Friday, May 3, 2013 – Isle of Palms (Mile 458) to Georgetown (Mile 403):

            Last night, after I finished writing the day’s “journal”, Bob and I decided to go up to the restaurant, Morgan Grill, at the marina.  We opted to eat upstairs in their casual dining area, which was basically an open air room with a roof over it.  The room had windows, which were plastic, and they were just marginal at keeping out the chilly temperatures caused by the howling wind.  I am back in winter-like clothes – turtleneck shirt, long pants, socks and a jacket.  The restaurant was offering a special of seared scallops over a salad of wild greens, berries and nuts, and we ordered that for dinner, but – they had an appetizer of “alligator bites” which we just couldn’t pass up.  The waitress assured me that it was real alligator, and not something like chicken, which was just called alligator, but when it came to our table, it looked just like a basket of fried clams, and honestly, we couldn’t tell the difference, but we had fun trying them.

            We woke up to another miserable morning.  The wind had died down enough during the night so I didn’t think we would be slammed into another boat getting away from the dock, but it was cold and gray and threatening rain.   We left the marina at 8:45 a.m. and headed back into the waterway.  The wind is picking up again, but we are in a relatively protected channel.  The weather forecast is actually awful (winds from the northeast at 15 – 25 with gusts to 30, and 20% chance of rain), but we are moving northward anyway!  It’s the 3^rd of May in South Carolina, and you would think it would be almost hot, but it feels like winter out here!

            The landscape around here looks desolate (probably because of the weather), there are few houses – one only half finished and up on stilts – there is no way to get to it except by boat, there are “house boats” run up into the marshes where I can’t imagine someone living, but I’m sure they are lived in.  As the waterway winds it way around in this area, there are angry little rivulets that snake around through the marsh grass.  There are dolphins still fishing, and I always get a start when I see them dive right under the bow of the boat.

House on stilts in the middle of nowhere

            Our boat is starting to have a mind of its own.  The Furuno Chart Plotter has decided to quit working from time to time, and Bob has to turn it off and on to get it to cooperate.  This just goes to prove that even though you have all this electronic gadgetry, you still must know where you are on a paper chart!  A Sport Fisherman passed us, which stirred up some flotsam and jetsam on the bottom which panicked the depth sounder, and it kept beeping 4’ at us.  It wouldn’t stop beeping, and we finally decided that not only was the bottom churned up, but it was also very shallow, so we hunted around for deeper water to make the depth sounder shut up and our hearts stop pounding!

            The weather is getting worse – the only encouraging thing about the day is that we are moving north.  The waterway enters the Harbor River and it is starting to rain in addition to the wind howling.  I can’t imagine what it would be like if we were out in really open water – well, that would just be stupid!  We pass through several areas where we have notes written in the chart book to be careful around this or that mark as the water is skinny and shoaling in.  I worry about a little area called Watts Cut, but it is ok.

            We pass by McClellanville and I keep a sharp look-out for shrimp boat as when we passed this way in November, there were several of them in the waterway, but this time there is no one out here.  There were a few boats out here, but now we are alone with only a flock of seagulls following us again.  I think they might be “laughing” gulls or “little” gulls.  They are small with black heads, and they do carry on something awful squawking away the whole time they are following us.  I don’t know how they are keeping up with us as the wind gusts are really strong!

Gulls following the boat

            We finally have to cross the South Santee River, and the wind really picks up across here even though it is just a very narrow crossing.  This goes into the Fourmile Creek Channel, which puts you into the North Santee River.  It is really raining, and visibility is terrible, and Bob says the current is really strong.

            Wind, rain, current, and low tide – oh goody.

            On our way south, this whole area was sunny and warm.

            It is now starting to look foggy to me, but fortunately, real fog never really develops.

            After the North Santee River the waterway enters the Estherville Minim Canal and you are warned to call ahead on Channel 13 to check for any tugs in the canal.  I do this, but there is no one around.  As we go through here, I start to think about the fact that this canal empties into Winyah Bay, which is a big body of water.  Even though the waterway route goes through a section of the bay called the Western Channel, which has a little protection, it is still a big open body of water.  If the weather is awful in the Estherville Minim Canal, I can’t imagine what we are going to face in Winyah Bay!  And I’m really starting to think maybe leaving the Isle of Palms was not such a good idea after all!

            Also towards the end of the canal you have to watch out for the ferry!  Now I wrote about this ferry back in November when we came through here.  This has to be the smallest ferry crossing in the US or maybe the world, but there is a sign that indicates that if the yellow lights are flashing, the ferry is crossing.  Well, there were no lights, but there was a pontoon boat running back and forth across the canal.  The “ferry” was tied to the “dock”!

The "ferry"

The "ferry crossing"

            During this part of our trip, everyone says to watch out for alligators, eagles, and various and sundry other wildlife, but they were all smarter than we were and were nowhere in sight!  Even the seagulls had left by the time we approached Winyah Bay.

            Well, I thought it might be an experience, and it certainly was!  This was the worst weather I have ever been out in!  We were heading right into the wind and waves, and I’m telling you they were at least 3’ tall, and I think some may have gotten to 4’.  The spray was flying off the tops of the waves, and the windscreens on the flybridge were being blasted with spray from the waves and the rain.  Visibility was terrible!  However, the current was with us, and we flew up this stretch of water and into the Sampit River to Georgetown.  This was definitely the “worst” day of our trip.  The boat handled beautifully, but it was a very tense day.

            So right now we are tucked into an inside face dock at the Harborwalk  Marina where we will spend the night.  I am “doctoring” a jar of spaghetti sauce – that means putting a lot of red wine in it – and we will have spaghetti and a salad for dinner – and the rest of the bottle of wine!  Bob is outside readjusting lines and checking things out.  He has already made plans to move on tomorrow (!) although our weather is still forecast to be awful until Tuesday. 

            If we do leave tomorrow, we have to face the “rock pile” again!

            More later!