The temperature was in the 50's when we left our slip today in Georgetown with cool winds forecast gusting to 16 knots. We planned a short 30 mile day today so were able to leave a little later than usual. It gave me time to visit the Kudzu Bakery and Market the morning. It's a great stop for any boater in Georgetown with homemade frozen items, a deli, wine, and fresh bread. We headed up the ICW toward the south end of Myrtle Beach though miles of what looked like wilderness. Miles of thick stands of cypress trees lined the banks of the Wacamaw River, some jutting out to the edge of the channel. We noticed a large bald eagle perched in a tree overlooking the ICW as we went by. We arrived at Osprey Marina about 1 PM after reading good reviews on Active Captain. It's a nice hurricane hole marina with about 100 slips. Because the transient dock is a ways from the office, ship's store, and bathroom, we had use of the golf cart to run back and forth. The marina provided us with a goodie bag of snacks and information about the area including a menu from an Italian restaurant that provides a ride from the marina and back. Who could turn that down? It seems like a great stop with a complimentary breakfast of coffee and muffins in the morning. As a nice little aside, there's a flock of goats near the marina store. Just a homey little extra that reminds me of the MD Eastern shore. The Admiral
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We started the day waiting for the fog to lift enough for us to be able to see the drawbridge that was only a few minutes away from where we'd docked. When it did and we got underway, we had to zip closed the clear side panels of our cockpit enclosure because the breeze was chilly. By noon, with the sun out we rolled up the side curtains because it got warm and humid. Later in the afternoon we took the two rolled up side panels out and replaced them with screen panels because our cockpit was becoming a gathering place for greenhead flies. They weren't biting, but they would fly in and not be able to figure out how to get out. Then, as we were traveling up a long land cut canal within an hour from our day's destination it started to rain lightly. When we came out of the land cut and turned up the river towards Georgetown, a severe thunderstorm suddenly engulfed us. We spent about a half hour basically motoring at a slow enough speed that the outgoing tide and the strong winds in our face held us more or less in one spot against very strong winds, sideways torrential rain, and thunder and lightning. Of course, we'd had no time to swap the screen panels back for the window panels, so the rain also blew into and thoroughly washed the cockpit and its occupants. Lastly, just as we got finished tying up at the dock in Georgetown's Harborwalk Marina, another small thunderstorm passed nearby and doused us with rain again. That one was nice enough to give us enough warning that we got the clear side panels all in and zipped up before it rained, so we got out he wine and cheese and crackers and sat in the enclosed cockpit as the storm made its way through. There is more rain forecast for overnight and tomorrow morning so we are planning to spend tomorrow and tomorrow night here as well. The picture today is of an alligator that swam across the canal in front of us. It's the second alligator I saw, but the first one I was quick enough to get a picture of. The first one was quietly swimming along the river bank behind the dock at Jekyll island Marina. The Captain
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We pulled away from the dock in time to get through the bridge just north of the marina before it closed down for the 7 to 9 rush hour. We then spent 8 hours traveling through the "sea island" area of South Carolina. The photo above is one of the spots of civilization we passed today. Tomorrow we plan to get to Georgetown, SC so we can wait out the bad weather forecasted for tomorrow night and Sunday. The Captain
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We spent a nice easy day exploring Beaufort today. We borrowed the marina's courtesy car to get to the grocery store to replenish the fridge and freezer. Then we walked around the town and found a nice restaurant where we had lunch on their back veranda which looked out over the city's waterfront park to the river and towards Saint Helena Island in the distance. After lunch we took a horse and carriage ride tour on a carriage that held 16 plus the driver with a horse who was much happier trotting than walking. We learned about Beaufort's interesting history, dating back to the Indians, the Spanish, the French, through the prosperous years of the plantations, the difficult years of the Civil War where the residents abandoned the town and the Union Soldiers occupied the town and created hospitals during the war, to the bad economic times after the war, terrible damage from hurricanes, and on to more prosperous times with the arrival of the military bases. The Captain
In addition to all our history lessons, we heard about the movies filmed here in Beaufort : The Big Chill, Forrest Gump, and the Prince of Tides. The best story was about Barbra Streisand's 7 week stay here for the filming of the Prince of Tides. Apparently she wanted to live in an antebellum house that also had a pool. That left one choice and it was right here in the downtown area. Unfortunately, the owners said they wouldn't rent. Her agents gave them another offer and they said no again. Three times they refused but as you know, money talks. Finally on the fourth offer, they agreed to move out for the 7 weeks. She moved in and promptly covered their wood floors with white carpet because she only walks on white carpet. She also arranged for all their furniture to be stored and bought all new, undoubtedly from rooms to go. Long story short, they moved back into their house after the seven weeks were up and were able to send all four of their children to college, fully paid, with the proceeds of their windfall. Guess you never know what's going to happen to change your life. Another fun vacation day! The Admiral
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We departed early so we would be safely docked at our next stop before the forecasted afternoon thunderstorms. We saw a large pod of dolphins as we entered the Port Royal Sound. Hilton Head to Beaufort was only about 30 miles, so we were docked before noon. Docking at the Downtown Marina was easy and the marina is very nice as it sits on the waterfront in the middle of Beaufort's beautiful old southern style downtown. The town has made the waterfront attractive and it was alive with people. We walked the downtown main street and around several blocks of mostly old homes enjoying the place and the day. Tomorrow we plan to take a narrated carriage tour of the historic district and eat dinner in one of the several interesting main street restaurants that have their dining at the back of the restaurant looking out over the waterfront. We are staying tomorrow night as well and then are headed for St. Johns Yacht Harbor which is south of the city of Charleston on Friday. The Captain
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What a fun place! We rented bicycles today and spent 5 hours touring the Sea Pines Resort. It's beautiful or should I say, Carolina low country beautiful. Woodsy with Spanish moss hanging from the trees. Relaxed. Nature at its best. We rode miles of bike trail today exploring the lower third of Hilton Head Island. There is everything here: biking, tennis, water activities, golf, sightseeing, shopping, live entertainment, and even planned excursions. We loved it. We are having a brand new vacation every day and couldn't be luckier. Tomorrow we go up the ICW to Beaufort, SC - about 36 miles. I'm looking forward to being on the ICW again; there is so much to see. On the waterway again - day 5 of our journey north from Jacksonville. The Admiral
The picture is of the ruins of the original plantation on this part of the island.
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