Funky place, facilities filthy, nasty pilings, shrimp boat docks, 8' tides and we needed step ladder (provided) to reach dock from boat but at high tide deck was level with dock Current so strong, we approached at 90 degrees to dock, threw a bow line to fella on dock and stern line to crew on shrimpboat and they hauled us to position.

Forget using shore facilities...not cleaned in many moons...years even memorable sign on dock shed.."Never underestimate the power of human stupidity"

Met Jim Tear on 28' Newport from Ft Collins CO, singlehander with Sheltie dogs Annie & Keebler. We travelled together off and on for most of SC.

excellent crab dip at town fish market. Another singlehander, Pierre from NYC, arrived and the marina dockhand drove us to dinner at local restaurant where his wife was the server. Her cousin the owner, drove us back to marina. Excellent fish. McClellanville crab cakes are popular all over SC.

The town, though shabby, was pretty and has been saved from becoming part of Charleston sprawl by a National Park between the 2 towns.

This section of the waterway was very beautiful.

11/24 to 12./2 1999 Charleston
Our stay in Charleston was extended several days past Thanksgiving weekend to wait out a 50's cold snap with night temps at freezing...we like to plug in our heaters...and cold windy days...no fun on the water.

We enjoyed daily walks in the historic districts, usually with Jim from Hiawatha

• the Battery, fortified against sea attacks, where beautifully restored, lovingly preserved and tended pastel colored elegant antebellum homes overlook the harbour & Ft Sumter. The families had migrated from the Caribbean & Barbados, influencing design with 10' plus high ceilings and roofs extended over wide verandas on each level (called piazzas here), mant with elaborate ironwork. The prosperity of late 1800's and competition to outdo one another resulted in elaborate Victorian homes, some with Tiffany glass windows.

  There is a particular green-black color used for doors & shutters developed in civil war era when only black paint supplied from the north was available. It is said, as a protest, yellow wqs mixed with the black and the hue became grreen/black .

• Cabbage Row where at one time tenants in the building displayed garden produce for sale on the window sills. This was the model for DuBose Hayward's Catfish Row in his novel "Porgy" and the inspiration for George Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess". The area includes an 1800's French Huguenot (Protestant) Church and the first performing arts theatre The Dock Theater, built in mid-1700's.
• The College of Charleston main campus is beautiful with Federal red brick and Victorian architecture, brick walkways and ancient live oak trees covered with spanish moss, an "air feeder" plant related to the Pineapple/Bromeliad group.
• Old city market,brick halls of stalls filled with trinkets, gadgets, gewgaws, spices & sauces, and Gullah women weaving sweetgrass baskets, selling flowers and vegetables. The Gullahs are direct descendants of African slaves with their dialect, crafts, and traditions passed down through the ages. There are several remote island Gullah communities in this low country area with limited exposure (no TV etc) to the outside world.

The famous gardens here are at their best in spring, so we did not visit outlying plantations, but did enjoy winter flowers...camellias, pansies, violas, [some azaleas were confused by the warm days & were blooming too], magnolia & hollytrees, live oaks & others are green now too.

There were some xmas decorations, but just the start of holiday color. Here in the south we notice that everyone seems to wait until 1st 2 weeks Dec to decorate outside homes & store windows. Perhaps the balmy temps encourage a specific holiday time rather than the arrival of snow. A refreshing change from post hallowe'ne rush to xmas decorations .

All that walking always seemed to lead us to yet another great restaurant. There are wonderful eateries from seafood houses & BBQ to Continental featuring renowned chefs, to French bistros and pubs. With so much exercise we were guilt-free in sampling wine bars, microbreweries and "low country" cuisine... She crab soup [with roe], oysters, shrimp, fish grits [not just for breakfast but with many toppings like bbq shrimp, cheese, tasso ham gravy] sweet potato baked, casserole, stuffing, pie

The Harris Teeter market was the best since the Garden of Eating in Chelsea NYC.

We left on FRI at 0830 for 0900 opening of restricted Wapoo Bridge

note: mariner superstition warns... do not begin long journeys on Fridays...bad karma and we were indeed thwarted by

1. gremlin in the alternator (we later learned it was merely searching for a low battery & since we had been plugged in & fully charged it bounced between battery banks)
2. missed Wapoo Creek bridge not once but twice...we went back out to bay because current near bridge was strong & hard to manouver, then current was too strong for us to get back in time. We were practically on first name basis with the bridgetender by then.
3. the 3rd try, nearly noon, as we started through she (bridgetender) told us "by the way Limehouse bridge is closed 'til 2 or 3pm with maintenance problem"

The next am the Wapoo Creek bridge was again a problem...1 boat-bud got through on request at 0712, then 3 of us waited 2 hours. A beautifully maintained classic wood hull boat with two wooden masts , criss crossed the river ahead several times and headed back toward us. As they came abeam G said "What did you do to break the bridge?" the reply..."Dr Thorne, is that you?"...it was Captn John & Jan Whitney on Winterwood out of Newport RI, the delivery captns for the 50' Swan G crewed on to Bermuda & Tortola in 1997...what a small world!!! They winter in Savannah

Now, what are the chances of being at the same bridge in a narrow creek this late in the season heading south?

?karma...?six degrees of separation...?fate...call it whatever, but it was quite an experience... Unfortunately they move much faster & we lost them at the next bridge, but will meet again out there one day.

I'm certain.
Beaufort SC & Hilton Head SC
Altho we were still in low grassy marsh country, the waterway route changed from canals and cuts to wide river mouths, sounds, and inlets.

This meant changeable currents and 6' to 8' tides and ETA's were difficult to determine. There was plenty of depth,however locating the banks (to stay centered in the waterway) and deciding what was the route and what was yet another creek or inlet kept us alert and on edge.

We were often completely alone, surrounded by salt marsh, mud flats, sand dunes and occasional glimpse of ocean.

Numerous birds...gulls, geese, ducks, herons, pelicans. Sometimes a porpoise would keep us company awhile, once an alligator glided across to the mud.

Creeks & rivers named Toogoodoo, Dawho, Stono, Ashepoo, Coosaw.

First night out of Charleston we anchored in the marsh alongside the ICW. A beautiful night, calm water, a breeze to keep biting "no-see-ums" & mosquitos away, clear sky filled with stars. I made a veg stirfry over "glass" noodles and we sipped wine, listened to Garrison Keeler on NPR and slept soundly.

At 0530 we were awake but startled by gunshots...duck hunters in the marsh so much for peaceful isolation.

Our next stop was Beaufort SC (say bew fort), just past The Lady's Island Swing Bridge, a picturesque old port town with a natural harbor, facing the ICW. In its heyday phosphates, rice, indigo, silks and sea island cotton shipping made this a busy seaport.

We continued past the downtown marina adjacent to main street to Port Royal Landing, south of town. Beautiful floating docks, bright clean facilities, staffed by great down-to-earth people, mainly live-aboards. The locals visit for AM coffee to solve the world problems and in PM the lively, cozy bar & restaurant for steaks off the grill.

Many of the boats, and the bar were hung with Christmas greenery, red bows and twinkling lights.

Next am while doing laundry and sitting out rain storms, we talked with a local who worked on the 1996 Olympic sailing committee in Savannah, and a transient who is a beta-tester for nav CDROMS, and Pocketmail.

Once the weather cleared we used the courtesy car to drive to town. The entire town is an Historical District on the National Register, being renewed and revitalized. Its history dates back to Spanish exploration in 1520, and Sapnish and French Huguenot (Protestant French) settltments in mid 1500's. The city charter is dated 1711, and pre-revolutionary and antebellum homes and gardens line narrow oak-canopied streets. The larger homes were designed for coolness, West Indies style with high basements and wide verandahs with pale blue ceilings. The oldest home is the Thomas Hepworth House circa 1717.

Moviemakers have filmed several movies here including "The Big Chill", 'The Great Santini", "The Prince of Tides" and "Forrest Gump".

We had lunch at a recommended address, but now a different restaurant, overlooking the enormous swings on the mariners walk all along the waterfront.

Beaufort River currents run strong with 7'-9' tides. Just beyond Parris Island, a marine training base, we turned to enter Port Royal Sound. The 5-mile crossing was tame, but is notoriously bumpy in opposing winds & tides...there were several shrimp boats busily fishing...they move quickly and erratically dragging long nets...they do not give way and all boats must make way and steer clear. We watched in amazament as a few boats headed dangerously close to non-ICW markers for shoreline shoals and shipping lanes, confused by avoiding shrimpboats and losing their way to the ICW markers. Hooray for our "blue line".

The morning went quickly on Skull Creek and Calibogue Sound enrout to Hilton Head Island.

This is the largest barrier island on the Atlantic coast. A year round resort with many housing "plantations", golf, beaches and marinas. We passed Windmill Harbor lock, where we had spent a long day touring beautiful homes and the South Carolina Yacht Club, last spring...considering the possibility of a home there.

And finallly the red striped light of Harbour Town Marina was in sight. We found our way into the channel and were escorted to a slip by a runabout. The entrance and slip basin is so convoluted that they give no instructions, but provide an escort when you arrive.

This was a 2-day stop to rest and walk, and sample the shops and restaurants...none too special, but making up for it in price.

Then on to Georgia.
that is for next time...motorsailing onward J&G