December 21, 2020, Day 16, the first day of winter. Tonight, Jupiter and Saturn merge in the night sky; the Christmas star? For the first time in 800 years, visible on earth.
For the first time in 45 years, I am spending time on a boat.
We left Holden Beach at 8 AM, on our way to the Waccamaw River, near Bucksport, South Carolina; approximately 55 miles to our anchorage. The current was with us; we were moving at eight knots, speedy for Magic Moments.
The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW ) was calm, quiet and there were no other vessels. The homes we were passing are mostly large, set back far from the water's edge, with very long docks. Roland suggested that they may use golf courts to get from the house to the pier; maybe that is the case. At about 12:15, we left North Carolina and entered South Carolina, on the way to Myrtle Beach, where, we saw two large, docked, casino cruising ships. Obviously, no one was going cruising to gamble during Covid.
The sun broke through and we enjoyed a quiet, serene and beautiful afternoon. We anchored in the Waccamaw River, a few minutes before 5 PM. The river was deep, the current strong, but there was no wind; the end of a lovely travel day.
December 22, 2020, Tuesday, Day 17. We left our anchorage at 9:15 AM, and I steered for a while doing so at a “C” grade, dropping from my “B+” from yesterday. I still have much to learn. The sun glare was really difficult and it was impossible for me to see where I was going, where the boats were, and the location of the sides of the ICW. It was rather challenging.
At Estherville, we passed through an open floating swing bridge, “Miss Ellie”, the only floating swing bridge on the I CW. It was 10:25 AM, and the bridge was open. Apparently it is always open unless access to the research center on the island is necessary.
This morning, we saw several duck boats; fascinating. The duck hunters are wearing camouflage and place reeds, straw, and grasses all over their boats, to fake out their prey. They are coming home, hopefully with lots of dead ducks (sorry, I couldn't resist). As the duck hunters are returning, the fishermen/women are on their way out on the water.
It was a gorgeous, sunny day. Beautiful with mild temperatures (high 50's), and crystal clear. We passed mile 415 on the ICW. We entered a narrow channel so steering must be done carefully. A slow sailboat was ahead of us so our speed was greatly reduced. We tried contacting the sailboat by the radio but got no answer.
As we entered the channel, a gray dolphin and a black dolphin were playing in the rushes. A fast fishing boat from Longport, New Jersey, passed us; small world. Roland set up my trainer in the back of the boat and I was spinning for the next 40 minutes as we motored on the narrow channel. The scenery was “rushing” by at 7 mph as I was pedaling away. Very cool....beats the gym any day!
We anchored at 3:30 PM in Whiteside Creek in South Carolina near Dewees Island. No town appears to be nearby. The first anchor try was rejected by Captain Roland. Although quite beautiful, the length of the chain needed for the depth to put us too close to one side. We pulled up the anchor, and move to another area. The second try at 4 PM, worked fine and Captain R. was happy with his new spot. We had a lovely happy hour at 4:10, on the back deck. We had a wonderful flounder dinner. Real life issue: My mail is not being forwarded as requested so I have an issue paying bills. This, is a problem. I will need to call the utility companies and try to get the info on line. Annoying waste of time!
Day18, December 23, 2020, Wednesday. Beautiful sunrise at our anchorage and sunny as we motored toward Charleston to a pricey marina. But, we get to visit my niece Laura and her boyfriend Jeff. My sister, is envious, as we are going to see her baby and she is not. This is totally understandable. The temperature is mild, and the the harbor is very busy; lots of boats. As we approached the marina, we saw the Ravenel Cable Bridge in the distance. It's white cables disappear when viewed at different angles. It is a beautiful bridge.
Docking at Safe Harbor, Charleston City, on the Ashley River was challenging as we had a very small space available to us, and the current was very strong. Docking on the starboard (our preference because the port does not have a walk-around), had to be abandoned. We turned around and docked on the port side, with help from the dock hand. It was such a lovely afternoon, we opened all the doors pulled out the phantom screens, had lunch and awaited the arrival of Laura and Jeff.
With masks on and all the doors open,we gave them to a quick tour of the boat and then spend some time on the back deck visiting. Jeff helped Roland set up his new fishing rod and lure and then we had took two cars to the restaurant. Laura is leaving us her car for a couple days. What an incredible niece.
They picked a restaurant on the water, Tavern and Table. We had to wait a bit to get a table with a fire pit in the center but we did score one. We had drinks, four amazing appetizers, a seafood tower and two chocolate brownies with ice cream desserts; much fun! Eating outside (the only safe way in the pandemic), in the winter, now that we are in the south, fantastic!
Terri...
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