In chilly, but clear and calm conditions, we threw off our lines from Hazzard Marine, in Georgetown, SC, at 7:15 am.
There is an annual pilgrimage made by Captain Wally Moran in his small, utilitarian sailboat, where he leads a migrating fleet of (paying) sailboats down the east coast of the US, all the way south to the Florida Keys. He calls this pilgrimage his Sail to the Sun. We would have had no problem with this group, if they hadn’t wound up traveling the exact same waterways – on the exact same schedule – that we were. Wally and his entourage are known for ignoring many of the standard maritime rules and courtesies preferably extended to other, nearby vessels, which makes for uneasy – rather dangerous – traveling conditions for those of us who actually are following the rules and being courteous to other boaters. Not in rare form, Wally’s group hampered our journey – off and on – all down the east coast, like a swarm of annoying yellow jackets, becoming the bane of Captain Steve’s existence. On the previous night, when we were tied to Hazzard Marine’s fuel dock wall, Wally’s group swooped in and tied-up all around our boat, rafting-up to each other both in front of and behind us, which blocked us in and made it difficult to leave this morning. Steve told me he’d fully expected to wake up this morning to find at least one of those boats tied to OUR boat without permission! Fortunately, that turned out NOT to be the case. I shudder to imagine how things would’ve turned out otherwise…
Hazzard Marine is located on the Winyah Bay, in Georgetown, SC. We followed the Winyah Bay to the AICW in South Carolina, which utilizes man-made channels, as well as Duck Creek, the North Santee River, the South Santee River, Copahee Sound, and Mark Bay, all very marshy, isolated, wilderness areas. We saw some occasional waterfront homes through here, but not many. Passing through here in the fall made for thick, golden-yellow marsh grasses lining both sides of the waterways.
As we traveled, we passed the Isle of Palms area, along with Sullivan’s Island, north of Charleston. The AICW dumps out into The Cove, north of Fort Moultrie, before entering into Charleston Harbor. Tonight we’re staying at Charleston City Marina on the Ashley River, which is a different area from where we stayed last time (for three full weeks…) while Legacy was serviced and had her bottom repainted.
The day was gorgeous as we entered into Charleston Harbor, passing our old stomping grounds and beneath the Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Suspension Bridge. Conditions were stellar – sunny with mild breezes, even if they were a bit on the chilly side.
We arrived at our spot on the Charleston City Marina Mega Dock at 2:00 pm. Our instructed tying spot left us completely exposed to the river, on a Saturday, no less, which set us up for a night of rocking and rolling, but oh well! After settling in and showering, we walked to the only close-by restaurant at the Marina Variety Store for dinner. While the restaurant did boast wonderful views of Charleston Harbor, the food was mediocre at best.
Position: N 32° 46.638, W 79° 57.126
Distance traveled: 66 SM
Total distance traveled: 5579 SM
Total marina nights: 407
Total nights at anchor: 23
Locks today: 0
Locks Total: 29