Day 222
We left Thunderbolt Marina, near Savannah, GA, for Hilton Head, SC, on Tuesday, 04/20/21, at 10:30 am and headed up the Wilmington River toward its connection with the Savannah River, passing the impressive J.S. Chatry dredge boat along the way. Farther up the Wilmington River, we passed right by the notoriously haunted Bonaventure Cemetery right before reaching the south channel of the Savannah River. We’d heard some pretty outrageous tales about that cemetery from one of our Uber drivers, but never had the time to stop there. Next time!
When we took a turn to our port into Field’s Cut, the wind gusts suddenly increased to 25 knots, which put an end to our peaceful cruising for the morning. Field’s Cut connects with the Wright River, where we turned to starboard and headed toward the Turtle Island Wildlife Management Area, north of Tybee Island. We’d just crossed the stateline from GA into SC, and we were completely surrounded by marsh, marsh, and more marsh. The further along we proceeded, the more the winds increased, which had not been predicted, so was a bit unsettling. I felt very glad that today was a short travel day!
We turned to our port, northward into Walls Cut, and then to port again into Ramshorn Creek, which led us right into the Cooper River, passing Daufuskie Island, SC, to our east. It was nice being on narrower rivers for a change, where we can see both riverbanks up close and personally. Ironically, at this point, all there was to see was marshland!
Eventually, we began cruising just west of Hilton Head Island, on the Calibogue Sound, where the water was much rougher. Suddenly – in addition to marsh – we were seeing multitudes of luxurious Hilton Head waterfront homes. While I was gawking at the homes, we turned onto Skull Creek on the north end of Hilton Head Island, heading for today’s destination of Skull Creek Marina, which we reached at approximately 1:50 pm. We were treated to a nice and easy port tie-up on a wall in a really pretty area. There were huge boats all around us, backed by impressive condominium complexes.
Once we were all checked into the marina, we walked to highly-touted Hudson’s Seafood Company for an early dinner. The food was delicious, but we opted to call an Uber for the trip home, as the walk there had been more than long enough for my poor, tired feet! We did notice on our long walk, that the housing communities on Hilton Head look very similar to those we’ve seen in Sandestin, FL. Nice, upscale, impeccably landscaped (with palm trees, of course) and very golf-oriented.
Position: N 32° 14.773, W 80° 44.859
Distance traveled: 29 SM
Total distance traveled: 3170 SM
Total marina nights: 200
Total nights at anchor: 22
Locks today: 0
Locks Total: 27