Saturday, May 3, 2014

Day 100 - Charleston Bound

I can’t believe it has been 100 days on the Loop!  We have had so many different and fun adventures and we are so fortunate to have this opportunity!  Plus we have family along to help us commemorate it.  Awesome!!

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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