11/16/2015 To 32 31.800N, 80
24.768W, Ashepoo
River ?? NM
After a quick run to Saffron for bread Monday morning, we slid over
to the fuel dock for a pump out before heading out. It got a
bit congested as 3 boats arrived at the marina around 0800 for their
reserved slips. Interesting in that check out time is 1100,
and the marina is usually full. One boat thought they saw an
open slip, only to realize at the last minute it wasn't empty.
Lot of hard backing since the current was starting to run.
When I spoke to the dock guy, he said it's a persistent issue,
especially during snow bird season. The harbor is relatively
small, so there isn't a lot of space for folks to maneuver, either
coming or going, especially when the current runs.
We made the 0930 Wappoo Bridge opening, and glad we weren't in the
herd at 0900, the first opening after the 0630-0900
restriction. We shot out Elliots Cut doing 8.8 - nice
while it lasted, but soon we were going uphill when the river
deviated from the ICW. It was one of those days, depending on
which way the current flowed, we either moved right along or slowed
to 4kts. The good part was having high water to pass all but
one of the shoal areas on the stretch toward Beaufort. With 6'
of tide, it wasn't white knuckle day. At low tide it would be
touch and go, literally, with 5-6' in places and no room for error.
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| A ship and repair facility on the Wadmalaw River |
After passing through Fenwick Cut, we turned downstream to anchor
for the night in the Ashepoo River, rather than tempt fate at the
last shoal with the tide low and dropping. The river was
running over 2 kts and the water gurgled past the hull once we were
anchored. At low tide, a large pod of dolphins swam along the
river bank, catching dinner. Other than the gurgling of the
current, it was a quiet night.
11/17/15 To 32 25.736N, 80
41.647W Beaufort, SC anchorage
20.4NM
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| Boat parade just entering the Ashepoo Coosaw Cutoff |
We considered taking an alternate, down stream route, in the morning
to avoid the last shoal, but after reading comments on Active
Captain (don't trust charted depths, etc.,) we waited until 0830 to
have a rising half tide to head for the Ashepoo Coosaw Cut,
joining a parade of 7 like minded others. Life is easier when
you aren't in a herd. One of the first boats ran out a jib -
fine, but not so great going dead down wind through a cut.
Maybe he didn't realize that a backed jib acts like a brake, slowing
you down, as well as those behind you. He couldn't keep
it filled, but didn't seem to want to furl it either. ARGH!
Once out on the Coosaw River, we ran out our jib, as did most of the
others, but we were the only one not motor sailing, happy to let the
herd go on their way. We sailed most of the way to Beaufort,
rolling in the jib when we realized with a bit of motoring, we could
make the 1230 Ladies Island swing bridge opening.
We dropped the anchor just outside the mooring field buoys, having
opted to not pick up a marina mooring. The current was
switching, and with the moorings fairly closely spaced, we watched
as those on moorings, mostly over 40', shifted closer together than
ideal. One finally moved to a different mooring to keep from
bumping.
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| A portion of the St. Helena Episcopal Church cemetery in Beaufort |
After lunch we went ashore for a treat and a walk. Beaufort is
the 2nd oldest town in SC, and unlike many southern towns, came
through the Civil War more or less unscathed. While there are
some big houses, rivaling those in Charleston, the historic area has
beautiful, but many are more modest. We found a nice,
waterfront place for sale, but the phone link came up with an error
message. We did locate the property advertised in the real
estate office for $1.5M, beyond our budget!
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| $1.5M for this unique waterfront home in Beaufort |
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| Formal garden at the 'Castle' in Beaufort |
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| Another beautiful garden at the Dr. George Mosse Stoney House in Beaufort |
Showers, forming offshore, were forecast to bring light rain ashore,
and we timed things almost to the minute. We were lashing the
dinghy back on deck when the sprinkles arrived. It sprinkled
off and on during the evening, but the forecast was for some sun in
the morning before the arrival of rain and thunderstorms ahead of
the cold front, giving us time to position the boat to be tucked in
while it passed. On radar the front line presented a nasty
looking slash of green, yellow and red, with moisture feeding in
from the gulf. Time to take a closer look at the chart.
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| Tying 'on the hip' to get the Eva Marie into the dock |
While anchored at Beaufort we saw TowboatUS bring 2 boats into the
marina. The first was Eva Marie, a large sailboat, which
required a special bridge opening (commercial traffic get on demand
openings). Once clear, the tow boat needed to get his boat 'on
the hip' to get into the dock - a bit tricky with the current
running and a stiff wind. Then around 2100 I saw strange 'head
lights' and couldn't tell if there were on the water or shore.
Next time I checked, a tow boat was approaching the mooring field
with a good sized power boat under tow. It was too dark to see
how he got the boat into the dock - some folks must have had a bad
day.
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