October 23 thru October 31 2019 In Ashley Marina, Charleston, SC

A lot has been happening. Homecoming 2019, dinner with classmates from R Company Class of 1968, Homecoming Football Game against Mercer College, Tailgating, Sightseeing, Eating delicious foods, visiting with family, visiting with the GM of Continental Terminals Coffee Warehouse in Charleston and doing some relaxing. Abby has been great and less stressed than Erin. We do some chores, cleaning and socializing with others in the marina. More stories and pictures to follow but this should get everybody caught-up on the travels.  Abby says Hi!

Abby very happy in her lift sling and on the crochet blanket my sister made for her

Schedule ahead.

Nov 1--Visiting another Defever 44 owner on Toogoodoo River 25 miles south of Charleston. At anchor.
Nov 2--anchoring in harbor at Beaufort, SC
Nov 3-- heading to Savannah GA

October 23 enroute Charleston SC

Today was a day that we have been anticipating with some trepidation and excitement. On one hand we are going to arrive in Larry’s home town and reconnect with other men from his Citadel Company yet on the other hand there are large stretches of VERY shallow water. Even though the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) has dredged in the spring the silting has filled back in the channels on the route to our destination. Our two days in  McClleanville, SC were worthwhile but it was time to say good-bye to the shrimping fleet and the welcome of Leland Oil Company.

 Erin wanted to wait for good daylight before leaving as the shallows were one thing but to become stuck in the dark was a bit unnerving, to say the least. 

First Light at McClellanville October 23

I was confident that we would be underway safely and not go aground. For the last two weeks we have been watching others who are ahead of us encountering very shallow depth just south of McClleanville as well as around the Isle of Palms as we would near Charleston. The ACE hired a dredge company to re-dredge the areas south of where we have been for the last two days and they were still working the channel.  

 That meant not only did we have to deal with the shallow water but also the dredge taking up half the channel. It was making Erin nervous.

We prepared the night before by rigging all the lines to be loosened from the boat because we knew we would not have line handlers when we departed. Plans were ready and we settled down for a quiet evening.

Erin got me up at 5:30 (Yawn!) so we could be ready…..(did I say Yawn?) First light would not be till at least 7:18 a.m. so why were we up this early? Nonetheless, we recovered the power cord, got the generator on-line and had coffee. Finally there was enough light for Erin and we were underway. Depths in the McClleanville channel were 6 ft till the mouth of their creek. There is was 4 ft but we coasted slowly over it and reentered the ICW. Immediately in front of us was the dredge Little Princess but they were not yet dredging for the day. The captain (or mate) answered the VHF radio and advised us that if we stayed close to him as we passed we would find the deep water. He also told us the other dredge was about a mile further and we would not have any problem with him either. We passed close but still only in 5 feet of water. (We draw 4 ft 6 in) for the first time encounter he strong currents that are characteristic on the area.

Once past this restriction the trip took us thru wider deeper waters and past sand bars and salt marshes. It was deeper but tricky as passing the inlets from the ocean the currents would offer some influence with the outgoing tide. Often the boat would swerve off- course and I would have to over correct to stay on track. In fact at one inlet there was a trawler aground that missed the turn and got stuck and before he could get off the tide went down far enough he could not get off and had to stay heeled-over till the next high tide.

After an uneventful passage behind Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island and passing under the Ben Sawyer Bridge we entered Charleston harbor.

It was nostalgic and a warm feeling came over me in the warm breeze and bright sunlight. I had a moment of fleeting childhood memories as I passed the end of Sullivan’s Island and remembered many fishing trips there with buddies I grew-up with. The city skyline came into view and I spent several moments savoring the beautiful Arthur Ravenel Jr. Memorial Cooper River Bridge. Every time I see it I have many memories of crossing the Cooper River on each of the three huge bridges that crossed the wide river. If you have never driven them you could not understand the passage of time and evolution to the magnificent towering bridge it is now.

The trip across the harbor was also a cascade of memories of my hometown. Ft Moultrie on the north side of the entrance, Ft Sumter to the east, Ft Johnson on the south and Castle Pinckney to the west. 

All these embattlements played a role in the American Revolution and mostly in the War of Northern Aggression! (Ahem!) The City skyline is as it always has been; except for church spires lies low about 3 miles away.  One of the names that natives of the city use to refer to Charleston is, “The Holy City” which has historical significance in the founding of the city which was known for its religious tolerance. The tall steeples of St Phillips and St Michaels are reminders of that history.

We passed thru the widest part and joined the channel up the Ashley River, one of the two large rivers that make the City of Charleston a penninsula. Actually, to us Charlestonians, it is the Ashley and the Cooper Rivers that come together in Charleston Harbor to form the Atlantic Ocean. (Really!)

Larry made a phone call to a Citadel Classmate who had made arrangements for us to use an empty slip near his at the Ashley Marina which was close to downtown Charleston. The currents in both the rivers can run as much as three knots and during the rainy season has been known to reach 7 knots. As can be seen from the Chart Plotter the current can add 3 to 4 knots to our speed of 7 knots when we are traveling with the current.

It was really a “trip!” Not so much fun getting into the slip however as it made life tough when we had to back into the slip. That would put the current on the beam and that set the boat sideways and our first attempt failed. We made it in safely on the second attempt and after securing lines we were greeted by our friend Joe Nuttall. Joe’s boat was one slip away.

We settled into the routine of hooking-up power fresh water and putting out the boarding ladder. We had not planned any activity the rest of the day so it would be the first of 9 nights in the marina and would be the longest stop-over other than the time in Key West. Next on the agenda would be The Citadel Homecoming weekend, dinner with classmates, football game, tailgate party and doing a little sightseeing. It was a very good day and celebrated with a beautiful sunset across the Ashley.

More images from McClellanville, SC

October 21 and 22 McClellanville SC  from Osprey Marina

Nestor has passed and out three day stay at Osprey Marina has also come to an end. Today we would pass thru the man made cut that started behind Myrtle Beach

and would take us to the upper reaches of the Waccamaw River and to Winyah Bay as we passed by Georgetown SC. The destination was McClellanville,SC.

We were underway at 0730 in a light cloud cover with no wind as we said good-bye to the well protected berth at Osprey Marina and entered the canal. It was here that we began to encounter the large cypress forests seemingly growing right out of the water. There was deep water right up to the shores and navigation was not difficult. The pictures will offer a glimpse into the passage of the canal and the river on the way to Georgetown and Winyah Bay.

The sun broke thru the clouds about 10 a.m. and soon we were joined by more Dolphin and again signs of civilization as the upper Waccamaw River was pretty barren of dwellings and services. The wide bay was easy to transit as we gained sight of the huge steel Plant that was working furiously if

the huge plume of steam rising from the plant is any indication.

Soon we entered another man made cut called the Estherville Minim Creek Canal. Here the Cypress forests gave way to large coastal marshlands in The Cape Romaine Nature Wildlife Preserve. There were seemingly miles and miles of marshes which had canals and earthen redoubts separating many areas. It was obvious that these were once colonial rice fields. Rice was the “gold Crop” of Coastal South Carolina for man many decades. The traveling got a little tricky here also as we negotiated two well known intersections on the ICW. One was the North Santee River and the other about one mile further was the South Santee. Yes we even saw dolphins in these shallow waters miles from the ocean.

These rivers flow thru the low country of SC to the ocean and drain a large portion f the old rice parries and upper reaches where the cypress swamps are . These rivers stretch quite far inland as the rivers are crossed when driving I-95.

There were a few other boats in the waterway today but the rest of the trip was unremarkable. The arrival in McClellanville SC during an incoming tide. We planned on staying there for at least one night as Charleston was just 30 miles from here and also had a reputation n of the best diesel prices in the ICW. The whole port of McClellanville is dedicated to the shrimping and fishing industries and is home to more than a dozen working shrimpers. The prices are so low because the boats all get their fuel there. 

The Leland Oil Company owns the piers and built more than they needed for the shrimpers and let yachts tie up there as long as space is available. We did buy 100 gals fuel there. That is the first fuel we bought since departing VA some 500 miles ago. At the moment we have 750 gals aboard of the 900 full capacity.

Another feature of the town of McClellanville is historical from the earliest days of the colonies to the present day if conveys a true small-town warmth of the deep south. The tree lined streets with overhanging live Oaks draped with Spanish moss are truly the image of how it was in the beginning but with dirt or oyster shell roads. Some of the homes along Water St. were built in the 1800’s and are still occupied. In a small park on the corner of Water Street is a Historical monument, a 1000 year old sprawling live oak tree and dedications to past personages who inhabited the town. The old general store is a seafood restaurant called T.W. Grahams and has a history all the way back to the founding of the town when it served the rice, seafood and cotton trades selling merchandise to the growers and watermen of the day. There are B&B’s here and would be worth a weekend to TRULY VISIT a real taste and view of “The Old South.” There is no place else you will see this better than in McClellanville South Carolina. Here are some pics of the town.

typical tree lined street in McClellanville

Anti-Bellum Home

Anti-Bellum Home built 1861

Tree house on a single branch of Live Oak tree

At the wharf where the shrimpers, oystermen and clamers sell their catches is a real, I mean real, seafood market. Everything is fresh Caught. The owners also make Clam and shrimp dip that is TO DIE FOR! OMG it is good. Bought two to take to the boat. It is rich tasty and a little on a cracker goes a long way to satisfy that seafood itch.

We stayed two nights because I did not want to get to Charleston before our slip would be available. The quiet of this little town is enchanting and sunsets over the trees calming. Day is done, Rest well travelers.

Tomorrow October 23 we are on the way to Charleston, my childhood home and roughly ½ way to the Florida Keys.

Monday, October 14 through October 17.

We departed Beaufort North Carolina early in the morning and passed Morehead cCty and the warehouses and grain silos of their bulk cargo handling port and continued on South in the  intercoastal waterway, Other than a number of dolphin which we encountered in a heavy current which added some speed to our travel there was not much more remarkable.  This stretch of the waterway goes behind Atlantic Beach and Carolina Beach and other of the outer banks of North Carolina.

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Most are resort towns that heavily built condos summer rentals and resort style life. We traveled through narrow passages on the backs of these islands with our next destination to the Wrightsville Beach North Carolina which is pretty much at the southern end of the chain of our islands. There are still reminants of passing storms where boat are up in the woods on the sides of the ICW

We would not be able to make it today but not because of weather just because of distance and a limitation on a couple of bridges that had to open for us which only open on the hour and a half hour to get following current seven section company. The navigation was good navigator was getting better and better in the boat was performing the way it should. The sun and this is really not begun it was still work but these were transit days and 7 to 8 hours a day on the boat moving sometimes at the helm sometimes doing other things can get a little tired. Today was no exception is this is going to be a pretty long day. We decided that we would anchor this evening and use the dinghy to take Abby ashore for her afternoon walk.. A small bay known as Mile Hammock Bay directly behind To North Carolina was to be the destination. It was here many times in my Navy career and amphibious warfare landing craft as well as the brains amphibious would be launched and recovered for our exercises. The Marines don’t mind if the pleasure boats use it to anchor for the night but unless you are military or retired military carrying identification card without identification you’re not allowed to go ashore. We arrived at mile hammock Bay after passing through the Camp Lejeune swing bridge which itself was kind of interesting about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. When we arrived early and were the second boat there were nine boats anchored  by the end of the day. We were the only ones it took a dinghy ashore.

Today would be Abby’s first dinghy ride, and everybody was anticipating how this is going to settle with her. Well Larry launched the dinghy and made preparations to go in and he was ready with her left swing so once Larry got the boat tied up on the swim platform Aaron lowered her down on the swing to Larry put her in the dinghy.

She did not appear nervous she was interested in looking around almost as if she knew that she was going to be able to go and take a good long pee from being locked up in the boat the better part of the day. Sure enough we got over to the dock I tied up the dinghy and how she let there was a young couple fishing at the end of the dock she saw them and took off to go greet them and get some scratches. Abby is one of the best behaved and loving dog but still as nosy as you can imagine. When she sees somebody she thinks they are there to get her scratches and so it was this day. After appropriate about scratching we finally started off to look for a patch of grass led into her sniffing and take care of business.

When finished we returned to the boat where Erin had started dinner. We secured for the day and began about making preparations to enjoy a quiet evening aboard a well-deserved rest. We did not take me back that evening but the intention was to take her back first thing in the morning and let her have a morning walk. That action would make us leave a little later in most of the other boats who either had smaller animals and they had trained to be on the boat or they didn’t have animals at all. That night we had a beautiful sunset and moonrise it was a quiet night soft breeze and everybody slept through the night.

Tuesday morning October 15 Mile Hammock Bay to Wrightsville Beach, NC

we repeated the dinghy ride with success and hoisted the dinghy aboard to make our departure for Wrightsville Beach North Carolina. It was a pretty easy day we got in early anchoring in the banks channel there was a swing bridge in the way edit drawbridge both at specific times of opening we made one on time and had to wait 40 minutes in the channel for the other one to open once again we were along the back side of Sea Islands of coastal North Carolina. Navigating the narrow channel into the anchorage  was no problem as it was well marked. We made a little bit better time than we expected so we arrived early. Many years ago when I was in Wilmington North Carolina and Wrightsville Beach is nothing like it was now.  It has become a full-blown resort and has grown so large that it is merged boundaries with the city of Wilmington North Carolina. Previously when I was here there were two separate communities.

Once again we anchored 200 yards to the south of the bridge from bridge to Wrightsville Beach in good holding ground. There was a public boat landing and a free dinghy dock for the boaters which we would use several times to take Abby ashore for her walks as well as order out and pick up dinner at a local restaurant. Weather was predicted to be the nasty with a lot of wind and some possible thunderstorms that night and into the next day so while we were at anchor in a secure location we decided we would ride it out there instead of being on the waterway when the storms could possibly hit. The first night we rested and ate a nice dinner but Erin started to feel an intestinal issue developing. At the time we weren’t sure where there was some anxiety about her experience with the narrow waterways with other boats around us or whether it was actually a physical issue because she had previously had some intestinal issues prior to our departure. That night went okay and we did rest. And yes, we were there the next morning when the weather came through.

Wednesday, October 16 Still in Wrightsville Beach, NC at anchor

One of the things that we were able to get done is to visit an electronics repair shop because Aaron’s Samsung tablet accidentally fell when a discourteous large power boater zoomed past us and made a tremendous weight which rocked the boat. Tablet fell and landed on its side and went blank. This electronic shop was named “you drop it we repair it” was a small private business run by a couple of young men that would take in electronics equipment and would repair and in fact they were to do that for Erin’s tablet. We used the dinghy to get ashore then used Uber to get to the repair shop. We left Abby aboard while we were gone and everything was secure when we got back. I’m not very concerned about leaving the boat for short periods of time because we do lock it and other boaters who are traveling with us keep an eye out for each other. As with other times there was no problem this time and we’re very happy Erin’s tablet was fixed.

Chelsea the rest of the day except to take Abby ashore again and we ate leftovers. We watched a movie this evening and enjoyed it tremendously nice quiet night couple of glasses of wine and we went to bed Erin was still feeling a bit under the weather it was becoming concerned maybe her intestinal condition had returned.

Thursday, October 17, Wrightsville Beach to Holden Beach, NC

What a beautiful morning today could not have spent any better starting out. Stay at Wrightsville Beach had been a good one albeit there were periods of heavy rain. Several of the boats departed before daylight because they had intended to go further that day than us the final destination was for Georgetown South Carolina but we had decided that we would only do 40 to 45 miles each day. That meant that we would be stopping somewhere around Holden Beach North Carolina. The anchor came up smartly Erin washed the mud off the chain and anchor and we stood out the channel. Only along the section the waterway there were long piers that came out across vast expanse of marshes  According to the waterway guide there were two marinas in Holden Beach right by the Holden Beach swing bridge. I called both marinas but neither one of them had sufficient depth of water at low tide to accommodate Serendipity. The town of Holden Beach however advertised that they had city dock that could be reserved and was right on the water way. This was going to be one of the least expensive places other than the free dockage that we would ever pay; It was only $.65 a foot. The fact remained that we would be able to get Abby ashore without any problem so she could have the opportunity to walk around and some grass and do her thing.

some of them look like you couldn’t even see the house it was so far back from the face of the pier on the intercoastal waterway it was pretty amazing. There were some that were fairly short going out most of them ended with a covered dock s

ome had boat slips some used boat lifts but again it was a long straight narrow shot all the way down the waterway for the 45 miles that we plan for the day..

There wasn’t much else that took place we had a good run and now the goal was today to  tie up someplace so that we didn’t have to take the dinghy down to take Abby for a walk.

We arrived in the afternoon at about 4 o’clock was a little difficult to tie up as it was a floating peer and the cleats were very far down. Erin had to reach way down with her boat hook to get it caught on the cleat. It was definitely difficult but we got it done. To top it off, the current was pretty strong and the wind started to pick up a little bit. Never got severe it we got a letter over the side and got Abby ashore she was glad to have some room to move around.

The setting was pretty interesting.

The dock was along the intercoastal waterway but immediately on shore was a large picnic pavilion a playground with swings and slides in toddler type things to crawl on a pair of tennis courts a beautiful shower and bathroom and laundry room and directly next to her was the city police and the town hall.

It was in the town hall that I was to register serendipity for the night. After registration we were given the key to the shower rooms in the laundry. It was a nice to be able to take a continuous hot shower instead of a shower on the boat where you wet your body, use soap and rinse off. That is called a Navy shower the kind we took up in the shower room on the shore is known as a hotel shower in the Navy. Sometimes referred to as a Hollywood shower.

The hospitality here seemed really good and we felt very comfortable it was a no wake zone and so some of the bigger boats are usually caused awake and to slow down so it was quiet night even the sheriff’s department had a Beach sheriffs boat which patrol the waters around Holden Beach and especially around the bridge close to where we were tied up.

After being appropriately showered we walked about two blocks to a dockside restaurant and ordered a light meal and even then most of the we could indeed so we brought it back to the boat the evening was very pleasant with a nice breeze that settle down nicely and we were prepared to make the leap the next day to the Waccamaw River just north of Georgetown. I still didn’t think that we had the speed that would let us get all the way to Georgetown e so we planned on looking at an immediate stop.

Friday, October 18 to 20th On the Way to Georgetown SC

The destination as it turned out for our liking was a marina known as Osprey Marina.

It is about 30 miles north of Georgetown South Carolina deep in the Cyprus forests of the Fall River just south of Myrtle Beach South Carolina. The trip today was definitely interesting and different as we traveled through some very heavily traveled waters behind North Myrtle Beach, Little River Inlet, Myrtle Beach with all of its beautiful river homes

and piers condos and even casino ships.

Again there was no difficulty in the navigation other than the other boat traffic because for the most part it was a straight line most of the trip would be in natural cuts of water however the connecting leg between Myrtle Beach and the Waccamaw River was a man-made cut that once again was just a straight as an arrow. The pictures that I’m going to attach will sort of tell the journey and the many sites of the large expensive homes and waterfront facilities along the intercoastal waterway behind this well-known resort town.

Our choice of Osprey was expensive and. According to the waterway guide and most of the voters that we communicate with on a daily basis who have stayed there had nothing but fantastic comments about the service the facility and the attitude of the staff. They also had some of the cheapest fuel prices on the intercoastal waterway as well is only a dollar a foot for the peer space and electricity. Erin was still not feeling the best and her intestinal discomfort was growing a little more regular so it was important that we had a land based option and not be out at anchor in the event that she needed something more than what we had with us.

We communicated with the marina by radio prior to us arriving to be able to establish where we would be tying up as many votes and decided to shorten the trip to Georgetown and were also looking for place to date. The Osprey Marina appears to be everybody’s first choice. We arrived tied up incredibly friendly and helpful staff Ellie the marina manager was very accommodating the facilities were clean well-kept well-run and had every amenity could possibly hope for.  down and I rode it 2 1/2 miles to pick up the prescription the doctor had ordered to local pharmacy. The Electric bike was pretty cool. I could use just use the battery power or I could use pedal assist to save on the battery. On battery power it would do 15 miles an hour and I made the round-trip 5 miles with no sweat at all. The overall distance that the bike will do on battery power alone is 15 miles. The one disadvantage to the bike is it weighs 50 pounds. About 15 pounds of that is the battery itself but the rest of the bike itself is heavy. It is a 20 inch bike. Hoping that this prescription would help we settled in for the evening ate some leftovers and light dinner, walked Abby a couple of times, gathered our laundry for the next day to use the laundry and planned on staying there the next day so we could sleep late in the morning.

The amazing part is that it is completely center surrounded by cypress trees and large deciduous trees. It is totally hidden away and cannot be seen from the waterway because of the thick flora and fauna.

Once in we registered and Erin who is still not doing any better called her doctor’s office and they sent a prescription to the local pharmacy about 2 ½ miles away from the Marina. Unfortunately the one thing the marina does not have was a courtesy car so we got the electric bike. (No pics of the bike yet. )

The next two days 19 and 20 October were spent doing chores, Erin struggling and us meeting other boaters while Tropical Storm Nestor blew past. Mo wind to speak of but lots and lots of rain. Staying hunkered down paid-off.

Stay tuned for more.

Note to our followers: Sorry we are behind but after a long day it is tough to stay up late and do it daily. Will try to do one entry every 2 or 3 days.

Schedule:  In Charleston October 23 thru October 31. Depart Nov 1 for Beaufort SC. We may not spend more than one night there. Then off to Edisto Island, Hilton Head and eventually Savannah GA