Well, we're back

Last evening a rusty, rugged little boat called Dynasty came up Awendaw Creek where we were anchored. The crew of five seemed to come out of the distant unknown yonder since the water and marshes stretched as far as the eye could see all around us. These visitors passed our boat with a wave as if in a dream, and thus began the last 24 hours of our voyage.

After pulling up the anchor at about 6:20 a.m. today, we were soon met by rain that would follow us on and off well into the afternoon. Thunder and lightning came too close for comfort at times, but other than that the rain was welcome because it gave the boat a good rinse down and kept those exasperating swamp flies away.

We traveled over 1650 miles through swamps, sounds, oceans, rivers and channels. We went through seaside metropolises, empires of marsh, jungles of mangroves, and neighborhoods of mansions fit for royalty; but I believe my favorite part of the Intracoastal Waterway is but a few miles from where we started. In the central part of South Carolina, the Waccamaw River meanders through the pristine forests of the state's Low Country. Fresh water creeks empty into it from far away places known by few people. We came to the river about midday. I dozed off in the love seat on the sun deck while still in the South Carolina marshes, and when I awoke I found myself surrounded by this endless landscape of graceful trees gently rising from the banks and  hanging their branches over the river.

Waccamaw River

In the middle of this forest we passed the Socastee Bridge, the first bridge we needed opened since central Florida. From there was the home stretch. We passed a dock along the waterway that had a random McDonalds sign on it, and the fact that it made our mouths water was proof that we'd been away from civilization for too long. We passed the Grand Dunes and all its wealthy homes one last time, and recalled how the development was the end point of our five-mile test runs before starting the long haul down the coast.

We tied up to Barefoot Marina around 4:30 p.m. and shed all our worries of going aground in shallow water, capsizing on the open ocean, crashing into other boats or becoming stranded in the middle of a wide open sound. We survived without having to endure any serious turmoil. We were a bit shaken by the waves, and maybe a little less accustomed to the ways of civilized man, but we've also seen much proof of other mariners who fared much worse. Like this poor guy.

 Boat aground at Jeremy Creek, SC. Captain Ken photos.

Upper Rock Creek anchorage, SC. 

Upper Rock Creek.

Trip stats.

To those who have followed this blog, thank you. You journeyed with us the whole way. I hope you shared each moment with enjoyment. We plan to spend the next few days tidying up the boat, and then we'll drive up to New Jersey, which will always be home sweet home. 

Bye Bye Barefoot Marina, Bahamas here we come

We left at about 7 a.m. this morning with the sunrise behind us, navigated through some early fog and had mostly clear skies all the way down to our Day 1 anchorage spot, Minim Creek, about 60 miles down the Intracoastal Waterway from Barefoot Marina. So, we’re finally underway.

Minim Creek is a very secluded area with the only sign of civilization being the flashing red marker on the ICW about a half mile away. The creek is the ideal spot to drop anchor off the waterway. The area we’re in is protected from the winds by trees on both sides, and the depth is about ten feet.

While we were looking for just the right spot to end our day, a pod of dolphins swam around our boat. One actually came right next to the bow as we were getting ready to drop anchor.

While en route to our destination, about 20 miles from Barefoot Marina, we saw two swans swim right by the boat and then come together to touch beaks, their necks and beaks thereby forming the shape of a heart. It was a sight for our weary eyes as we were just starting to really wake up.

The wind was at between 15 to 20 knots for most of the way, but around Georgetown, SC the ocean's current increased our speed by about 2 knots, bringing us up to 10 at times when we only set the throttle at 8 knots.

So we cruised about 60 miles in approximately 7 hours, arriving at Minim Creek at 2 p.m. It’s been a long day and we’re running on generator power, so I have to log off now. Keep following our travels. We feel as if you’re cruising with us. Tomorrow's destination is Charleston, about 50 miles away. The distance is shorter than today's but the weather is expected to be a bit stormy tomorrow, so that will probably slow us down a bit.

                                            The ICW around Bucksport. Captain Ken photos

Cruising on the ICW

Combo Bridge between Myrtle Beach and Bucksport

Swan along the ICW

Looking out from our first anchorage at Minim Creek

Almost ready

Finding a place to anchor after Beufort, SC could really be difficult. We were looking at anchoring off of Thunderbolt, about 43 miles from Beufort, but we'd like to go further than 43 miles that day. We could be wasting a good amount of daylight if we stop in Thunderbolt, GA. But the next port city, Brunswick, GA, is 130 miles from Beufort, which is definitely too far to go in one day.

Our only other option is to anchor somewhere in the Georgia marshes between Thunderbolt and Brunswick. Uncle Ken and I spent a few more hours looking for a good anchorage between those two points, found a few that may be good and then just concluded the best way to find out is to see what the spots are like when we get there. And that was the end of that.

We were going to go out for another test run today, but it was once again too windy, with wind gusts up to 21 mph. So we did some errands, and then went to a Bass Pro shop to find line for our fishing rods, and get some pointers from the experienced fishermen there. We'll be fishing for wahoo and mahi mahi.

You may be thinking, when will you be leaving already? Well, preparing for such a long voyage takes some time. But we will definitely be leaving some time next week. Only last-minute provisions are left.