We were on our way to Charleston at 9:00
am. Captain Randy had to maneuver out of
a tight spot between a power boat and a sailboat with an inflatable dinghy off
to the side. Plus the wind and the
current were pushing us into the sailboat and its dinghy. The dinghy was grazed and flipped up
momentarily as we passed, but no harm was done.
The morning was cool, but the clouds had finally broken up and the sun
felt warm. We made our way north on the
Beaufort River to the St. Helena Sound and the Atlantic. Ahead of us was a slower boat, the Carib II from Florida, with a Looper
birge. Captain Randy hailed the boat to
request permission to pass and we found out that they had just started the
Great Loop and hoped to take a side trip to St. Paul and be there by
October. Maybe we will run into them
again along our way.
St. Helena Island was to our starboard
as we headed out of the inlet to the ocean.
The island is the center of African-American culture in the low country,
termed Gullah. It is the site of several
forts which have been excavated. Fort
Walker fell early to the Union in the Civil War and the slaves were freed. The Union army assisted them with land
grants. Black history is such a powerful
force here that those supporting Gullah culture have been able to prevent the
building of condominiums and gated communities on the island (unlike Hilton
Head for example).
We had to travel east for a few miles as
we left the inlet to avoid the shoals and shallow water near shore. We turned north with Episto Island to the
west. This island appeared to be built
up with homes on the shore. The water
was calm with a one foot or less chop. We
passed more of the South Carolina Barrier Islands, which appear more populated than
the Georgia Islands. As we neared
Seabrook Island outside of Charleston, we saw several operating rigs of some
kind. There were dolphins jumping in the
channel entrance to Charleston Harbor.
Fort Sumter appeared on the port side and huge homes were on the South
Carolina shore to the starboard.
We travelled through the harbor, veering
right to the Cooper River and Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina. It was 1 pm
when we arrived, but the dockmaster told us that there was a squatter in our
slip so we had to wait 20 minutes until they chased him out. Greg was particularly anxious to tour the USS Yorktown
(a WWII aircraft carrier), the USS Laffey
(a WWII destroyer), and the USS
Clamagore (a WWII submarine) located next to the harbor in Patriots Point
Naval & Maritime Museum. Laurie and I were anxious to see the city of
Charleston. So Captain Randy went with
Greg to the ships and sub, and Laurie and I took the water taxi over to
town. We walked to the Charleston
Market, several blocks of enclosed open space filled with vendors, reminiscent
of the market in New Orleans. I have to
say that we were not thrilled with the merchandise as most of it seemed very
cheap and “touristy”. We were impressed
with the architecture though, especially the large homes along the Battery.
Later, we met back at the boat and then
walked over to the Fish House for a seafood (what else!) dinner, stopping in
the ship’s store on the way. After
dinner, the Captain and I got our laundry started as we would be leaving the
next day.
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