As we headed up the South Carolina coast, we passed by Daufuskie Island and Hilton Head. Strong winds allowed parasailers to fly across Calibogue Sound. When we reached Port Royal Sound, the wind and current were opposing one another, making for a sporty ride! We washed the bow sprit and took spray over the cabin for about an hour. I went below to keep Storm calm (wink, wink).
Our first stop on the South Carolina coast was Beaufort where we snagged a mooring ball at the city marina. Wow! Were we out of practice on that! Ed and Judi dinghied over and picked us up for brick-oven pizza in town at Hearth. Excellent!
Back aboard Steal Away, as the sun was setting, we heard a loud thumping on the hull, followed by the boat heeling over. We went topside to investigate and found the mooring painter was being pulled under the boat by the current, dragging the ball from side to side with it! Thought we were in for a very uncomfortable night. Fortunately, when the wind and current died down that evening, the banging and heeling ceased.
Next morning, we decided to dinghy in for a shower and ice at the marina. We lowered the dinghy from the davits and mounted the Lehr motor. She would start, run for a few minutes, and die. We repeated this process for a while with the same results. Jim tried changing out propane canisters and tweaking the carburetor. No go. The evil twin strikes again. We called the marina and upgraded from a mooring ball to a slip for the evening. That afternoon, we joined Ed & Judi for a golf-cart historical tour of downtown Beaufort. Lots of history and beautiful old homes here.
After two nights in Beaufort, we spent a night at anchor in the South Edisto River. We dropped the hook in 6 ft. of water, but as the tide went out, we found ourself aground again! The Captain found my anxiety amusing, went below, and took a nap. Alas, as the tide turned, we were floating again by dinner.
Next day, we arrived in Charleston and took a slip for two nights at St. Johns Yacht Harbor. Jim planned to check on the job site downtown while we were here. Awesome facility: experienced dockhands, clubhouse-style bath facility, very nice and inexpensive laundry, and a beautiful pool. Wow, we scored!! We took the courtesy car into town with Ed & Judi and had a late lunch at Ellis Creek Fish Camp. Great shrimp tacos😊
The next morning, Jim and I took the courtesy car to provision at Food Lion. Later, our dear friend Dale’s sister and her hubby picked us up for lunch at Crust. Very good pizza! After lunch, they dropped Jim at the jobsite and returned me to the marina just about the time Tropical Storm Danny decided to show up. Very windy and rain coming in waves all afternoon. After the jobsite shut down from the storm, brother Bob brought Jim back to the boat, and we went for BBQ at Swig and Swine. Charleston really has some excellent dining!
We stayed in Charleston an extra day compliments of Danny. After a fabulous breakfast at Sunrise Bistro, we did laundry, cleaned, and did some route planning. We will part ways tomorrow with our friends Ed & Judi, so we had a potluck dinner aboard Claire. Caesar salad, brats, metts & grill potatoes. Good dinner and great stories!
The next morning, our friends bid us farewell as we departed the dock for the dreaded Elliot Cut and Wapoo bascule bridge. Caught in a wicked current, Jim narrowly missed the bridge when bringing Steal Away home 21 years ago. We timed our departure for slack tide at the cut and had no mishaps our second time around! We passed Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms before anchoring for the night at Awendaw Creek. That evening, we watched a Coast Guard rescue operation in nearby Bulls Bay. Helicopter, rescue boat and finally an airboat to get 2 passengers off a sinking vessel. Amazing! Really boosts your confidence that our Coasties will be there for you if ever needed.
Our next stop was Georgetown where we stayed at the Georgetown Landing Marina. Very hot & humid day, so we decided to walk into town (about 1 ½ mile) before showering. Fortunately, some of the streets were shaded and the ice cream at Sweetie’s made the walk worthwhile. Another cool old town with shops and restaurants lining the main street. We enjoyed a stroll down the Harbor Walk on our return to the boat.
Our final South Carolina stop was Myrtle Beach. We had been invited to stay with our friends Andy & Marilyn Hyman at their new garden home that came with a slip right on the ICW. Andy met us at the slip in a heavy rain squall and took my bow line. And that was as far as we got. We all learned how skinny the water is in the new slips…aground once again! We waited a couple hours for high tide; Jim and I manually drug Steal Away into the slip. Worn out, we gratefully accepted a hot shower and delicious dinner at the Hyman’s new home.
At 1:30 a.m. when Stormy woke me, I realized Steal Away was heeling at the dock! Ugh, low tide. Jim went outside to check the lines, making sure we weren’t putting too much strain on the dock. Crawled back in the slanted berth and slept. When we woke the next morning, we were vertical again! We were concerned with the heavy holiday traffic and wake causing Steal Away to bump on the bottom at low tide, so we called every marina in Myrtle Beach. None had availability given the July 4th holiday. So, Jim put lines across the cabin top to the cleats on the opposite side and cleated the mast halyard to the dock to keep us upright at low tide. Surprisingly, it worked!
The Hyman’s were gracious hosts, inviting us to dinner at their home each evening, Ubering us to the grocery and allowing us to shower and do laundry. We had a great visit and topped it off with a fireworks show from their porch! Well rested and with Independence Day behind us, we were ready to take to the waterway once again.