On the chilly, but clear and calm morning of 11/14/21, we threw off Legacy’s lines from the Charleston City Mega Dock piling #190 at 8:30 am. The highs on that day were forecast to be in the mid-60s. Cruising westward on Wappoo Creek, we passed by one of our favorite restaurants from our visit earlier this year, The Charleston Crab House, before turning the corner at Elliott’s Cut and proceeding out into the Stono River.
We soon cruised past our old haunt, Ross Marine, where we spent what seemed like 3 years this past May, along with lots of money! 🙁 Brilliant fall colors were stunning all along the Stono River, southwest of Charleston. We were quickly reminded the Stono River is basically just one looong No Wake zone, with its endless waterfront homes, docks, and piers. At its southern end, the Stono River becomes the Wadmalaw River.
We traversed a super-shallow portion of the South Carolina AICW that connects the Wadmalaw River with the South Edisto Rivers, on a slowly rising tide. Captain Steve was nervous as a cat the entire time, constantly monitoring our depth gauge. As we crept along, I researched the internet and finally found the name of our constant waters’ edge companion in the Carolinas, the prolific white, fuzzy shrubs growing wild. Baccharus halimifolia or salt bush or groundsel tree or sea myrtle. Hallelujah to finally have an identification of these plants! After creeping through depths of 6-feet or less for what seemed like miles on end, we ultimately made it through the shallow area without running aground. Woohoo!
We crossed the northern end of St. Helena Sound, where the winds were higher and the waves increased to maybe 1-foot in height. Prior to this, we’d been navigating down narrow, ropey rivers, protected from winds on both sides. Next, we turned off of the South Edisto River and onto the Ashepoo River, then into Rock Creek, which empties into the Combahee River. Then we were on the Broad River/Beaufort River/Port Royal Sound Basin, that would take us to this afternoon’s destination of Beaufort, SC.
Arriving at Safe Harbor Beaufort Marina about 3:30 pm, we were instructed to tie-up at exactly the same point they’d placed us earlier this summer on our trip northward, which was a starboard tie on the very end of the transient wall, closest to the bridge. After showering, we walked up to our favorite restaurant there on the waterfront, called Saltus River Grill, for dinner and cocktails, where we watched the sunset before turning in for the night.
Position: N 32° 25.768, W 80° 40.428
Distance traveled: 68 SM
Total distance traveled: 5647 SM
Total marina nights: 408
Total nights at anchor: 23
Locks today: 0
Locks Total: 29