April 11-13, 2021 Cruising to Charleston.

 Sunday, April 11, 2021. Day 126

It was overcast in Port Royal when I awakened. I ran 3 miles around the local area. As was usual when I run in the morning, it was quiet, peaceful and there was almost no one around.

At 10:30am, we undocked on our own from Port Royal and began our cruise on the Beaufort River, passing Beaufort, 

and the Beaufort Memorial Hospital which had a dock on the water for boats to drop off patients (new for me). Thinking about yesterday and the time we spent with Vicki and Mack, I was regretting that we didn’t take a picture of the four of us.

At 11am we passed under the Lady Island swing bridge which was 30 feet high so no request was necessary (Magic Moments is 25 feet).

I enjoyed seeing the antebellum mansions from the water. The area is very marshy (it IS called the low country). We passed big southern live oaks with incredible trunks and lots of Spanish moss like those we had seen on our walking tour of Beaufort with Vicki and Mack. 

 The weather was very nice, the shore was lush, and due to the marsh, the docks at the homes we passed were extremely long. We traveled on the Coosaw River, which is mostly wilderness, and at 2:48pm, reached our anchorage in the South Edisto River in the ACE National Wildlife Refuge.

It was pretty remote. The day was intense and difficult for the captain. The river was windy and very narrow in places, there were cross currents and lots of shoals. Steering was a challenge, but of course, the captain did a great job and deserved a well earned beer, after we anchored.

We relaxed in our anchorage for about two hours at which time Captain Roland got concerned. For the first time in 4.5 months, the anchor wasn’t holding. The wind and current were both strong and in conflict. He quickly pulled up the anchor and we moved up river to a better, more protected, anchorage from the expected wind direction, a little west of the first location. At 5:18pm, the captain announced that the new anchorage was working. We were at Sampson Island, the wind and the current were in the same direction, so it was much calmer, the fetch shorter so the waves were muted; we were both much happier.

Unfortunately however we were inundated with bugs, bugs and more bugs. Mostly no-see-ums. As you can guess from the name, they are very teeny and can get through our screens. Ugh!

Checking the weather (which we have to do frequently...or all the time....), we learned that the weather in south Florida was really bad, and had we not taken advantage of the weather window by leaving St. Augustine when we did, we probably would have lost a week.

Monday, April 12, 2021. Day 127.

The morning was busy. I worked out, stretched, made an omelette, and did the dishes, showered and started my various telephone calls and meetings, and attended a TCPW internet conference. But most importantly, I started cleaning out the den to make room for our additional crew we are picking up in Charleston, South Carolina, in a few days.

The anchorage was beautiful and peaceful, we were the only boat there for the entire time; again the only: issue bugs.

It was an early night because Captain Roland wanted to leave the anchorage at 9 am the next day with the tide. The current was really strong so I will be at the helm following his directions, as he pulls up and cleans the anchor.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Day 128.

I was up at 6:30am so that I could stretch and have breakfast before we were ready to leave at 9am. I knew I would miss the peace and beauty of this anchorage, but not miss the bugs. During the entire trip, I enjoyed amazing scenery, sunsets and sunrises, the glint of the sun on the water, the peace, the birds and the dolphins, the fresh air and the variety of colors of the water.

The wind was on our nose, but less than 10 knots, so it did not slow us down all that much. We entered the North Edisto River at approximately 10:20 am, on our way to anchor in Church Creek, near West Ashley, South Carolina. We passed the first fishing boat in several days; back to civilization.

The estates on the water were beautiful along the Wadmalaw River. We passed Metal Trades, Inc., a shipyard for the repair and construction of metal ships, which contained a very interesting assortment of vessels. At 11:30am, we anchored in Church Creek near Charleston.

Again ,it was beautiful and quiet and I was hoping that because it was windy, the bugs would not be around. Wishful thinking; the bugs (no-see-ums), were all over the boat and us by the millions. In swarms, we could see them just fine! Otherwise, it was lovely and peaceful. Later in the day we were joined in the anchorage buy a trawler and two sailboats. Among my 3 zooms, I did yoga on youtube, and had dinner. I was not able to fall asleep for quite a while; there was ambient light...... we were near civilization.

Tomorrow we cruise to Charleston to start the penultimate segment of our journey.