Sunday, November 13th - arrival in Charleston

[caption id="attachment_1908" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Arrival in Charleston"][/caption]

We time our morning departure from Whiteside Creek to make the 9 AM opening at the Ben Sawyer swing bridge near Sullivan's Island.  At 10:15 AM, we plow the anchor down deep in our Ashley River anchorage across from the City Marina mega dock.   Every 6.5 hours, the tide will change and Cutter Loose will swing 180 degrees with the current.  The concern is that the anchor will fail to reseat itself during the shift in current, causing Cutter Loose to drag down on neighboring boats.  But after tidal swings this morning and this afternoon , we seem to be holding securely.  

We dinghy across the Ashley River channel to the City Marina and hike 15 minutes through residential neighborhoods into the heart of the historic district.  Our first stop is at the Charleston Maritime Center on the Cooper River waterfront where we research the availability of a slip for Cutter Loose.  This marina is centrally located to restaurants and shops.  A slip here will eliminate the need to dinghy across the channel to our anchorage after dark.  We will consider moving here tomorrow.

It is a treat to become re-acquainted with this walkable city.  It is a town meant for aimless strolling.  Homes and gardens in the historic district are meticulously maintained.  We linger over tea at a sidewalk cafe watching tourists in horse-drawn carriages ply the city streets.  The steeds seem entirely bored with the tourist trade.

This afternoon's visit is meant as an orientation session. We will pause  here for a few days to enjoy this special place and to accomplish some boat chores before moving on down the waterway.

[caption id="attachment_1912" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunset at Ashley River anchorage"][/caption]

Saturday, November 12th

We are awake before dawn to prep Cutter Loose for an early morning  departure.  The temperature is in the thirties and a frosty glaze covers the deck.  Our objective today is to reach an anchorage in or near the City of Charleston.  But our departure is delayed by thick fog that rivals that which we experienced in Maine.  The morning sun is our ally.  Within an hour, the fog and ice have burned off  and Cutter Loose is headed south through Winyah Bay and into the Esterville - Minim Creek Canal.

Most of today's journey along the ICW follows narrow man-made cuts and small rivers and creeks that carve a path through swamps and marshes.  This is the South Carolina low country.  Fishermen dart in and out of the ICW as they race from one creek to another in search of the catch of the day.  This wetland wilderness is so vast and remote, it is difficult to comprehend how anglers manage to return to their point of origin.  Other than the ICW markers, there is no buoyage or directional signage of any kind on the smaller creeks and rivers.  Many of these narrow passageways are extremely shallow, becoming dry at low tide.

Speaking of shallow, we manage to find a few thin spots at low tide aboard Cutter Loose today.  The control depth of the waterway is 12 feet, which implies that the full width of the channel has been dredged to a minimum depth.  But this is not the case.  The waterway is tidal and is therefore subject to constant shoaling.  Using paper charts, a digital chartplotter, an IPad with Navionics cartogaphy, cruising guides and instinct, it is usually possible to predict the location of shoal areas.  But this is not always the case, as evidenced by two soft groundings today.  We manage to wrestle Cutter Loose off of these mud shallows under our own power.

[caption id="attachment_1891" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="American Oystercatcher"][/caption]

At 3:45 PM, Cutter Loose is anchored in Whiteside Creek, a tiny nook of a tributary alongside the ICW.  A family of American Oystercatchers is busy working the shallows along the edge of the creek. 

South Carolina is under the influence of high pressure.  Sunset produces orange and red streaks on the horizon.  Not to be outdone, an orange full moon emerges simultaneously from the opposite horizon.  The marsh grasses on the banks of Whiteside Creek are so tall here that but for the height of her mast, Cutter Loose would be completely concealed.  We are at one with nature.

[caption id="attachment_1892" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Sunset on Whiteside Creek"][/caption]

Our journey covers 47 nautical miles today, about 17 miles and one bridge opening shy of Charleston.  The delights of the City beckon.  We will make short work of this final segment in the morning.

Friday, 11-11-11

[caption id="attachment_1871" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Georgetown waterfront"][/caption]

After a breezy evening at anchor near Butler Island, we are underway at 8:30 AM en route to the town of Georgetown, SC.  It is a chilly but sunny start to the day.  Our journey to Georgetown is brief.  At 11:45 AM, the anchor is down in the narrow harbor adjacent to the City's downtown historic district. Georgetown is definitely worth a visit.

[caption id="attachment_1872" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Waterfront condos and dinghy landing in Georgetown"][/caption]

Georgetown seems to have fared better economically than many of the towns we have visited on this cruise.  The City's downtown shares the waterfront with a steel mill, a paper mill, several marinas and a commercial fishing fleet.  Bright lights and industrial sounds waft over the anchorage area, but this does not seem to deter cruisers from visiting this community.  The anchorage is filled to overflowing with boats on a Friday morning.   Apparently, many cruisers visit Georgetown for several days.   We dinghy ashore to experience this community for ourselves.

Georgetown caters to cruisers by providing convenient dinghy docks alongside a waterfront park.  Restaurants, art galleries and retail esyablishments dot Main Street.  The downtown is surrounded by quiet residential neighborhoods with restored historic homes.

We walk over a mile to the closest laundromat.  It is located on busy  Highway 17.  During our return hike to the waterfront, we make a brief stop at the local Piggly Wiggly to acquire a few provisions.  

[caption id="attachment_1873" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Veterans Day parade on Main Street"][/caption]

Today is Veterans Day, and the community is celebrating with a late afternoon parade along Main Street.  The town's veterans are honored in the first few floats and vehicles, followed closely by marching bands.  Then just about all the townsfolk join in the act.   The street is filled with curious onlookers, both residents and visitors.  Later in the evening, we enjoy dinner at a downtown restaurant with friends Hayden and Radeen.

[caption id="attachment_1874" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="No parade would be complete without a marching band"][/caption]

Thursday, November 10th

[caption id="attachment_1856" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Grande Dunes Bridge over ICW, Myrtle Beach, SC"][/caption]

Today we continue our waterway tour of South Carolina's Grand Strand.  We follow the canal-like cut through Myrtle Beach with its ubiquitous golf courses, condos and upscale homes that line the ICW.  The Waterway Hills Golf Club shuttles golfers across the ICW in gondolas...a skiing approach to golf.

[caption id="attachment_1855" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bird's eye view of the ICW from the golf gondola "][/caption]

Traffic on the waterway is light today, which enhances the journey.  A sunny morning gives way to increasing clouds and windy conditions in the afternoon as a weak, dry cold front is approaching the coast from the west.  Despite the cloud cover, the temperature rises into the mid-seventies.

Once through the Socastee swing bridge, the ICW follows the meandering Waccamaw River.  At its headwaters, the Waccamaw is quite narrow, requiring attention to navigational detail.  Ever so gradually, the River widens as it cuts a path through marshland and cypress swamps.

[caption id="attachment_1857" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Cutter Loose at anchor under cloudy skies in the oxbow at Butler Island"][/caption]

At 2:30 PM, the anchor is down at Butler Island, an oxbow bend in the Waccamaw.  Our journey today has taken us 36 miles from Barefoot Marina in North Myrtle Beach.  Our destination for tomorrow is the town of Georgetown, SC, located about 5 miles to the south. 

The cold front has passed and tonight, the wind is blowing 15 knots from the northwest and whistling through the rigging.  There are two knots of tidal current in our anchorage.  The stage is set for an all night battle to determine whether the bow of Cutter Loose will ride to wind or current.

Wednesday, November 9th

The anchor is up in Dutchman Creek at 6:30 AM.  Being up and underway at sunrise is one of the highlights of living on the water. 

Our course takes us through Holden Beach and Ocean Isle Beach.  Along this stretch of the ICW, the shoreline is dotted with homes and condos, most of which have piers and docks that reach out into the waterway.  Many of the docks appear to be structurally unsound, perhaps victims of Irene or simply the result of years of decay.  Real estate for sale signs are everywhere.  Beach properties have been hit hard by the downturn in the real estate market.

[caption id="attachment_1844" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Aquacasino on the ICW near the North Carolina / South Carolina border"][/caption]

By 11 AM, we cross the border into South Carolina.  This is a twisty, meandering section of the ICW.  Rounding a bend in the waterway, we encounter a huge passenger ship moving in our direction.  She is the Aquacasino, a floating gambling mecca that carries passengers through the Little River Inlet and three miles out into the Atlantic Ocean where gaming becomes legal. 

Encountering a vessel of this size in the ICW is an anomaly.  The Aquacasino takes the middle of the channel.  Opposing traffic, including Cutter Loose, is forced into the extremities of the channel in order to make way for this behemoth.  As we pass port to port with the Aquacasino, there is perhaps a mere boat length of distance between us.  We are at low tide.  The depthsounder on Cutter Loose is signaling dangerously shallow water on the edge of the channel.  Suddenly, we lurch to a halt.  Cutter Loose is aground!

The wake of the Aquacasino rocks us from side to side.  For the next 20 minutes, we coax Cutter Loose out of the mud banks and into the deeper water of the channel.  Having witnessed the grounding, pleasure boats in our vicinity offer to be of assistance via the VHF radio.  After much cajoling, she finally breaks free and we resume our journey along the ICW.  The only damage sustained is to our pride.

Our destination for today is the Barefoot Landing Marina in North Myrtle Beach, SC, a distance of 41.4 miles for the day.  Adjacent to the marina is a shopping mall with a variety of restaurants.  It feels odd to be within walking distance of a mall when docked at a marina.  We enjoy dinner ashore and return to Cutter Loose to prepare for another early departure in the morning.

Tuesday, November 8th

Today's short leg of 26 miles prompts us to linger into the late morning at Wrightsville Beach.  Our first stop ashore is the Daily Grind coffee shop owned by a couple who moved here from Canton, OH four years ago.  Next, we meet fellow Island Packet sailors Jeff and Sandy aboard Xperience for breakfast at the Causeway Cafe.  Like us, they are headed south for the winter, albeit at a faster pace.

Under sunny skies, the anchor is up at 11:30 AM in Wrightsville Beach.  Soon, the narrow confines of the dredged waterway give way to the broad, deep waters of the Cape Fear River.  This river is a deep water port with a wide, well-marked channel to the Atlantic Ocean. 

[caption id="attachment_1832" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Cutter Loose at anchor in Dutchman Creek"][/caption]

Just before reaching the inlet, the ICW turns abruptly west near the town of Southport.  At 3:30 PM, we are anchored in Dutchman Creek, just a few miles west of Southport.  We are surrounded by marsh grasses in this tiny anchorage that is just wide enough to accommodate Cutter Loose.  After sunset, the recurring flash of the Cape Fear lighthouse is visible on the southern horizon.

[caption id="attachment_1833" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Sunset on Dutchman Creek"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1834" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Silhoutte of Cutter Loose at dusk"][/caption]

Monday, November 7th

It is another sunny day in coastal North Carolina.  At 7:30 AM, we weigh anchor at Mile Hammock Bay.  Today is a relatively short day on the water since our destination of Wrightsville Beach is just 33 miles to the south.  But there are three bridges to negotiate today, including the Surf City Bridge, the Figure Eight Island Bridge and the Wrightsville Beach Bridge.  Each bridge has scheduled openings at the top of the hour.

[caption id="attachment_1815" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="10 AM opening at the Surf City swing bridge"][/caption]

Bridge openings are an interesting social phenomenon on the waterway.  Boaters are paranoid about missing a bridge opening.  Everyone wants to be out of the anchorage at the crack of dawn in order to make the earliest possible downrange bridge opening.  Boat traffic begins to stack up at the bridge well before its scheduled opening.  But the bridge tender will delay a scheduled opening until all of the boats within a mile or so of the bridge  are huddled together and ready to proceed.  Arriving early is a disadvantage because the channel near the bridge is congested and the skipper must hold the position of his/her vessel in order to avoid hitting or being hit by other vessels. 

When the opening occurs, an accordian effect is created as the boats proceed through the bridge in single file.  Once through the bridge, the more aggressive skippers are anxious to position themselves to pass the slower vessels.  At the next bridge, the above "hurry up and wait" scenario repeats itself.  Perhaps the "me first" instinct is a natural part of the  human psyche.  Some people seem to have more of this instinct than others.

[caption id="attachment_1816" align="alignleft" width="1095" caption="Wrightsville Beach anchorage"][/caption]

At 1:45 PM, Cutter Loose is anchored near the bridge that connects Harbor Island with Wrightsville Beach.  The temperature is in the low 70s and the sun is shining...a perfect day to dinghy ashore for a stroll along the beach.

[caption id="attachment_1817" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Enjoying a sunny autumn afternoon at the beach"][/caption]

Sunday, November 6th

[caption id="attachment_1799" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sailing alongside the marshes in Bogue Sound"][/caption]

After being pampered by Kate and Greg for three days, it is difficult to leave Beaufort.  We say our Sunday morning farewells at the dock and enter the Newport River at 8 AM.  Twenty knot northerlies push Cutter Loose downstream towards Beaufort Inlet, then a ninety degree turn to the south takes us under the Morehead City Bridge and into Bogue Sound.  Here, the ICW passes immediately alongside low lying sand spits and tiny marshy islands where snowy egrets wade in search of breakfast.

[caption id="attachment_1800" align="alignright" width="300" caption="An impromptu visit from the Coasties"][/caption]

We are greeted at Bogue Inlet by multiple pods of dolphin, their dorsal fins gliding alongside the hull of Cutter Loose.  Shortly after leaving the town of Swansboro astern, we hear the Coast Guard hailing Cutter Loose on the VHF radio.  They inform us of their intent to board our boat.  Within seconds, a Coast Guard inflatable maneuvers alongside Cutter Loose and three uniformed Coasties hop aboard.  Since we are in a narrow channel, they instruct us to maintain our course and speed while they conduct a random safety inspection.  

[caption id="attachment_1801" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Mission accomplished...Cutter Loose scores 100% on safety exam"][/caption]

Working from a lengthy checklist, our visitors politely ask us to produce our USCG Documentation Certificate, life jackets, throwable lifesaving devices, air horn, fire extinguishers and other safety equipment.  They comb through the cabin in search of required safety decals and inspect the holding tank system and engine compartment, all of which takes place while Cutter Loose continues to sail south along the waterway.  Within 20 minutes, the inspection is completed.  Cutter Loose scores 100% on the exam.  We thank them for the good work of the USCG in keeping the waterway safe and secure.  The inflatable pulls alongside once again to retrieve the crew and the Coasties are on their way.  

[caption id="attachment_1802" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Sunset on Mile Hammock Bay"][/caption]

Our destination today is an overnight anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay, a distance of 42 miles.  This Bay is located on the grounds of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.  During WWII, marines practiced amphibious landings in this Bay.  Tonight, there are 20 pleasure boats at anchor in this remote and peaceful area of coastal North Carolina.

Saturday, November 5th - lay day in Beaufort

[caption id="attachment_1774" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Our protected slip in Beaufort"][/caption]

We endure a noisy night aboard Cutter Loose.  By daybreak, wind gusts subside to 30 knots which is still a powerful amount of wind.  But the barometer is rising, which means that high pressure is moving our way.  We will stay put in Beaufort again today.

[caption id="attachment_1775" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Greg and Kate's home is the 2nd from the left"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1777" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Beaufort waterfront"][/caption]

Once again, Greg and Kate are the consummate Beaufort ambassadors, introducing us to Fort Macon and Moorehead City, the Beaufort Grocery for a delectable lunch and a trip to the local Piggly Wiggly for provisions.  When we return to Cutter Loose late in the afternoon, winds have further diminished to 20 knots out of the north and the barometer continues its upward trend. 

We enjoy yet another delicious meal, a glass of Chateneuf de Pape and a delightful evening of conversation at the home of Greg and Kate.  At 10 PM, winds have subsided to less than 10 knots.  All systems are go for a Sunday morning departure from Beaufort.

Friday, November 4th - lay day in Beaufort

As expected, rain begins to fall in Beaufort at 5 AM.  A stationary front has set up camp to our southeast and its related low pressure center will pass just south of us and head out to sea later today.  This sets the stage for yet another November 'noreaster here in coastal North Carolina.  Gale warnings are posted up and down the coast through Saturday night. 

It is a lazy day aboard Cutter Loose.  Showers subside by mid-afternoon, but winds are steadily increasing.  Thankfully, we are located a few miles west of the Beaufort Inlet to the Atlantic Ocean where the real action is occuring. 

Our marina is a circular basin and Cutter Loose is docked along the northeast side of the circle with her stern to the northerly winds.  She is in the lee of a seawall that surrounds the basin and the homes that dot the seawall.  In terms of relative protection, this is as good as it gets in this marina.

We enjoy dinner ashore tonight with Greg, Kate, Hayden and Radeen in Morehead City.  When we return to the boat at 10 PM, winds are out of the north at 30 knots, gusting to 45.  The low pressure center is now 30 miles to the east.  Sirius Marine Weather shows sustained northerly winds of 50 knots in the Atlantic Ocean just 10 miles east of our marina.   The Gulf Stream passes just two miles offshore of Beaufort Inlet.  We wonder about the conditions being faced by any vessels caught in the Stream in these conditions.

We double all of the docklines on the windward side of the boat.  With every gust, Cutter Loose rolls at an angle to the dock despite her 35,000 pounds of displacement.   The wind is shrieking through the rigging and the docklines are groaning to the strain of the forces being absorbed during the gusts.   Despite the noise and motion, we are thankful for the  relative safety of our gratuitous slip here in Beaufort.  We will remain here until weather conditions improve.