33°21′46″ N 79°17′0″ W

We arrived in Georgetown last evening at 6:00pm, an 11 hour trip from where we started out just south of Charleston.

The Harborwalk Marina in Georgetown is right at the edge of the town’s main commercial area, so there’s very easy access to restaurants & stores.

I copied the photo above from my Atlantic ICW 2017 Waterway Guide book. I like these features in the boating reference books because if you have never been to a place before then it helps you better understand where you are going & what to expect.

Whenever we arrive in a port there often is a strong current so you have little or no opportunity to stop & figure out where you are going to tie up. Fortunately most marinas have great staff & dockhands who are always ready to guide you in the last few feet & catch your lines.

The trip from Charleston was very pleasant with a combination of rivers, canals & occasional bays & inlets leading to the Atlantic Ocean that connect the rivers & canals together.

Our usual routine each morning is to have some coffee & OJ before leaving the dock & then Chris rustles up some breakfast while I navigate the first part of the day’s journey.

Yesterday morning I had a real treat!

I’m sure gonna miss Chris when he heads home next Sunday.

Over the years Chris & I have worked out our roles & routines. I look after the chartplotting, setting up our navigation plan for each day, the engine & other technical & mechanical matters. Chris looks after the galley, handles the fenders & dock lines & shares the helm duties with me. He likes to cook & he’s a very good chef so I think that I have the better end of the bargain. He’s happy because if I was the chef the meals are much simpler. For some reason he’s not fussy about eating Spam sandwiches or canned tuna & Minute Rice wraps!

As we approached Georgetown we came out of a canal & crossed Winyah Bay & then up the Sampit River. It was interesting to exit the canal where our lines of sight to port & starboard were somewhat limited & then be on a much larger body of water where we could see much further.

While on the canal & the rivers yesterday we saw lots of pelicans & other “fishing” bird species, dolphins & Chris even saw a few alligators resting along the muddy shoreline. Even at our slow rate of speed it’s still very hard to catch good photos of the abundant wildlife.

Last night when I was coming back to the boat from the marina showers I encountered a couple of locals out for an evening stroll. They stood still long enough for me to get a photo.

The weather forecast for today is for occasional thunderstorms so we have decided to stay in Georgetown another night. This also gives us an opportunity to do a few small maintenance tasks & projects that cannot be done while underway or while at anchor.

Weather permitting, early tomorrow morning we will head out for Myrtle Beach.

Cheers!

Oops! Forgot to add this to my previous post 🙀

St Johns Yacht Harbor Marina

32°45′12″ N 80°0′46″

We left the marina at 7:00am this morning & are headed to Georgetown, SC. This will be a fairly long run – about 66 nm.

There was a big lightning storm last night followed by strong winds & a steady rain. It was good to be tied up to a dock.

It’s a nice day today with scattered clouds & little or no rain forecast.

Just a few minutes after we cast off we went through a very narrow channel called “Elliott’s Cut”

The current was very strong but thankfully there was lots of water under our keel.

The homes on each bank through the cut were very impressive.

We have now travelled about 271 nm since leaving Jacksonville FL. Other than the high temperatures & humidity it’s been a great trip. I hope the rest of it goes as well as it has to this point.

Here’s a photo of a page from the Waterway Guide we are referring to frequently along the way. It shows several of the places we have stopped at so far.

Cheers!

N 32° 25.149 W 080° 39.475

Friday morning we moved from the Beaufort City Marina to Lady’s Island Marina, which is just on the other side of the highway bridge – a 15 minute journey for us.

Friday was a provisioning day. Early in the morning we borrowed a courtesy car from the marina & drove to a local grocery store to stock up on fresh food, bottled water & many other necessities. We could only have the car for an hour so it was a “speed shopping” expedition.

Chris & I divided the grocery list in half, grabbed a couple of shopping carts & scooted up & down the aisles. 45 minutes later – mission accomplished!

We loaded the groceries onto the boat & headed for the other marina so we could tie up there by noon.

My buddy George picked us up at 1:00pm in his car & the shopping continued. West Marine, Lowes, Wal Mart , a local hardware store, a butcher shop & finally Publix….. whew, that was a marathon! There’s hardly any room left on the boat!

Back to the boat to drop off all the stuff we acquired & then off to George’s house for dinner.

About 3 years ago George & his wife Sandy built a new home just a few miles away from the marina we were docked at.

While en route to his house George gave us a “windshield” tour of Beaufort & area. He called it a windshield tour because it was too hot to get out of the air conditioned car to walk around. No argument from the passengers on that strategy.

All the older streets are lined with huge oak trees with lots of Spanish Moss hanging down from their branches.

George & Sandy’s home is in a golf course community. Not far from their home are several fresh water ponds that the golf courses use for drainage & for irrigating the fairways & greens. The pond in the photo above was a popular spot for birds to hang out. Another pond a few hundred yards away had 2 alligators sunning on the banks. Each one was about 6 feet long. George told me that there are gators as big as 11-12 feet in the ponds. No swimming there for sure!

George & Sandy cooked us a fantastic steak dinner supported by beautiful air conditioning, G&Ts, wine & great conversation.

It was wonderful to catch up with George & to finally meet Sandy – I’ve only known & worked with George for about 14 years! We also got to meet Sandy’s dad, Ken who is 99 years young!

George & I collaborated on a lot of projects over the years & had a lot of fun while doing it. That’s the way it should be.

We are now both retired & wondering why we didn’t do this 20 years sooner. I think that it might have had something to do with needing a steady income until the nest egg was big enough. 😉

I’ve often told people that I don’t miss the work but I do miss spending time & working with people like George.

It was great visiting with George & Sandy but now it’s time to continue our journey north. Next stop – Charleston!

Cheers everyone!

32°25′49″ N 80°40′19″ W

(photo below of the public walk along the downtown waterfront in Beaufort)

Yesterday we travelled from Thunderbolt, GA to Beaufort, SC. The trip took us about 7 hours & we passed Hilton Head Island on the route.

(photo below of properties & boating at Hilton Head)

There were lots of people out on jet skis & sailing dinghies so we had to pay close attention to the “fun hour” traffic.

George, a friend & former work colleague of mine at CH2M lives in Beaufort so I simply had to take the opportunity to make Beaufort a port of call on our journey north & have a visit with him. We had dinner last night in a very nice restaurant & today George has kindly offered to drive us around the city so we can pick up more groceries & other supplies for the boat. After that we will have dinner at George’s place.

The downtown & waterfront area public park area in Beaufort are exceptionally well done. Lots of interesting shops & restaurants within a 5 minute walk from the marina.

The heat wave continues & the forecast for today is that it’s going to be another scorcher!

Cheers!