Georgetown, SC to Beaufort, SC and beyond

November 10, 2019 - November 17, 2019

We left Georgetown just after sunrise to start our three day trip to Beaufort, SC.  Our first day we planned to motor 50 miles, but stopped short of that goal and anchored in Capers Creek.  We were definitely back in the lush South Carolina low country as we were surrounded by marsh.  The familiar smell of the pluff mud and the beauty of the spartina grass were a welcome sight.  We spent last winter in the low country and most of the winter of 2016/2017 and it has become one of my favorite eco-systems.  Shrimp boats, pelicans, egrets, and dolphins are abundant in the low country waterways.

One advantage of getting up early
is seeing a beautiful sunrise!

A pelican resting on a day marker

A shrimp boat out early

On Monday we had planned to get a later start to hit Elliot Cut at slack tide, but Bob couldn’t wait.  We got through the Ben Sawyer Bridge at 10:00am and entered Charleston harbor.

The Ravenell Bridge connects Charleston with Mount Pleasant.

Boats are anchored in Charleston Harbor
just in front of the City Marina.

Because of Bob’s impatience we hit Elliot Cut when the tidal current was still about four knots  against us which slowed us down considerably.  Bob had to “white knuckle” it through the cut, but we safely made it into the Stono River.  We anchored off Stono River in Church Creek.

I finally photographed a beautiful sunset.

Tuesday dawned overcast and rain was predicted for later in the day.  We hoped we could make it to Beaufort before the deluge.  We had a few cuts (small dredged canals between rivers or creeks) to navigate, but high tide helped us through them without a problem.  We passed under the Ladies Island Bridge and docked at Bueafort Downtown Marina at 2:00 pm in the pouring rain.  I was soaked to the skin by the time we were settled in our slip.  Hot rum drinks helped us to warm up and relax after the stressful docking.  

Wednesday was sunny, but with a cold wind.  We braved the elements and had breakfast at Common Ground just off the harbor side park and later lunch at Plum’s.  I had Shrimp and Grits, one of my favorite low country offerings.

The park extends from the Ladies Island Bridge to the Downtown Marina.
 It has porch swing type seats and in warmer weather
I would have been swinging on one.

Bob wasn’t interested in looking in many of the stores on Bay Street (the first street away from the park) and after a while he headed back to the boat while I completed my exploration.  One shop that intrigued me was a kitchen store that had such a plethora of items it took me quite awhile to look at everything.

 I have started to collect kitchen towels and
found this one in the kitchen store.

  

One side of Bay street is mostly shops
and the other side is mostly restaurants.    

 Many of the historic homes have been converted
to Bed and Breakfast Inns.

Beaufort has several trading libraries
like this one all around town.
The policy is "take one - leave one".

Beaufort has some family history attached.  My in-laws (Sig and Claire Hanel) married here during WW II.  Sig was stationed at Parris Island at the time and later was deployed to the Pacific.

Thursday was cloudy and a light rain started in the morning.  I got the laundry done before the deluge that afternoon.  The rain continued all day, all day Friday and all day Saturday. Ugh!  We still managed to get groceries and rum. I got out some fabric and cut out the pieces for my next quilt. On Saturday we watched Penn State beat Indiana University 27-24.  

Sunday morning we left the marina at 9:00 am heading south on the Beaufort River past Port Royal and Parris Island.   

This is the water tower at Parris Island which states “We Make Marines”.

The wind and current were both strong causing a rocky ride.  The waves and wind calmed down once we got across Port Royal Sound and into Skull Creek.  The rest of the trip was calm with sunshine warming up the enclosure nicely. We anchored in New Creek around 2:30.

Lola relaxing in the cockpit after a long day of travel.

Tomorrow we leave South Carolina and enter Georgia which has some trouble spots on the ICW.

Thank you for reading my blog.