back toward the marina and made a stop at the hardware store. I picked up what I thought I needed and we decided to stop at the nearby grocery store too. Once we were stocked with what we could carry on our bikes, we headed back to the marina. We got to the gate of the marina which is in a ‘gated community’ and the officer at the gate tried to give us a hard time. I had to show my drivers license to her (she was not wearing gloves or a mask) and explain we were at the dock. She eventually let us in (with bags of groceries!?) and we continued on. I stopped to see if the alligator’was still there and it was not, so it WAS real, and was now somewhere else. We got back to the boat and unloaded the groceries, then I went to work on the drain. Turns out I didn’t get all the right pieces- I need to replace not just the ring, but the pipe as well. Ughh. I guess we’ll just have to keep using the bucket to drain the sink until we can get to another hardware store. The rest of the night was spent having dinner, walking Frank and planning our next destination…

We left St. Catherines and headed toward Savannah. The day did not go as planned in many ways, and we ended up traveling about sixty five miles; this is a lot more miles than we normally travel.

Departing our anchorage was easy enough. We weren’t in a hurry and after taking Frank to shore first it was almost 10am before we actually left. We followed the ICW back past Kilkenny Creek and continued north. The current was flowing against us for a while, so our speed was between five to six knots. We were soon coming to Hell Gate- a shallow area of the ICW that you want to transit on a rising tide, but never at low tide. We were not at low tide, so going through shouldn’t be a problem… It was not a problem going through, but when we came out the other side in Green Island Sound, the markers were confusing. I could see on the chart there was a shallow are to our north, with deeper water on either side. A little before the shallow area, I saw the chart had depths at ten to twelve feet. We needed to cross the sound and pick up the ICW on the other side. I turned the boat toward the other side and continued on, thinking we were past the hard part. As i was looking down at the chart the boat came to a dead halt. WTF!? It came to such a fast stop it threw me forward toward the steering wheel. I can only imagine what Lauren felt! The good news was I didn’t hear any scratching sounds or solid objects hitting us- it seemed we literally ran right on to a mud or sand shoal. I immediately throttled down and shifted in reverse. I was hoping we could back off of this and at first nothing was happening. Lauren came out from downstairs and said “What was that!? Are we aground?!” I responded affirmatively and told her I was trying to back us off. Eventually I saw we were making some progress, so I continued to throttle in reverse. We finally came un-stuck and I looked at the charts and decided I would head south, around the ‘ten foot’ areas and stay in the sixteen to twenty foot range. I was a little shaken up over this, but we kept on going. We followed the ICW and passes a coule of anchorages we had discussed, but they were not in the city of Savannah. I thought we were going to Savannah, so I continued on. We came to a cut by Elba Island that would take us to Savannah, but as I looked at the chart I was seeing really shallow water. I was afraid now after our grounding ealrier, so I took the ‘long way’, bypassing the cut and adding an hour to our trip. Now we were in the Savannah River, heading toward downtown. We got to the downtown area and sure enough the public docks were all closed and roped off with police tape. There was nowhere to dock, and the anchorage that we thought was there too was not to be found. There were no other boats anchored anywhere around, the current was strong and we were in a major shipping channel. Lauren called a local marina to inquire about anchoring somewhere and they told her not to do it, for all of the above reasons. Shit. Lauren asked about the anchorages we had discussed and I explained they were several miles back and I thought we had decided to skip them to get here. I was wrong- I skipped them and now we have nowhere to go. Shit, again. We looked at the charts and saw there was a free day dock at mile marker 570.5- that is about fourteen miles away and we are losing day light. We could still make it there if we go now, so I turned the boat around and throttled on. We were now headed back down the Savannah River to where we could pick up the ICW again and continue on the fourteen miles.

We finally made it to the free dock. There were a couple of people fishing on the pier but I pulled right up and we tied off. Lauren hopped off and took Frank for a much needed walk. There were signs stating ‘no overnight docking’ but we’ve done this before. Besides the dock and the island seemed pretty deserted except for the couple of people fishing, We did talk about going across from the dock and dropping anchor, but it was getting late and we decided to roll the dice. We had dinner and looked at our next stop. Hilton Head Island is next, and there are more storms and high winds in the immediate forecast. We went on Dockwa- an app that allows you to book slips at marinas- and made a reservation at Skull Creek Marina, Hilton Head. We want to leave early in the morning so we do not push our luck at this free dock…

Since Lauren found out about the lemurs on St. Catherines Island, that is where we are heading! It was only less than ten miles backwards, so it didn’t take too long, only about an hour and a half. We crossed back across St. Catherines Sound and made our way into Walburg Creek. The north end of the island was all sandy beach, so we stayed close to that so we could land the dinghy easily. We found our spot, dropped anchor and waited. The waiting is critical to make sure the anchor is holding tight and not dragging. After we were confident in the anchor, we headed to shore.

There were a couple of boats beached with people hanging out on the beach, so we landed far away from them. We walked all the way around the island to the Atlantic Ocean side. We brought our binoculars to help us search for these elusive lemurs and other wildlife. At one point we made our way a short way into the island and I saw an armadillo (I think) and a couple of snakes, but no lemurs. We turned around when we came to a creek/marshy area with no easy way to cross it. We got back to the beach and again avoided the few people that were still hanging out and made our way back to Klondike. I think Frank enjoyed the long walk and time he was allowed to run around off leash. We had dinner and decided to stay another night since we liked this anchorage so much.

Day 2- We again went to the beach to let Frank run and continue t look for lemurs. We did some research about the island:

I copied and pasted the above from the website ‘Only In Your State‘ and the pictures of the lemurs are as close as we came to seeing them…

We planned tomorrows trip- we were planning on going to Savannah, but there is mixed reports about the free dock there being closed and possibly an anchorage close by, so we’re not sure exactly where we will end up…

In the morning I took Frank to Sapelo Island one more time. We were there pretty early- around 7:30am, so I knew we probably wouldn’t see anyone and I was right. We took a walk down the same road and returned without seeing anyone. We pulled anchor and headed north on the ICW toward our next anchorage- Kilkenny Creek.

Our research on this anchorage showed a good protected anchorage, but shore access was only if we got permission from the only marina around there. All of the other anchorages we researched had zero shore access, so we took our chances with this. We found the turn off and made our way up the creek. We found a spot to drop the anchor and commenced making sure we were secure. I called the marina and requested permission to land the dinghy to walk the dog. They said it would be fine.

We took the dinghy to shore and walked Frank. There wasn’t anything around, so we walked a bit, then turned around and headed back to the boat. The rest of the night was relaxed, dinner, and more research on our next destination. Lauren had since found out we passed St. Catherine’s Island a few miles back and it has some extreme wildlife, such as lemurs on the island, so we decided we would go backwards and try to find some lemurs!

Today we were going about thirty miles to the Duplin River. I had noticed it on the charts and it looked like a pretty good anchorage. We made our way there and found a spot to ‘drop the hook’. We were a little ways past an active ferry dock that transports people to and from the island, as that is the only way to access the island. We were fairly close to the shore, trying to stay out of the middle of the river, but it was plenty deep all the way to shore and we were the only boat anchored there. Again the tides were extreme- they dropped and rose around seven feet! Once we were comfortable knowing we were secure, I took Frank to the island.

We made it to the island and were walking down the road when a ferry dropped off some of the locals. They all drove past and waved, but I didn’t have any contact with anyone. We continued down the only road and walked about a half mile then turned around and returned to the dock. We made it back to the boat and I was telling Lauren about the amount of cars that were parked just up from the ferry. They looked like they hadn’t moved in some time, but it made me curious, so we looked up the history of the island. Apparently it is the site of Hog Hammock, the last known Gullah community. It is illegal to visit the island without a permit issued by state tourism authorities. No one questioned me, so no harm no foul, right? More from Wikipedia: “The community of Hog Hammock, also known as Hogg Hummock, includes homes, a general store, bar, public library, and other small businesses including vacation rentals. There are two active church congregations in Hog Hammock: St. Luke Baptist Church, founded in 1885, and First African Baptist Church, established in 1866. The latter congregation has an older building known as First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff, constructed in 1900 in the former Raccoon Bluff community north of Hog Hammock. It is used for special services and programs. Many of the full-time inhabitants of the Hog Hammock Community are African Americans known as Gullah-Geechees, descendants of enslaved West African people brought to the island in the 1700s and 1800s to work on island plantations. The current population of full-time Gullah-Geechee residents in the community is estimated to be 47 (2009). The residents must bring all supplies from the mainland or purchase them in the small store on the island. The children of Hog Hammock take the ferry to the mainland and then take a bus to school, as the island school closed in 1978…Sapelo Island is speculated to be the site of San Miguel de Gualdape, the short-lived (1526–1527) first European settlement in the present-day United States and, if true, it would also be the first place in the present-day U.S. that a Catholic mass was celebrated.” We also found this from Buzzfeednews: The survival of black families on Sapelo traces back to an enslaved Muslim named Bilali Muhammad, an educated man who despite bondage led one of the nation’s earliest Muslim communities and wrote what’s believed to be the first Islamic text produced on American soil. And yet few in Georgia, let alone the nation, know this religious significance because Islam was omitted from the telling of early America, historians said. The center of Sapelo society is the Graball Country Store, where locals buy cold drinks and tourists can pick up a Hog Hammock T-shirt or tea made from a plant the descendants call “Life Everlasting” because of its healing properties. Every Wednesday after sundown, the back of the store turns into a bar, the only nightlife. None of this answered why there were over fifty vehicles parked there, but it was an interesting history lesson we all just learned.

The rest of the night was quiet and peaceful. All we heard was the sounds of wildlife around us. We had dinner and relaxed, doing more research on our next destination…