Outside And Inside

Beaufort, SC to Awendaw Creek |  12.6 Hours  |  96 Miles  

The 5:45 alarm came way too early, but we quickly got to work on final preparations for departure. We left the Port Royal Landing dock at our target time of 6:30, pulling out south into a strong current. The Mcteer Bridge which connects Port Royal to Lady's Island was to starboard as we made a U-turn to head north. At the other end of Beaufort, the Woods Swing Bridge opened for a sailboat and larger trawler to pass. Normally, we could have continued under the closed span with a few feet to spare. Interesting note about this bridge: it served as a stand-in for a bridge over the Mississippi River in the movie Forrest Gump. The morning was still with no wind. It was very humid and the bugs were out in force.

The view was typical of the low country with water and grass flowing together seamlessly. We were entertained by many dolphin appearances. Barry installed our replacement windshield wiper arm before we needed it. The forecast called for storms rolling through by the evening. At the first inlet, we turned east and we flushed out of the Coosaw River at 9 knots into the Atlantic. For a short period of time, we were traveling directly into the sun line. We didn't mind because soon we would be in the deep open water of the ocean and would make a bee-line north. A shrimp boat was already working to secure the day's catch.

We immediately began calculating how for we could get before dark and the change in weather. While all the high-level math was happening, a small bird came and hitched a ride on our upper deck railing. Nearing Charleston we could see the Morris Island Lighthouse and the iconic Cooper River Bridge through the haze on the horizon. The waves on our stern were getting larger so we elected to enter Charleston Harbor. The American Independence was exiting the channel as we were entering. The long approach was guarded by two large jetties that were mostly underwater at this time of high tide. Off to starboard, hundreds of people lined the beach in front of the Sullivan's Island Lighthouse. A large tanker passed by to port. 

A sharp right turn put us in the Intracoastal Waterway. We were back to worrying about the busy small boat traffic and water depth. Crossroads made it through Isle of Palms this time without an unplanned encounter with terra firma. It was a much better trip than when we hit bottom here in January. We again began to calculate how far we could get before dark. The scenery kept us interested as we began to tire from a long day. We arrived at Awendaw Creek at 7:00 and I quickly prepared dinner. The last of the grouper we picked up in the Exumas was a nice treat. By 9:00 the predicted rain had rolled in and the wind has picked up. Thanks to today's long run, we will have a much shorter day tomorrow. We will sleep a little later and hope the rain moves out.