Crew Log for December 1st, 2022
Trip Summary:
• Beaufort, SC to Wright Creek, SC
• Trip Distance of 32.9 NM, Total Distance To-Date of 2,089,3 NM
• Departed at 08h00, arrived at 13h50
Our time in South Carolina was coming to an end and we were leaving with mixed emotions. South Carolina has us provided some of most memorable moments of our trip so far, and others we would dearly love to forget. We were also about to enter the Georgia section of the ICW, which for some reason, most people hated and tried to avoid.
Currents in the Beaufort River are very strong and in the wrong wind direction, conditions can get pretty rough. Our route took us past Parris Island, the site of the Marine Corps training base. According to the guide, passing here at night, “it is not uncommon to see tracer fire and flares, and hear gunfire in the distance”. We didn’t notice any military training activity, although I was admittedly distracted with the sight of dozens of boats washed up on shore or sunken in the anchorages, and mangled wharfs. It wasn’t obvious whether the damage was the result of Nicole, the most recent hurricane, or a hangover from previous storms. In either case, discarded derelict boats, damaged in storm events is problematic in these areas.
The Beaufort River empties into Port Royal Sound at the mouth of Broad River, a huge body of water exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. Several people have commented that they felt this was one of the most dangerous sections of the ICW, but the conditions were good on this day. We even got to pull the headsail out and enjoyed the peace and quiet of motorless sailing.
We entered Skull Creek, a rather ominous sounding stretch of water, that wound around Hilton Head Island, home to a PGA golf course, expensive mansions and high end shops and restaurants. Most of the development was either hidden from the ICW or well camouflaged since we slid by unaware of Hilton Head’s status. One thing that I did take note of however, was that the ICW took a turn into the Couper River past Daufuskie Island.
Years ago, I read “The Water is Wide”, a novel by Pat Conroy which chronicled his time as teacher on Daufuskie Island. Conroy would commute to the island daily in a small open boat, to teach and interact with the island’s residents who were all directly descended from slaves. Given the island’s isolation, the residents had virtually no contact with the mainland, and the needs of the school and it’s students were largely ignored. Today, Daufuski Island bears little resemblance to the one Pat Conroy experienced in the early 1970’s. It has been transformed from an isolated backwater to an exclusive resort area for the ultra wealthy. I am not sure what happened to the island’s residents. It’s a great book and well worth a read.
We decided to anchor in Wrights Creek, an massive open body of water just above Field’s Cut a short distance from Savanah. We were told to exercise caution getting through Field’s Cut, although in retrospect we would have been fine. The area was reported to be prone to shoaling. If I had done a bit more research, I would have known that it was recently dredged.
We arrived at Wrights Creek early in the afternoon. While the creek itself was quite wide, passage into the anchorage was tricky given the shallow water. We draw 4.5 feet according to the boat manufacturer, but in reality, fully loaded, we likely draw closer to 5 feet. I got worried when our depth gauge showed less than a foot under our keel at one point.
Most of the anchorages in this area were in creeks, or areas of the ICW that widened. These areas are surrounded by grassy, treeless, wetlands. While the anchorages are quite comfortable in moderate wind conditions, the lack of tree cover means you are exposed. Judy’s notes from our log start with, “…landscape is flat as a flapjack…”, which pretty much sums up Wrights Creek.
We spent the rest of the afternoon working on boat projects and catching up on blog posts, before enjoying a beautiful sunset. We were also visited by several dolphins who entertained in the early evening. As the sun went down, we could see the lights from Savanah off in the distance. Sadly, given we wanted to keep pushing south, we would have to leave Savanah for the return trip. Our stop here turned out to be a productive and beautiful end to our time in South Carolina.
We would be heading into the Georgia section of the ICW in the morning and weren’t sure what to expect.
But more about that, next time.
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