South Carolina ICW

As we headed up the South Carolina coast, we passed by Daufuskie Island and Hilton Head.  Strong winds allowed parasailers to fly across Calibogue Sound.  When we reached Port Royal Sound, the wind and current were opposing one another, making for a sporty ride!  We washed the bow sprit and took spray over the cabin for about an hour.  I went below to keep Storm calm (wink, wink). 

Our first stop on the South Carolina coast was Beaufort where we snagged a mooring ball at the city marina.  Wow!  Were we out of practice on that!  Ed and Judi dinghied over and picked us up for brick-oven pizza in town at Hearth.  Excellent!

Back aboard Steal Away, as the sun was setting, we heard a loud thumping on the hull, followed by the boat heeling over.  We went topside to investigate and found the mooring painter was being pulled under the boat by the current, dragging the ball from side to side with it!  Thought we were in for a very uncomfortable night.  Fortunately, when the wind and current died down that evening, the banging and heeling ceased.

Next morning, we decided to dinghy in for a shower and ice at the marina.  We lowered the dinghy from the davits and mounted the Lehr motor.  She would start, run for a few minutes, and die.  We repeated this process for a while with the same results.  Jim tried changing out propane canisters and tweaking the carburetor.  No go.  The evil twin strikes again.  We called the marina and upgraded from a mooring ball to a slip for the evening.  That afternoon, we joined Ed & Judi for a golf-cart historical tour of downtown Beaufort.  Lots of history  and beautiful old homes here.

After two nights in Beaufort, we spent a night at anchor in the South Edisto River.  We dropped the hook in 6 ft. of water, but as the tide went out, we found ourself aground again!  The Captain found my anxiety amusing, went below, and took a nap.  Alas, as the tide turned, we were floating again by dinner.

Next day, we arrived in Charleston and took a slip for two nights at St. Johns Yacht Harbor.  Jim planned to check on the job site downtown while we were here.  Awesome facility: experienced dockhands, clubhouse-style bath facility, very nice and inexpensive laundry, and a beautiful pool.  Wow, we scored!!  We took the courtesy car into town with Ed & Judi and had a late lunch at Ellis Creek Fish Camp.  Great shrimp tacos😊

The next morning, Jim and I took the courtesy car to provision at Food Lion.  Later, our dear friend Dale’s sister and her hubby picked us up for lunch at Crust.  Very good pizza!  After lunch, they dropped Jim at the jobsite and returned me to the marina just about the time Tropical Storm Danny decided to show up.  Very windy and rain coming in waves all afternoon.  After the jobsite shut down from the storm, brother Bob brought Jim back to the boat, and we went for BBQ at Swig and Swine.  Charleston really has some excellent dining! 

We stayed in Charleston an extra day compliments of Danny.  After a fabulous breakfast at Sunrise Bistro, we did laundry, cleaned, and did some route planning.  We will part ways tomorrow with our friends Ed & Judi, so we had a potluck dinner aboard Claire.  Caesar salad, brats, metts & grill potatoes.  Good dinner and great stories! 

The next morning, our friends bid us farewell as we departed the dock for the dreaded Elliot Cut and Wapoo bascule bridge.  Caught in a wicked current, Jim narrowly missed the bridge when bringing Steal Away home 21 years ago.  We timed our departure for slack tide at the cut and had no mishaps our second time around!  We passed Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms before anchoring for the night at Awendaw Creek.  That evening, we watched a Coast Guard rescue operation in nearby Bulls Bay.  Helicopter, rescue boat and finally an airboat to get 2 passengers off a sinking vessel.  Amazing!  Really boosts your confidence that our Coasties will be there for you if ever needed.

Our next stop was Georgetown where we stayed at the Georgetown Landing Marina.  Very hot & humid day, so we decided to walk into town (about 1 ½ mile) before showering.  Fortunately, some of the streets were shaded and the ice cream at Sweetie’s made the walk worthwhile.  Another cool old town with shops and restaurants lining the main street.  We enjoyed a stroll down the Harbor Walk on our return to the boat.

Our final South Carolina stop was Myrtle Beach.  We had been invited to stay with our friends Andy & Marilyn Hyman at their new garden home that came with a slip right on the ICW.  Andy met us at the slip in a heavy rain squall and took my bow line.  And that was as far as we got.  We all learned how skinny the water is in the new slips…aground once again!  We waited a couple hours for high tide; Jim and I manually drug Steal Away into the slip.  Worn out, we gratefully accepted a hot shower and delicious dinner at the Hyman’s new home.

At 1:30 a.m. when Stormy woke me, I realized Steal Away was heeling at the dock!  Ugh, low tide.  Jim went outside to check the lines, making sure we weren’t putting too much strain on the dock.  Crawled back in the slanted berth and slept.  When we woke the next morning, we were vertical again!  We were concerned with the heavy holiday traffic and wake causing Steal Away to bump on the bottom at low tide, so we called every marina in Myrtle Beach.  None had availability given the July 4th holiday.  So, Jim put lines across the cabin top to the cleats on the opposite side and cleated the mast halyard to the dock to keep us upright at low tide.  Surprisingly, it worked!

The Hyman’s were gracious hosts, inviting us to dinner at their home each evening, Ubering us to the grocery and allowing us to shower and do laundry.  We had a great visit and topped it off with a fireworks show from their porch!  Well rested and with Independence Day behind us, we were ready to take to the waterway once again.

Georgia ICW

Georgia, the part of the trip we’ve dreaded most.  The part of the Loop we said we’d like to skip.  We’ve done this part of the ICW before.  Our memories are: hot, buggy, marshy, winding rivers and no water in the channel.

When we left Fernandina Beach, we motored about 8 miles across the FL/GA line and dropped anchor off Cumberland Island.  We planned to dinghy in to enjoy a day of hiking and playing on the beach.  First, we had to get the dingy motor, i.e., the “evil twin” running.  We haven’t used it in nearly two years.  We lowered the dinghy from the davits, got the Lehr motor down from the bracket and onto the dinghy.  Jim added oil and screwed on a propane cylinder.  After about 25 pulls, she sprang to life!  Amazing😊

We dinghied to the landing and went ashore at this National Seashore.  Paid our entry fee, got a map, and headed to the beach, about ½ mile of beautiful trail with a live oak canopy.  We had a picnic lunch on the beach and played in the waves for a while.  We decided to take the Lower Loop trail, about 4 ½ miles round-trip.  We headed down the beach looking for the trail marker.  About 1 ¼ mile down the beach, we hit the trail with boardwalks through the dunes and over the marshy areas.  This is where we first saw a few wild horses. 

A little further along, we came to the Dungeness ruins, the remains of the Carnegie winter estate.  Unbelievable.  The main house was originally 37,000 square feet with several outbuildings on the estate including the recreation building that included an indoor heated pool, gymnasium, billiards, and gun room.  Had it not burned in 1959, we might have another Biltmore House to enjoy!  The ruins are also where the wild horses like to congregate; there must have been 2 dozen or more here.  We also saw deer and wild turkey on the island.  We completed our hike along the river trail ending back at the Sea Camp Dock where our dinghy awaited.  Just as I found my favorite place in South Carolina (Edisto Island), I have found my favorite Georgia spot in the Cumberland Island National Seashore.  Back at the boat, we weathered quite a storm squall before dinner, followed by a peaceful night at anchor.

Next stop was Brunswick Landing where we laid over 2 nights to let tropical storm Claudette play through.  The forecast indicated lighter winds on day 3, so we departed Brunswick at 7:00 a.m.  We traveled through the boring Marshes of Glynn with our buddy boat, Claire.  We tiptoed through the Little Mud River (too close to low tide), plowing through the pluff mud most of the way.  So excited to see 20’ on our depth sounder, the captain looked back to see how Claire (with one-foot deeper draft) was faring, and BUMP, BUMP…we were on a 1 ½ foot sandbar!  We could not back off or plow forward.  Jim put up the staysail to give us more forward momentum and Claire did a few passes to create a wake.  The right combination!  After about an hour, we were underway again.  The wind picked up off our beam  in the afternoon making for a very rolly ride.  We dropped anchor in the Wahoo River in 20+ mph winds and opposing current.  We spun like a top for a few hours before the wind settled down, thrilled that our anchor held.

Our last Georgia stop was Thunderbolt Marina just south of Savannah.  We drove through heavy rain most of the way there.  After recovering from the journey, we had dinner at nearby Tubby’s with Ed & Judi aboard m/v Claire, excellent seafood! 

The next morning, Krispy Kreme doughnuts were delivered to our boat.  We could get used to that!  Later that morning, Jim and I ubered into Savannah and had brunch at Huey’s on the riverfront.  YUM!  Omelets, Mimosa, and the best beignets I’ve ever had (and that includes New Orleans)!  We walked the riverfront then toured the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum.  Incredible model ships and maritime history.  We returned to Thunderbolt for café au lait, conversation, and trip planning aboard Claire, the Kady Krogen.  So much fun traveling with a buddy boat, Georgia didn’t seem so bad!  Tomorrow we leave the peach state in our wake.

Florida East Coast

We entered the Intracoastal Waterway on June 7th and headed for our first stop, Vero Beach.  Excellent facility with everything a transient could want:  super nice, air-conditioned bath facility, large laundry, boater’s lounge, propane pickup/refill service, free bus to beach, Publix, West Marine, and dining!  We also re-united with fellow Loopers from Season 2, Dave & Denise, who traveled with us down mighty Lake Michigan.  Their boat is on the hard for engine repairs and they are staying with family in Vero Beach.  We had a nice dinner together and they shuttled us to town for the large stuff – bottled water, drinks, and 2 new fans!!  It is really heating up here now!

We spent a night on the hook on route to Titusville Marina, where we took delivery of Steal Away 21 years ago.  While in Titusville, we visited the Kennedy Space Center.  Awesome facility!  We saw the enormous VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building), launch pads, rocket ship Apollo, Shuttle Atlantis, and even rode the Shuttle Launch simulator.  Very cool!

We anchored at New Smyrna Beach and spent a night at Palm Coast Marina on route to St. Augustine.  We’ve been getting underway early each day in an attempt to dodge afternoon thunderstorms.  Sometimes we’re successful, other times we get a little wet.  We purchased a hand-pump to bail the dinghy each morning!

We arrived in St. Augustine just before noon and decided to walk to the Sailor’s Exchange (think big thrift store for boaters) and have lunch across the street at the Cheese Wheel, about a mile from the marina.  Just as we crossed the San Sebastian River, big raindrops were pelting us!  We dove into the Cheese Wheel just before the skies opened up.  We enjoyed a leisurely lunch while the storm played out.  When it settled to just rain, we visited the Sailor’s Exchange; I wanted the used boat A/C unit, but we left with only a new dock line to replace the one we snapped back on Mackinac Island.

Walking back to the boat reminded us of Charleston.  The streets were flooded from the deluge.  We made our way back to the boat trying to avoid mud puddles and splashes from speeding cars.  We enjoyed our two days in St. Augustine; we walked across the Bridge of Lions, took the Trolley Tour, walked the streets in the old city and, of course, sampled a few of the numerous restaurants that spill out onto the streets.  Shared stories over coffee with new friends and future Loopers, Ed & Judi, living aboard Claire, Kady Krogen 42’.

Next stop, Jacksonville Beach where we could take a short Uber ride to Walmart to provision and re-fill prescriptions.  Enjoyed the best fried shrimp dinner at Mavi Waterfront then visited with newly engaged Emily Keichel and fiancée Adam back at the marina.

Our final stop in Florida was Fernandina Beach.  I was skeptical as the last time we were here (21 years ago bringing Steal Away home to NC), the marina was silted in.  You could only tie up on the outside face dock as the boats inside at slips were sitting in the mud at low tide.  YUCK!  Well, we were pleasantly surprised.  The marina has been dredged and only re-opened a year ago following major repairs from hurricane damage.  Top-notch facility with attentive and knowledgeable dockhands.  Very nice walking town with numerous restaurants, boutique shops, and ice cream!!  Jim had a nice prime rib dinner at the Salty Pelican where we were forced to have “train shots” at the bar each time a train passed by right in front of the restaurant and blew its whistle😊.