May 14 - May 18 Hilton Head Island to Charleston

We departed Savannah on a slack tide and moderate winds, which made the winding journey through the backwaters of South Carolina most enjoyable except for the Diptera: Simuliidae – man-eating black flies.  Fortunately, both vessels were armed us with the creature sapper, an electrified fly swatter.  That and the headwind help to keep them at bay. 

With a "strenuous" day of 24 miles, we arrived before lunch to the welcoming site of Harbortown Yacht Basin, with its own lighthouse and protected harbor.  It's a lovely spot that reminds one of Portofino Italy with its circular basin and colorful restaurants & shops lining the shore.  The dockmaster met us in a skiff to guide us in which was a first.  We later realized that if he didn’t use the skiff, his walk to the transit docks would equal a marathon’s distance by the end of the day.  Needless to say, we would travel that distance many times in the course of our stay.

Greeted with an efficient & pleasant dockmaster, a lovely bottle of wine, check-in at boatside (instead of the healthy walk around the basin), including all necessary information for an enjoyable stay (pool, shops, spa, restaurants), we (read PC & AJ) decided two nights just won't be enough!  As that matched well with storms projected for the third day, we all agreed to an additional night.  

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Touted as one of the "most unique and beautiful places on earth" and after spending two full days walking, biking & running Sea Pines Plantation, we were inclined to agree!  The beautiful oak tress covering the estate are so thick they nearly block out the sun.  There are miles of bike & hiking trails, 4 manicured golf courses (including the PGA Heritage) and the remains of the old plantation on which the Resort was built.  You can spend days enjoying the beach, pool, tennis, golf, all variety of water sports and even sail on America II, Jimmy Connors winning boat in the Americas Cup.  It was certainly more than could be enjoyed during our brief visit.
Alas, Friday morning dawned clear and it was time to move on!  With a strong WNW wind, the captains had their hands full getting out of the dock and narrow basin - which they both handled skillfully.  We ran up Calibogue Sound along the western border of Hilton Head Island  The Island is 42 square miles with 12 miles of beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. Although 40% of the Island is water, its land mass still makes it the second largest barrier island in SC.  The deep-water creeks around Hilton Head and the prevalence of hardwoods made the island a popular place for shipbuilding during the early history of our Country.  In fact, Beaufort County, in which Hilton Head resides, was the largest shipbuilding area in the early colonies. Even today, when the USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides," was rebuilt in 1988, they used live oaks that were cleared to make room for Hilton Head Island's Causeway.

We crossed Port Royal Sound with rather heavy seas & opposing winds to the current and were glad to turn into Beaufort River, where the water turned Marine Green as we approached the heart of U.S. Marine Corps country.  Both Parris Island Recruit Depot and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort are located within a stone through of the City of Beaufort SC.  Parris Island is the oldest USMC station in continuous use in the country.  The Marines occupied the former Naval coal-refueling Depot in 1891, first as a security detachment, then an officers’ training school, then a recruit depot.  MCAS Beauport, home of the Marine Air Group 31, was commissioned in June 1943 and contains 4 Squadrons of F/A-18.

While we had hoped to stay at the City Marina, they had yet to complete the promised electrical upgrades and low voltage is not a nice thing to do to our vessels.  As a result, we found another gem in the Lady's Island Marina located just north of the swing bridge and across the river from the Old Town Beaufort on Factory Creek.  Entry is interesting as you dodge all the anchored boats in the creek, but well worth the effort!   As we approached the dock, we were greeted with four or five line handlers; all local boaters congregating at the marina. The lead handler was a very friendly dockmaster, Steve, who apparently spends his life cruising from one marina to another offering his services to depressed marinas and turns them around.  He is doing a great job for Lady's Island Marina.  We were immediately invited to a burger and hot dog cookout with flowing beer, given all the insight on the local goings on, and provided a tour of their large workshop, which is free use to the marina boaters.  We found out later that most of the folks stop at the marina and then extend their stay as they use the facility for repairing whatever is ailing their boats - great find.  

We also met Peter, who has his boat at the Capital Yacht Club in Washington DC, so we will connect with him in early July.  But, another very small world experience - he spent this past winter on a smaller, trailer-able boat checking out "all" of the Florida Keys to make his decision about where he would spend next winter.  His decision - the same anchorage off Curry Hammock State Park were two sets of dear friends reside - Gordon & Joannie Younce aboard Blue Goose and right next door to Duke Martin & Cheryl Wilcox on land.  Thankfully, we were on the outside "T" dock - rather than these folks on the interior!  The Georgia coast has an amazing tidal shift vs the rest of the mid & south Atlantic coast!

Cannon overlooking Lady's Island Bridge

The town of Beaufort is a charming step back into the 1800s with its antebellum mansions, historic churches dating back to the early 1700s, wonderful downtown “boarding house” and hidden Five Star restaurant disguised as a quaint bistro serving a mouth-watering popover as a free appetizer.  We had an enjoyable bicycle into town (1.5 miles) and soon came to see Beaufort as a place to return to for a longer visit.  The guided tour (carriage drawn by Newman) was fabulous with the history and traditions of the old South.  The people were very friendly and the ambiance surrounding our entire visit made Beaufort one of our favorite stops thus far.

Sunday morning, May 18 found us off the docks early -- as early as the low tide would permit!  We wanted to make Charleston, which would be a long 58 NM day (about double or normal days).  The tides were mostly in our favor and fortunately, the South Carolina ICW is significantly "straighter" than Georgia.  For CB & AJ, it is a bit poignant as they lived on their waters 25 years ago when they married.

We made the turn out of Wappoo Creek (in Elliot Cut, we were fortunately running with the tide at 10+ knots at "slow" speed) and headed for the Charleston City Marina a few minutes for 3:00p. The City Marina is a very large complex that has been expanded several  times over the years, making it a sprawling and not such a pretty location.  It is, however, convenient for our upcoming two week stay with easy access to the peninsula and van service to everything we might need.  Docking with an energetic cross-current adding to the challenges, Ivory Lady & Navigator were glad to tied up for a bit.  

We're looking forward to visits with friends & family over the Memorial Day weekend. CA & PC will be joined by daughter & son-in-law.  CA & AJ will head to their cabin in the mountains for a few days.  Have a wonderful holiday everyone!