Tom Point River to Bull Creek

Tom Point River to Bull Creek - November 7 to 12, 2009

Fred joined us in Annapolis as extra crew. He was not able to do as much of the heavy lifting as we had hoped and was relegated to the aft cabin with the tools and spare parts for three and a half weeks. A few days before Halloween we noticed that he was getting a little pale so we let him out on the back deck to get some sun. Fred is not a very sociable guy and can only handle a few days out in public. After Halloween he retired once more to the life of a hermit in the aft cabin.

Fred

While we were in Charleston I became aware of another sea water phenomenon. I started hearing a sound very much like crinkling cellophane or tin foil coming through from the bottom of the boat. I have been told that the source of the noise is the shrimp nibbling on the crud that is growing on the hull. I have no intention of going down to see for myself so I will just take their word for it.

We are well into Low Country now. The ICW winds through a maze of interconnected salt marshes, rivers, creeks, inlets, and sounds.

Fellow boaters winding through the marsh to the anchorage at Tom Point River.

Low tide in Tom Point River

You know you are in the south when real estate signs look like this.

As we move from one to the other the tidal currents are constantly changing. Sometimes they are in our favor, giving a boost of 3-4 knots to our speed and other times they are against us slowing us down to the point where we need to increase the engine RPM’s just to keep moving.

Six knots is our normal cruising speed. As you can see, we were getting a little help here.

The area we have passed through is sparsely populated near the water. The vegetation is mostly marsh grasses with a few higher areas dotted with trees. We have started to see palmetto trees growing in the wild. The flatness makes it feel like traveling through the prairies.

Residents have a long walk to their boat docks.

Tom exploring the salt marsh at Lady’s Island

From the anchorage at Lady’s Island we had a short travel day of about 45 minutes when we passed through the bridge and dropped our anchors again in front of downtown Beaufort (say bee-you-fert), South Carolina. Hurricane Ida was heading for the Gulf Coast and we were watching closely to see if she was coming our way or not. Sunday is one dollar Miller Draft day at Luther’s Rare and Well Done waterfront restaurant. They also have $12.95 plates of wings big enough to feed six. What better place to sit and watch the weather channel?

The gang before we went to Luther’s trying to ignore the swarm of gnats biting at our ankles.

Luther’s Rare and Well Done

Ida started to dissipate and it looked like we would get some wind in a couple of days but nothing too serious. We stayed in the anchorage at Beaufort another day to go exploring.

Front porches are for sleepy dogs.

A quiet side street in Beaufort, SC

I thought that Spanish moss was unique to specific trees. In Beaufort I discovered that it makes itself at home in just about any kind of tree.

Spanish moss in some kind of maple tree.

Spanish moss in a tall juniper.

Spanish moss in what might be a sycamore.

With Remembrance Day just a few days away, the Beaufort National Cemetery was a fitting place to visit. This cemetery was established in 1863 and contains the graves of soldiers from every conflict from the American Civil War to the Persian Gulf conflict.

Beaufort National Cemetery as seen from the main gate.

Trees draped with Spanish moss.

As we left the cemetery a light rain started. Before we reached the downtown area it was a downpour. Back to Luther’s we went hoping to enjoy happy hour while we dried out and waited for the rain to stop long enough to get back to the dinghy dock and back to our boats without getting too wet again. It was not letting up and we couldn’t stay there all night as Laurie had already prepared lasagna for a group dinner. The Dubarry boots kept our feet dry but we were totally drenched everywhere else. When we reached Polar Pacer we had to strip off all of our wet clothes before we went inside the cabin. Good thing it was already dark out.

The rainy anchorage at Beaufort.

The anchorage at Beaufort was not well protected for whatever effects of Ida might be leftover by the time they came our way so we headed for Bull Creek about 30 miles farther down the Intracoastal Waterway. Another early start and we were anchored shortly after noon. We had an opportunity to test the steering hydraulics with the auto pilot and are pleased with the improved operation.

It was another morning of multiple dolphin sightings. Seeing them is getting to be pretty common but we still get excited when we see the fins gracefully break the surface of the water. Today there were even a few that jumped completely out of the water.

A fishing boat at work in the early morning.

Fishing boats at dock.

Palmettos in the wild on the shore of Skull Creek

Hurricane Ida

We had been watching Ida's progress closely and were relieved to see her downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical depression. As she moved in our direction we were only expecting to see maximum winds of about 35 knots. Bull Creek, near Hilton Head, was a well protected anchorage from most directions and was a good place to sit until things calmed down. Our first night there we anchored near the creek entrance. We had heavy rain that night but no wind. The wind came up and we saw gusts to 38 knots from the south which was our least protected side. The anchor held tight but NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration ) was still forecasting stong winds for the area into Thursday night so we moved around the bend in the creek that was just a little more protected.

We had also woken to the gas can floating upside down in the dinghy. Not good for the outboard motor. We were on our way to visit another boat in the anchorage later in the day and the motor sputtered and stopped. When it would not restart Tom got the oars ready to row and then one of the oarlocks snapped. Good thing the current was moving in the right direction and carries us to where we wanted to be. We could have ended up in Hilton Head! We needed a tow to get back to our boat after dinner. Thanks Jim, that wasn’t easy for you to do in the pitch blackness. Tom dismantled the motor the next day and after giving it a good cleaning and some clean gas he got it running again.

Tom caught this guy trying to crawl aboard using the dinghy painter. By himself he was not big enough to make a crab cake so we sent him back to the river to join the rest of the blue crabs.

Dolphins feeding at the edge of the marsh. The tide is in.

When you don't want to drive the long way around just put your horse trailer on a barge and take the shortcut down Bull Creek.