And on we go
17 November 2006 | Grahams Creek
Jim Lea
Sunset in Graham's Creek
"But today, although the weather doesn't seem bad here, we'll stay put. Because time is getting on, we will skip Georgetown and head straight for Charleston for Saturday. By the way, our unfriendly neighbor seems to have survived as well." That was the close of my post two days ago. But I wrote it at noon, and by 2:00 pm the day had cleared and the wind died so that we decided to head out after all. We knew that we could only make a few miles that day, but it would give us a head-start for Friday, so off we went. We had heard a few conversations on the VHF indicating that there were boats moving, but not anywhere near the normal. We got both anchors up without problems (it is a talent that takes time to master, and I think we are coming close), and passed by un-friend, giving him a wide margin lest we foul his huge anchor line.
Back on the ICW things were a bit breezy, but very manageable. We had a target to reach Jericho Creek, about 10 miles downstream. On the way we passed a few marinas where we saw a number of boats we had been traveling with still snugly tied up. At one we saw a boat we had only heard on the VHF, called A capella (a musical term meaning voice only, no accompaniment) from St John's Newfoundland. When we passed, they saw our Canadian flag and waived wildly. Perhaps we will meet them later and chat. And shortly after we were passed by a catamaran from Toronto... Lots of Canadian snowbirds fleeing the winter.
Speaking of winter, it is very difficult to believe that we are only a little over 4 weeks to winter. Although some trees have lost their eaves, the majority are still green, and the grass is still growing. But the short days are with us just as at home, and we need to remember that it gets dark just after 5 pm, so that we don't get caught without a safe anchorage at sundown. And he temperature, still nice in the day (usually), drops quickly at sundown, so that we retreat below quickly as the sun sets and turn on the Espar. So last night, we turned into Jericho Creek off the Waccama River (earlier we saw a sign at a marina asking people not to feed the alligators... no swimming for us!) and found a beautiful anchorage.
Getting settled by about 4:00 pm, we sat in the cockpit listening to the birds and reading when we heard a motor boat approaching. I turned around and was surprised to see Bruce and Nancy Montgomery from Seabird, who we had met in New Berne, and also in Beaufort. They had had a great deal of trouble getting their dinghy engine repaired, and the last we had seen of them was when we left Beaufort, and they were in the second week of waiting for parts. It turns out that one part never did arrive, and they had the missing part machined at a local machine shop. They have a Bristol 35.5, and are from Maine, very near where we kept our boat, so we had a lot in common, and were happy to invite them aboard for a drink and to catch up on their news.
This morning we headed out of Jericho Creek, and went out the Waccama into Winyah Bay, and, having made up some tile, we went into Georgetown, anchoring about 9:00 am. It is a pretty town with lots of history, and we enjoyed a walk around it. I will post photos of it (and a bunch of others) as soon as I have a good high speed connection. Better still, we found a local seafood shop and bought Grouper, Shrimp and Crab, replenishing the food locker. We also found a nice bakery/wine shop where we bought some Beaujolais Nouveau (not a favorite staple, but a fun thing to do), some preserves, and a few sweets(I don't care much for desserts, but Jeannie comes from a long line of sweet eaters). Then we found some vegs at a Natural Foods store (they can be odd, but this one was very good, and gave boaters a 10% discount). Then back to the boat and off again.
Our objective for the evening was Grahams Creek, and for two reasons; first, it was highly recommended in our cruising guides (and, as it turns out, for good reason), and second, because it would mean a short day for tomorrow to reach Charleston, where we will spend a couple of days to tour this historic city. So we motored through the delta of the Santee River, which creates a huge floodplain, and is very remote and beautiful, and pulled in to Grahams Creek just as the sun was setting.
We are sharing this beautiful anchorage with just two other boats, and sat in the cockpit to watch the sun set across the savannah. And then below for Grouper with a Tapanade paste with rice pilaf (done in a new pressure cooker recipe). Tomorrow, Charleston. But our plans for later next week may come afoul of another weather system.