Jorge and I had decided to weigh anchor at 0800 rather than 0900. We had a stop to make along the way and needed an extra hour. Diana and Gilbert stuck with the original plan of leaving at 0900.
The morning temp was very comfortable and the forecast for travelling was good. During this stretch of the ICW the current was a mixed bag as two inlets were merging causing the water disturbance. On some stretches we had the current going with us, on other stretches the current was against us.
We were advised by another boat of shoaling at a couple of spots in the channel along the way so we stayed close to the markers hoping to avoid the areas. Unfortunately the ICW was not kind to us today and we ran aground! Really good this time. So good that Jorge was not able to get us off with just the engine. A guy in a small fishing boat took our anchor and dropped it in deeper waters and Jorge successfully winched us off the sandbar using the windlass. TowBoat US you owe us again! We lost close to an hour in doing this so we were behind the 8-ball the rest of the trip.
We got to the marina where we needed to stop at 1600. An exhibitor at the Annapolis boat show had a great deal on the newest handheld ICOM VHF radios and was honouring the price for us, so we stopped to pick one up. Jorge did the walk to the store while I stayed at the marina and took a real shower. We topped up with fuel and water and then were on our way.
We got to the anchorage shortly after 1830, (just inside the South Carolina border - another state behind us) good thing because it is getting dark earlier and earlier now. We anchored, had dinner and then were in bed early. We were hoping to be sheltered from the wind because the forecast was for 20 knot winds gusting to 25. (It was a long day and I didn't have it in me to blog last night.)
They get big tides here.
Along the way.
Another boat which has seen better days.
Same boat, different angle.
November 1, 2013
The wind did pick up last night as predicted and unfortunately the direction changed so we were not as sheltered as hoped. Jorge was up a couple of times during the night and things were not pretty. We had swung closer to shore than we would have liked (due to the change in wind direction) but the anchor was holding well and we came out smelling like a rose. The winds were supposed to increase today and tonight and come from the same direction so we decided that the anchorage was not good to wait out the weather. We were on the move again. Diana and Gilbert thought the same and left shortly before us. Our plan was to travel 13 miles and hopefully get to a free dock just north of Myrtle Beach.
Ok so we got to the free dock which wasn't free anymore and since it was just 1300 and the travelling had been relatively good, we decided to push on. A bit later, the going wasn't as good, we were battling both a good head wind and current making the going slow. Oh well.
We set anchor around 1700 at our new destination point. Diana and Gilbert anchored shortly before us. The anchorage, again, has us sheltered from the wind predicted, let's hope the wind direction doesn't change overnight again! Diana and Gilbert joined us for happy hour and tonight it really was only happy "hour".
Jorge has been troubleshooting a battery charging issue and thinks he might have it solved. My McIver!
Waiting for a bridge to open.
Bridge open.
South Carolina vegetation along the ICW.
Gnarly tree in our anchorage, South Carolina.
Spanish moss on tree in anchorage.
South Carolina temperature 27C on Nov 1!
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