Crew Log for November 24th, 2022
Trip Summary:
Georgetown, SC – McClellanville (Awendaw Creek)
Trip Distance of 30.6 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 1,962.7 NM
Departed at 08h00, arrived at 14h00
Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends and neighbors. Y'all sure do know how to celebrate!
The holiday season was in full swing. Christmas decorations were going up everywhere, including on boats, and the streets and shops were full of people. We were going to a more secluded anchorage for the night, below McCellanville, SC to Awendaw Creek, just off the ICW. Judy had polled the ICW cruising forums for recommended anchorages, and most people agreed that Awendaw was our best option.
The anchorages on this section of the ICW don’t have a lot (any) protection from wind, but they are generally in winding creeks that provide good protection from waves in most directions. This was just an overnight stop on route to Charleston, so we weren’t looking for anything other than a secure spot to spend the night.
Most of our neighbors on the dock had Thanksgiving plans in Georgetown and so it was a quiet morning. There weren't many boats on the move. Judy did run into the skipper of trawler that was flying the Great American Loop flag. He described the trip as a non stop party! Judy had mentioned that we would be spending our first night off the boat in over 3 months when we got to Charleston. The trawler skipper said his wife’s favorite things to do when she got off the boat were, to soak in a bathtub, and use as much toilet paper as she liked. Spoiler alert, we did neither.
Despite pretending to be non-stop partiers, they were very kind and giving people. They were spending Thanksgiving helping serve meals at a local community center in Georgetown. Although, there was likely bit of partying afterwards!
As we made our way out of Georgetown Harbor, we entered the Winyah Bay, a massive body of water that empties and fills from the Atlantic Ocean, creating strong tidal currents. We eventually turned south, back onto the ICW and into a canal that would take us out into the Lowcountry of South Carolina, a seemingly endless maze of wetlands and creeks.
When we approached the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Bridge, we were surrounded by dozens of duck hunters. Their boats were wrapped in brush and grasses to disguise them and they were all decked out in full camo gear, included their faces. They looked like they were a platoon of marines ready to storm a beach in Vietnam. To say it was a little uncomfortable weaving our way through them would be an understatement. Most moved off the “magenta line” to let us through, but others seemed to be oblivious to us. Fortunately, the rest of the trip down to Awendaw Creek was uneventful. At least until we dropped the anchor.
I was going through our post passage procedures when I heard Judy say, “there is a pelican on the boat”. Sure enough, there was a rather large pelican perched on our lifelines, acting like this was his boat. He wasn’t interested in leaving either, although we were successful in getting him to relocate after some effort. We also spotted several porpoises around the boat, but they weren't nearly as intrusive as their feathered friend.
We were eventually joined by several other boats in the anchorage, including 2 Quebec boats that we had been crossing paths with for the last week or so. Despite the creek being very exposed, it was very calm and the anchor held firm in the 10 - 15 knot winds throughout the night.
Judy cooked up the hogfish that we bought at the fish market in Georgetown for Thanksgiving Dinner and we enjoyed an afternoon and evening of watching football. We were headed to Charleston in the morning and were really excited. It was a part of the trip that we had been looking forward to for a while now.
But more about that, next time.
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