On Thursday, we left our anchorage on the South Edisto River at 0847. The strong outgoing current was against us and it took nearly two hours to travel 7 miles. Then, like turning on a light switch the current was now pulling us towards Charleston._

Our plan was to anchor in a small oxbow in Elliot's Cut. The trick is getting there. The current from Charleston Harbor funnels into Wappoo Creek  and into the Stono River through a narrow man made cut, Elliot's Cut. During max ebb & flood the current can rip along as fast as 4 knots.  So getting there at the wrong time and you are either standing still or on a sleigh ride through the cut.

Thankfully our planning paid off an we arrived at nearly slack tide. We then poked our way into oxbow (pictured) and anchored at 1651.

This morning we had a leisurely underway of 1023. No, we didn't sleep in, we wanted to catch the last hour & a half of the outgoing tide. We passed under the Wappoo Creek Bridge and out into Charleston Harbor. This time of year the City Marinas Mega Dock & the anchorage across from it were deserted.

Across the harbor, being mindfully to stay away from incoming freighter traffic we re-entered the ICW. Now, with the current against us we crawled towards the Ben Sawyer Bridge, at 3.2 knots.

The area just north of this bridge has shoaled in over the years. More than once we have bumped along or waited for the incoming tide to re-float us. But, to our surprise something has changed. We passed through an hour after low tide and the shallowest spot we found still left 5' under Calypso's keel.

Since we had a late start we anchored in Whitside Creek at 1450. Tomorrow, we will continue north.

Fair Winds & Quiet Anchorages,
Jeff & Wendy