I like to write about details for those of you who are planning their first trip on the ICW or repeaters looking for information about new places. So even though you know we are already in Florida, I am going to back up a bit with some short notes on places we stayed.

Just north of Charleston, we anchored in Long Creek off Dewees Creek. This area is a good place to stop when it is late in the day and you don’t want to head into Charleston at dusk. Long Creek is supposed to have less current than Dewees itself, but I think we didn’t go in far enough, around the bend, so we had a lot of wind and a lot of current. It didn’t help that the anchor chain ran away from me so that instead of having 100 feet of scope, we actually had about 175 feet out. And guess what, that set off all the anchor alarms repeatedly through the night, so we didn’t sleep much. In the morning, the wind was still strong, and filled my lightweight hoodie so much that I thought I was going airborne when raising the anchor. Better wear a tie down next time.

In Charleston we stayed at the Ashley Marina. We think it is better protected than other marinas on the Charleston peninsula. Good idea to arrive at leave at slack tide though. Went for 2 days and stayed a week. Enough said. We love Charleston. But we ran into our daughter’s best friend by chance, and we all went out to the Grill 225 for the best steak you can imagine. Just not for the faint of wallet.

We left Charleston and anchored across from the town of Beaufort, SC, behind the little island. There is less current here than at the marina dock or its mooring field, and not crowded, It helped that the wind was mild. A plus – we found good strong wifi here.

From Beaufort, we went to Kilkenny Creek and anchored not far from the ICW, as the wind was mild. In a strong wind, we’d go in farther. Another good wifi spot. The current does move your boat back and forth, but the bonus is that in the morning the anchor and chain are perfectly clean. Who can argue with that? Lots of jumping, splashing dolphins in this area.

Next, we anchored in St. Simons Sound, in the spot shown in most guide books just before the entrance to Jekyll Creek, Georgia. This is the second time we have stopped here and had no trouble despite it being within a major inlet, with big freighters going up and down the channel. We let out about 150’ of chain (this time we knew just how much we let out), but now our depth alarm went off in the night. No apparent reason, not dragging; we think dolphins were swimming under our keel and setting it off!

I should note that we have been doing what I tell everyone not to do, traveling through Georgia when the tide is low mid day. It can be very hairy, and you hold your breath a lot (not that it lifts your boat even an inch), but we managed okay with our draft of 4 ½ feet.

And now I am caught up with our previous blog that showed us arriving in Florida, in the St. John’s River. From there, we headed for another favorite stopover, St. Augustine. We have used the mooring balls at the city marina here in the past, but by luck always in the southern mooring field. This time, the only ball left was in the north field, and we did not have a fun night. The wind was against the current, there was a lot of bouncing around, banging against the mooring ball, lines squeaking, and little sleep. Fortunately we did not know to expect this, and had a very nice time meeting up with a friend we had met in the Exumas who was stopping there with his relatives. He was smarter than we were, and stayed at a marina up the San Sebastian River around the corner from the city.

The next night we were so tired that, instead of anchoring near the bridges in Daytona, we took a slip at Halifax Harbor Marina, an okay stop and a peaceful night.

The following day brought a long stretch on the Indian River with lots of wide open areas, not looking so good for anchoring, so we pushed ahead to the southeast side of Addison Point Bridge to try and get out of the northeast wind. We were dubious, but the wind died down and we had a fine night, anchored close to the seawall.

The next stop was recommended in Doyles On the Water Guide, just south of the Wabasso Bridge. Fairly protected and attractive, next to an environmental center, a good spot for weekdays when the traffic isn’t hectic. We’d like to gunkhole here some time. Note: the bridge noise is not at all intrusive.

Next stop, Fort Pierce Florida, at Harbortown Marina, to meet up with friends Alan and Gerri who are getting work done at the colocated Whiticar Marine in preparation for their departure to the Bahamas. Another new place for us. It has a nice small pool, a weight room, a shaded pavilion for activities and projects on hot days and gatherings, a nice lounge/TV area, a decent onsite restaurant, and good protection from currents and wakes. You can easily walk to a grocery, West Marine, and drugstore, though it is a few miles to the center of town. Overall, a nice easy going atmosphere.

And now, today, we have reached Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart Florida, where we are busy catching up with good friends, and will stay until we launch the next phase of our travels after the holidays.