More Sand Dollar Beach and Stocking Island

3/20 - 3/23/16    Sand Dollar Beach, Stocking Island
Happy Spring!  We've been having some balmy weather, hot when the wind isn't blowing, which has been the case the past few days ahead of a cold front due to arrive Monday afternoon.  It is forecast to bring some strong NNE winds that will help cool things down again, and have boats sitting tight.

After the Reuters returned from their grocery run to Georgetown in their dinghy (it's bigger than ours, but even they were soaked by the time they got back) we invited them to join us on a hike over to the beach, taking a short detour to the top of the cliff so they could see the view of the harbor to one side and the reef to the other.  It's fun to be with folks who like to walk, and gave us a chance to catch up with them.  We last saw Bette in Little River, NC, where she took us on a long beach walk in the rain - glad we had sun today!  Our planned 1 1/2 hour walk ran over by about an hour, but it's a beautiful beach that goes for miles, and we walked less than 1/4 of it.  We ended the day with sun downers aboard Imanja and plan to get together again while we sit out the cold front over the next few days.

Walking the  beach with Bette and Ernie Reuter

Monday was the calm before the storm that gave the Reuters the chance for another run to Georgetown for more provisions.  Since the supply boat arrives Mondays and Thursdays, the produce area at the supermarket tends to have slim pickings during the shortened hours the store is open on Sunday, and just about everything else  in town is closed.  It's a long dinghy ride, we usually move the boat when we go into town rather than do the 1.5NM in our dinghy.  I would have liked to taken the free truck ride to the meat market/deli (Mondays and Fridays at 1030) to get some meat, but since we're settled for the upcoming weather and didn't need food, we stayed put. 

Since it's Easter week, we've learned in the past that means very limited hours Friday - Monday.  I called the meat market to see if there would be a Friday truck this week, but they will be closed, and since they get a delivery Thursday, they can't spare the driver who doubles as a butcher to do a substitute day, and ditto for Monday.  When we talked to the Reuters after they got back, the truck was full - 18 people in a small pickup truck which translates as SRO.  Thankfully it's only a few miles, but that would be unthinkable state side!

I convinced Leonard to explore a couple of the beaches behind the boat we haven't been to in the past.  With a bit of looking, we found a path that linked the beaches at high tide that looked like we might be able to walk to Volley Ball beach. Instead we took 'Treasure Trail' across the island.  It meandered through the trees and across a dry bog before ending close to a swing in the shade overlooking the beach - a place Leonard likes to sit in the shade while I poke along the beach.  On the trail we heard a number of song birds, and have seen a number of bird watering stops along the trails, some with jugs of fresh water for hikers to use to replenish the bird baths (cut off jugs attached to trees).  An interesting spider had spun a web across the trail.  We tried to disturb its web as little as possible to slip past, and it immediately went to secure a carefully encased insect.

Spider with prey in its web

We hiked up the beach to the path over to one of the 'holes', hurricane holes tucked along the W side of the island, to see if we could access Volley Ball beach and our dinghy that way, but it looked too deep to wade across.  Instead, after walking back up the beach, we took a shorter trail across the island and skirted the rocks along the beach, doable at low tide.  I'd asked Bette to stop in at the Visitor's Center while they were in town to pick up some trail maps - there are an amazing number connecting various parts of the island.  The Reuters had an interesting trip back from town, their outboard quit about 2/3s over, still quite a row, but they were offered a tow back by a fellow cruiser.  The cruisers are great about lending a hand when needed.

During the afternoon, we watched a number of boats join us in the anchorage to get protection from the wind behind the cold front.  Right on schedule, the wind clocked through to the W during the day, and a batch of dark clouds gave us a welcome fresh water rinse about 1530, just as we were about to get in the dinghy to pick up a trail map from Bette, cancelling our plan for another walk.  Before sundown the wind had picked up to 20kts out of the NW, and clocked to the NE by morning, the reason we wanted to be tucked in the lee of Stocking Island.  It looked like a dozen boats hadn't made the move from Regatta Point before dark - 1.5NM of fetch would make it a bouncy anchorage.  We're a bit further from the beach than in the past, but can get ashore for hikes, and are conveniently next to Imanja. 

Tuesday afternoon, we picked Bette up, leaving Ernie to solve the outboard issue, and headed for the dinghy landing by the hurricane holes for a walk along the beach.  We saw a couple looking like they planned to wade cross the cut, and since there wasn't another dinghy, Leonard offered them a ride across.  The guy assured us it wasn't deep (just about low tide), and we watched as they waded across, the water getting to their waists.  Bette pointed out that that we were all shorter, and it would have been higher on us.  Guess we could have crossed yesterday, but still wouldn't have gotten to the dinghy since the map clearly indicated a chunk of the beach as private.

Looking S along the beach

The sound was awash with white caps thanks to the steady 20-25kt wind.  Given the conditions, there were fewer people on the beach than usual.  It was easy walking somewhat down wind as we headed N on the beach, inspecting the tide line for shells brought ashore by the wind and waves, qualifying it as a non-boring beach.  We ambled along for about 1 1/2 miles before heading back.  We thought about hiking up to the Monument, but it was very windy along the few bluffs we'd walked, so we saved that part of a less windy day when Ernie would be with us.  It 's a beautiful beach with a few rocky areas that have paths behind them.

A waterfall created by the incoming tide

With 3 of us in the dinghy, we knew it would be a wet ride back, and once it got too shallow to tuck along the shore, it was - all 3 of us were very salty and in need of a fresh water rinse by the time we dropped Bette off at Imanja.  Ernie had their out board fixed, so we invited them over for a movie after dinner.  With the wind blowing a steady 20 - 25 kts, our batteries were fully charged - we could use the computer as much as we wanted (it uses about the same amount of power as the 'fridge).  We had a good laugh watching a spaghetti western with some great sight gags on a DVD we'd picked up several years ago.

Bette and Ernie on the hill overlooking the cut between Stocking and Elizabeth islands

With the wind still blowing Wednesday afternoon we explored the S end of Stocking Island with the Reuters since it would involve a shorter and drier dinghy ride than hiking up to the monument.  The tide was out, so we walked along the beach rather than take the high water bypasses around the rocks.  We finally spotted a number of sand dollars for which the anchorage is named, many partially buried in the sand waiting for the tide to return.  Leonard rescued a stranded star fish that he carefully placed in the water after taking its photo.  I don't think I've ever seen one with these markings before.

One of the sand dollars by Sand Dollar beach -
the gray/brown color and fuzzy edges indicate they're alive

Interesting star fish

When we got to the steep rock at the end of the cut between the island, we took the trail to the top to get a great view of the sound and harbor.  We tried finding the trail skirting the cliff edge we'd taken on an earlier trip,  and got misted in a fine salt spray from the waves breaking on the rocks below for our efforts.  After reaching another small beach (would be almost non-existent at high tide), we decided going back the way we came and taking the path through the woods would be a safer (and drier) route than clamoring over the rock ledges.

Seas rolling in from the sound

Our various sources of wind predictions indicate the 15-20kt SE wind may last longer than originally forecast, so we'll stay put until the wind eases a bit.  We plan to move back to Regatta Point to make another supply run  to town before heading over to Long Island and Conception Island when the forecast indicates more favorable conditions.