Day 11 - Church Creek, SC - Charleston, SC

18.9 Miles Travelled
April 25, 2011 -  We began the day leisurely by just relaxing and enjoying breakfast and coffee.After raising the anchor we began to head out of the anchorage.It was low tide and we discovered that there was a nice little bump in our anchorage. The depth sounders screamed and we gently bumped the bottom.
 Our trip to the marina was very short.We had won a free night at the Charleston City Marina, which we planned to fully take advantage. Charleston is one of our favorite cities to visit. This year we tied up shortly before noon and of course we were almost at the end of the mega dock 1/2mile long. We were just in time to watch an 80 foot wooden sailboat being towed off the dock.
In the afternoon, we were debating whether to grab the shuttle and venture into town or just hang out on the dock. Both of us were travelled out and needed to just spend a day catching up on small chores. One of the chores involved getting our computer up and running.  Unfortunately, Dick spent 3 hours on the phone with the computer gurus,, and its still not working properly.  In fact, it's running much slower and freezes. Frustrated we put the computer away, this is when we really wished for a little more computer knowledge.
 In the evening we joined Susan and Jay aboard their boat Sails  (MTOA members) for a glass of wine and great conversation.
Wooden Sailboat needing help
Named "Dollar Boat"

Day 10 Port Royal, SC - Church Creek, SC

51.4 Miles Travelled
April 24, 2011 - The weather was really holding out, rose to warm sunny conditions. In fact the first half hour of the trip we were opening the vinyl  sides on the bridge. It was too stuffy and already in the 70's. Our plan today was to anchor in a spot that would give us a great vantage point to enter Charleston early in the morning.
Travelling in the morning we experienced low tide. The ICW travels through the South Carolina grass lands. There are channels where you definitely don't want to drift to the side because the water disappears. Our  anchorage choice today  was Church Creek, we had anchored here before and we were familiar with the area. Because of the humidity factor, afternoon thundershowers were in the forecast. So we planned to anchor with protection from the trees. We dropped the hook and enjoyed a quiet evening aboard.  In the anchorage we watched and heard dolphins hunting around the Summer Wind. Enjoyed a lovely evening cuddling and watching a movie.
Sailboat with tan bark sails
South Carolina Grass Lands

Day 9 Thunderbolt Marina, GA - Port Royal, SC

43.6 Miles Travelled -  Planned our departure from Thunderbolt for slack tide around 7:30 in the morning. Diamond Girl was soon following behind.  It was not only slack tide but low tide and at times our depth alarms were sounding off when we really hit shallow water. Soon we were crossing the Georgia /South Carolina border and discovered a totally different atmosphere.
 Hilton Head was hosting a PGA tournament. There were helicopters, and the Metlife Blimp flying above. Several boats were anchored in the inlet vying for a spot to catch a glimpse. Amongst all that were the day fishermen trying to find that perfect fishing hole. We caught sight of a giant orange ball off in the distance and discovered a couple taking a parasailing trip right in the middle of the channel. Why would anyone want to leave a perfectly good boat to fly like a kite?
Our trip today took us to Port Royal Landing Marina. This marina really caters to cruisers. They have a loaner vehicle to provision  and great laundry facilities. In the evening we enjoyed a gathering with cruisers in the gazebo at cocktail time.
Low Tide
Crossing the Savannah River
Getting Ready to Fly
Up Up and Away