Once we were tied up we started actually meeting the people associated with the boat names we had been hearing for a while. One boat in particular, a Cape Dory 40 named Euphoria from Missoula, Montana, seemed familiar but we couldn't quite place why. Boats with hailing ports like Missoula tend to stick in your mind.
Later that evening we went out to dinner with the folks from Missoula and another couple on a boat named Mary Lee. At dinner we got onto the subject of shallow spots in the ICW, always a popular subject, and Rick and Karla of Euphoria mentioned a bad grounding they had experienced on the infamous 61A above Onslow Bridge. It had happened on their first trip south in Fall of 2007. Suddenly it clicked. Two years ago, we made it past 61A and about ½ hour later a boat called for advice on getting through. We radioed back with what had worked for us......but it didn't work for them. The tide was lower, they were deeper draft, and they were hard aground. When they finally made it to Mile Hammock Bay much later that evening, we kept a low profile as we felt bad. It was Euphoria. Once again, the ICW community is a small, small world.
We have spent the last two days enjoying their company and that of John and Mary from the Mary Lee and tomorrow are headed out together to have fun with Elliots Cut and the shallows that lie beyond.

PS, John and Mary have a little dog named Goliath that they trained to go on the deck using a book called "Elimination on Command". They lent us the book, we'll keep you posted after Murphy's finished reading the book.

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Sharing the Channel
After a leisurely start, we made our way to the Ben Sawyer Bridge for a 10:00 opening. This particular bridge is notorious for a grumpy operator and poorly-timed openings. This time there was no problem and we made it through after a short wait. We then slowly worked our way across the Charleston Harbor. We were headed for the Maritime Center Marina and slack tide was not until noon, so we didn't want to arrive too early. Docking there can be a real circus if the current is flowing hard.
As we made our way across, we got to share the channel with a very large freighter and a couple of ferry boats. Pictures never convey the intimidation factor of giant ships very well. However, this guy very nicely stayed on one side of the channel and we kept well out of his way.
We arrived at the marina at slack tide and with two dockhands on deck, got into the slip with no issue. What a relief.

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Underway again with favorable winds and tides. Most of the day we enjoyed a 1-2 kt tidal push and although the winds were 20 kts or so, they were on our stern. However, the skies were cloudy all day so it seemed kind of damp and cold but it was still good to be underway. We surfed down Winyah Bay at 8+ kts and crawled between the North and South Santee Rivers at a little more than 3kts. Such is life on the waterway with a small engine and a slow boat.
Along the way we passed acres of abandoned rice fields and indigo plantations from a century or so ago. The rice fields still wave in the breeze and in sunlight were a beautiful golden color whenever the sun peeked through. We motored by some of our favorite anchorages in the Cape Romain National Wildlife refuge as they were quite exposed and the winds tonight are predicted to be 20kts or so. Still, I did get to do a little birdwatching as we passed by and was treated to large flocks of Oystercatchers and a Bald Eagle sitting on a piling by water's edge. One large group of shore birds, too far away to identify, turned the white shell bank to gray.
We finally stopped just short of Charleston at an anchorage that was rated good for wind, though without a tree or high bank in sight, we're not really sure we understand the rating. At least there is very little fetch so there shouldn't be any issues with waves.
Dad and Murph left just at dusk in search of a shell bank in all of the surrounding marsh. After a successful trip, they returned and Jim fixed a great steak dinner in honor of my birthday. Gosh, those events seem to come awfully quick these days!

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