ICW Part IV - Isle Of Palms to St. Mary's Georgia

Charleston wading fountain

It's been awhile since our last post and we've really got a lot to talk about.  We left Isle Of Palms on the 15th of November and went to Charleston, SC.  We had debated for several days whether or not we would stop at Charleston and finally decided to do so.  Our main reason to stop was to catch the tides and bridge openings to pass safely through Elliott's Cut a particularly nasty section of the ICW just south of Charleston.  We are so glad we stopped.  Charleston is a beautiful old southern city with a rich history and amazing architecture.

Dock Street Theater

 Our friends Jeff and Marjorie aboard Far Niente were also in Charleston.  We met for cocktails and appetizers at Tom Condon's Irish Pub located in Charleston's historic district.  This is the first time we'd caught up with Jeff and Marjorie since the Chesapeake and we had a lot of catching up to do.  We had planned to stay only one day but the winds the next morning were 35-40 mph so we stayed another night at the Charleston City Marina.





 We left early in the morning on the 17th and made our way through Elliott's Cut on a rising tide.  The current in the Cut is very strong and at times it is running at 4-5 kts.  If the current is behind you you're flying through the Cut at 8 kts.  If it's on your nose you're looking at shore thinking you're being pushed backwards.  Another very tricky section on the ICW is a very short channel called Fenwick Cut leading into the Stono River.  We saw depths in this section at mid tide of 5-6 ft.  We were worried we might run aground but the depths rose quickly once we entered the Stono River.

The Rutledge Home

  The evening of the 17th we anchored in the South Edisto River about a quarter mile off the ICW.  We were the only boat in the anchorage and we realized we were many miles from any civilization.  It was a truly beautiful night at anchor.

Edisto River Anchorage

 The next morning it was off again bright and early to make Beaufort, SC by dark.  Jeff and Marjorie had taken Far Niente off shore the previous evening and we planned to join them once again in Beaufort.  We arrived in Beaufort within 15 minutes of each other and docked immediately behind them at the Beaufort Downtown Marina.

Far Niente & Dalliance

 This was their final stop until after the holidays.  They will leave Far Niente at the Marina during the holidays and travel home to visit family.

Marjorie & Jeff

 Marjorie's mother Doris lives in Beaufort and she invited us over for dinner that evening.  It was a wonderful meal, great conversation and we were made to feel right at home by Doris and her husband Dick.

Doris & Dick

Shannon, Kris, Jeff, Marjorie

 Beaufort is another charming southern town and a certain stop for us when we pass this way again.  South Carolina is beautiful along the ICW and we enjoyed travelling this section very much.  Hilton Head was our last stop in South Carolina the evening of the 19th.  The next evening we were in Isle Of Hope, Georgia.  By this time Kris and I realized it was possible for us to join our New York friends Rob and Sue in St. Mary's, GA. for Thanksgiving.  In order to do so we'd need to spend two nights at anchor along the Georgia ICW and one night in Brunswick, GA.   While at Isle Of Hope and Brunswick, GA we reconnected with Teresa and Lonn aboard Sapphire.

Teresa & Lonn aboard Sapphire

We first met them at visitors Center in the Dismal Swamp and had run into them several times since.  Lonn kindly shared tide table and chart information on several tricky sections of the Georgia ICW.  We timed our passages through Hell's Gate, the Little Mud River and Jekyll Creek to be sure we were going through on a rising tide.  Thankfully the high tides were mid morning coinciding nicely with our travel time table.  We arrived in St. Mary's at 2:30pm the day before Thanksgiving.  We had a fabulous Thanksgiving meal put on by the town of St. Mary's for the cruisers anchored in the harbor.  The townspeople cook the turkey's, ham and pork roast and the crusiers each bring a side dish.  We're told 300 people enjoyed this years Thanksgiving meal.  We dined with Rob and Sue and a number of new friends we met around the dinner table.

Sue & Rob

  The food was fantastic and we enjoyed the conversation and comraderie very much.

Seagles hosts Cruisers Thanksgiving




 



Moon River



St Mary's Anchorage

  When transitting the Georgia ICW just south of the Isle Of Hope you pass Moon River.  This is the same river which inspired the song Moon River made famous by the singer Andy Williams.  Another point of interest was BlackBeard's Island located in Sapelo Sound and is said to be the pirates favorite hide out.  We've had so many wonderful experiences on the trip it's impossible to list them all.  We do want to point out the fabulous nature scenes we've seen including wide meandering rivers, bald eagles, dolphins and amazing sunsets.  Kris and I had much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. 

Foggy Sunrise at Cattle Pen Creek