Savannah, GA to Toogoodoo Creek, SC; April 7-21 We left Thunderbolt Marina in Savannah about 10:15 am. It was a windy, windy day. We crossed two big sounds, the Calibogue and Port Royal. Fortunately, even with the wind, the crossings were not too rough. We arrived in the darling little town of Beaufort, South Carolina about 3:30 pm. We were greated at the harbor by the mermaid who oversees the marina and harbor. We later learned that there are mermaids in many places in the city. On the way to Beaufort, we passed through many no wake zones because of floating docks and boats in the water. As we passed a marina way off to starboard, we got hailed on the radio by some guy, who called us a “Yankee” and told us we were in a no wake zone and to slow down. We never saw a sign! Mike on “Irish Ayes” was anchored not far from there and he said the guy had been on the radio all day long the day before. He needs a hobby…or maybe he has one! After we got tied up and organized, we got a packet from the marina with different things to do in Beaufort. We decided to go on the “Whispers from the Grave Lantern Tour” that night at 7:00. Our guide was dressed in period costume and carried a lantern, during the tour. He was a young man and was really good. He told tales from history, ghost stories, Gullah folklore, showed historic homes and visited the historic graves at St. Helena Episcopal Church. It was a good over-view of some of the town’s history and folklore. Easter Sunday – Beaufort, SC – April 8, 2007 Easter was a beautiful day, cool and clear. Ginger and Laura from Stargazer were anchored not too far from the marina and the four of us had planned to go to church together. We decided on St. Helena’s Episcopal Church, which was built in 1724, rebuilt in 1817 and remodeled in 1842. Federal troops used the church as a hospital during the Civil War. Tombstones were used as operating tables! The church was restored in 1999. It is one of the oldest churches in America. What an experience we had there! We arrived early, which was fortunate because even with additional services, it was crowded. The Bishop of this diocese conducted the service. There was another Bishop in attendance, also. He was the Bishop in Residence. It was pretty amazing to have two Bishops in the same service, which lasted two hours. It was a beautiful service and we got to take communion. The church is lovely. We saw many darling children, dressed in their Easter finery; one little girl in a white bunny ears cape over her Easter dress, a little boy, dressed in a pale blue shorts suit with saddle oxfords. It reminded me of pictures I have seen of children dressed up in days gone by. We sat behind the nicest, funniest man, Charles Chitty, whom everyone seemed to know and love. He said I would remember his name, Chitty-chitty Bang-bang! After church, we went to Plum’s for lunch, which is a small restaurant with excellent food. We sat at the bar and watched the tennis matches from Amelia Island on television. All the merchants and townspeople of Fernandina Beach were talking about the upcoming tournament when we were there. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation about the influx of big name stars and spectators. After we got back to the boat, some new friends from a sailboat came by to visit and Bill Tice, whom we met in Fernandina, came over. We had a nice afternoon. Later that evening, we got together with another couple for a glass of wine. Bill Tice is traveling alone on a large sailboat, except for Abigail. She is a monk parrot who has two cages or roosts on his boat. She talks, also. He said he was working in the engine room and Abigail walked over to where he was working and said “What cha’ doing?” He told her he was working on the engine. She said “How’s it going?” He answered “Not too damn well!!!” She said, “Havin’ fun?” He said emphatically, NO! Then she said “Uh oh!” and went back to her roost. We paraphrased this, but she really did ask questions like this and her response really was “Uh ho”. When asked what a duck says, she says, “Aflac!” She has other things she says also. He told Phil she was really good company. Monday –Thursday - April 9-12, 2007 On Monday morning, several couples got together and decided to take a carriage ride. The ten of us climbed aboard a carriage from the Southern Rose Buggy Tours. This company does not use a bit in the horse’s mouth. They direct with the bridal and reins. Our horse was Duke, a huge Belgium draft horse, who is being measured next week for the Guinness Book of Records for the largest Belgium draft horse in the world. He was so gentle and so smart. We all think he looked both ways before he crossed each street! Phil swears Duke watched the traffic lights and went when the light turned green and stopped when the light was red. The woman who did the tour owned the company and was a really good guide. We saw a lot of historic homes and heard many of the local stories about the past of Beaufort and its residents. It was fun. We had lunch at Plum’s again on the verandah with Mike, Pat, Ginger, Laura, and Copper (their orange toy poodle). Later, we had dinner with Doug and Sue (Beach Cat) at Panini’s, which is an excellent restaurant in Beaufort. Tuesday we decided to leave and go anchor a little farther north. We moved the boat to the day dock; no small feat because we were in close quarters and Phil had to swing the boat out and back out of the dock, past three big boats tied up there. We got to the day dock with no trouble and tied up with Sue’s help. We took the courtesy car to the grocery store, got chastised by the marina ladies for being fifteen minutes late (there is a one hour limit) when we got back. Phil got a haircut (boy, did he ever! Where is Shawn Marie when we need her!!?? She cut his hair for twenty years), Doug and Sue came down and helped us get away and we were on our way about 2:30 pm. We planned to anchor with Irish Ayes and Stargazer up the Bull River in Wimbee Creek. We arrived in Wimbee Creek about 4:15 pm. It was not very far, but the route was full of twists and turns. We traversed many rivers and creeks. We had to be careful to stay in the channel because it was very shallow outside. When we got anchored, there was some current, about two to four knots, and some wind. It is always interesting to anchor in the Carolinas because of the tidal changes of six to nine feet. This was the first time Phil and I have anchored by ourselves in two years. We had no problems and the anchor held all night. Phil actually got some sleep. Normally, he is up and down all night, checking to make sure we are not dragging our anchor. We pulled up anchor at 10:40 am. We timed our departure to leave on the rising tide, so that when we got to some of the really shallow areas, we would have enough water to get through them safely. Irish Ayes (Mike and Pat), Stargazer (Ginger and Laura) and the Harmony all left about the same time. We wanted to get a little closer to Charleston, so the last day’s journey would be a short and easy one. The ICW on this leg of the trip is really narrow and shallow in some areas. Ashepoo Coosaw Cut-Off is especially tricky. It looked as though it would be impassable at low tide. A man on the trawler behind us in Beaufort had warned us about this Cut so we were very careful. We arrived at our next anchorage up the Toogoodoo Creek about 2:45 pm. The water was much calmer than our last anchorage. This area seemed to be a little more protected that Wimbee Creek. There are four boats here, all “Loopers”. The fourth boat is Legrace. The reception for our VZ access card for the internet, as well as for our cell phones, was not good in either of these anchorages. The worst reception was at Toogoodoo Creek. Still it was a nice anchorage and we enjoyed the peacefulness. Beautiful sunsets seem familiar on this trip, but are always a welcome end to a beautiful day. Posted by Moyer's Great Loop at 8:08 AM |
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