May 14-May 18
The anchorage on the Darien River was fairly quiet, aside from a few shrimp boats passing by and the strong current moving the boat 180° twice and setting off the drag queen. The next night was our favorite anchorage so far. Buckhead Creek was beautiful and protected. The next day was a little cloudy and cool with calm winds. Our anchorage was Bull Creek by Daufuskie Island. It was Saturday and there was a good bit of boat traffic in the creek. This stopped by sunset and two more boats joined us. A tour boat came through to look for dolphin and there were quite a few to see. It was a peaceful night. We were the first to leave at 7:00 a.m. and the anchor came up clean. This always makes Carl happy.
We had a nice day on the water and were in Lady Island marina by 1:30 p.m. The dock hand that took our lines looked a little familiar. He recognized us right away. John was at Nettles Island with his girl friend Stephanie on his Tayana. He took a job here at the marina and they are now engaged. We had a busy afternoon. We took the courtesy car to run a few errands. After dinner we joined John, Stephanie and a few others for a sundowner. Then, we walked to DQ for ice cream. The next morning we walked to the Huddle House for breakfast. Pecan waffles! Yum! We left the dock at 8a.m. It was a picture perfect day. Just enough wind from the east to put up the head sail. With the tide pushing us we were making 7 kts. Then the horseflies moved in. It was almost comical to watch as Carl and I took turns at the helm and swating flies! As we crossed Saint Helena sound, an alarm went off telling us that the engine was overheated. We had just enough wind to keep moving while we shut the engine off. Carl discovered a broken belt that he was able to replace. This took a little time, so I practiced my light air sailing. Fortunately the sound was large and deep. Only a few boats passed by. Carl finished just as we were about to head offshore through the inlet. Tempting, but I turned around and headed back to the ICW. A little later, the engine noise increased and when Carl checked , a water hose had broken. This time we were in Fenwick Cut with lots of areas of shoaling. As soon as we could, we found a spot to anchor and Carl replaced the hose and I fought the flies. At this point we are asking each other whose idea this was! Screen inserts for the canvas surround now goes to the top of the "must have" list! We anchored in the South Edisto River about 3 p.m. The winds had increased to 10-15 out of the south. We couldn't hardly anchor and go below fast enough. The flies eventually left us alone. There was yet another beautiful sunset to enjoy.