FL to CT Day 14
Charleston, SC to Conway, SC

Where we anchored in Price Creek last night was basically in the middle of nowhere and very dark and quiet. Unlike being at a dock where there is always some bright security lighting so being dark and quiet was very nice!
There are a lot of boats heading north… it’s that annual migration so the boat traffic we are seeing are all part of the northerly migration of sailboats, motor yachts and trawlers. We’re doing longer days than most of the others so each day we have a new group of boas moving with us… makes it interesting.

We had planned to stop at Wacca Wache Marina but arrived there way too early to stop… current boosting us most of the day… very nice! So we continued on not knowing exactly where we would stop for the night. There was this great sailboat anchored there… we see it every year either anchored here or at Bucksport Marina… I took a photo… it’s all steel and really cool… at least I think it is.
We arrived to Bucksport Marina and hailed them on the radio to see if they had sausage available. They have the absolute best sausage and we were out so it was time to restock. Susan does not like it but I love it. We were in luck and they had some so we pulled up to their dock to make a quick sausage purchase. The dock master said why not stay for the night… we have a dockage special this month… 75 cents per foot… we stopped… that’s a great dockage rate… we actually spent more on sausage than the dockage. We will also eat out at the restaurant here at the marina… Captain Seaweeds… pretty basic bar/grill menu.

We were securely docked at 1645. Our position at the marina
N33°39.078', W079°05.696'. We traveled today for 8 hours and 50 minutes covering 62.02 nautical miles averaging 7.02 knots


Posted at 5:12 PM
FL to CT Day 13
Beaufort, SC to Charleston, SC


After taking Beecha for a walk up a real long dock at Port Royal Landing we departed at 0745. Fairly routine departure other than I left Susan on the dock... Whoops! Thought she yelled she was on board the boat... but it was I'm not on board get the boat closer to dock. The current is really strong here and was pushing SAILS away from the dock. Got the boat back to the dock and Susan aboard and we were off.
I brought SAILS up to RPM but quickly dropped it back to idle... we had a bad vibration on the starboard engine. /when we left Kilkenny yesterday leaving the dock we had hit a large clump of reed grass in the water... and it made some noise as the starboard prop chewed it up... maybe there was something still on the starboard running gear that the reversing to get back to dock had sucked up and was now fouled on the prop. We decided to continue on one engine about a mile or so ahead and either anchor or dock on the Beaufort Town Docks so I could dive and check the starboard prop.

As we approached we had an IDEA! We called the Downtown Marina of Beaufort and asked if we could use one of their mooring balls for a few minutes to dive and check our running gear... NO PROBLEM! Awesome... we found a free mooring ball and secured SAILS to it... very swift current here so much easier to use a mooring ball than anchor or dock again.

Pulled out the hookah and dive gear and I was in the water within 15 minutes of stopping. I found about 8 feet of 1/4" line wrapped around the starboard prop. I cut it free with a knife... checked the prop and no damage... COOL! 30 minute stop and we were back underway at 0845 with no vibration!
We had planned to anchor at St. John's Island just before Charleston but when we arrived the winds were out of the WSW and this anchorage has zero protection for that direction winds and they were blowing over 20 knots. Although the winds were predicted to die off we opted to continue on for a better protected area.

We continued past Charleston and anchored at 1955 in Price Creek just north of Charleston. Still not a lot of wind protection but the winds had died down as forecast. Our position in Price Creek
N32°54.142', W079°40.304'. We traveled today for 9 hours and 45 minutes covering 65.77 nautical miles averaging 6.75 knots.

We received some sad news today that a very dear friend Don Gillette had passed away. Susan knowing him since she was a very small girl. He lived on his boat in Fishermen's Village for many years and at Legacy Marina in Fort Myers. He would take his 36' Monk Trawler from Florida to Connecticut each spring and fall but a few years ago he had to sell his boat due to his health and he remained at his home in Guildford, CT with his wife. He loved reading this blog and making the trip vicariously through our blog and photos. I dedicate todays blog to Don may he rest in peace. He will be truly missed.


Posted at 7:10 PM
FL to CT Day 12
Kilkenny Creek, GA to Beaufort, SC


This marina we stayed at last night is one of favorite stops with its massive live oaks with Spanish moss hanging from their branches. They are spectacular in daylight... Susan says they are pretty spooky in the dark walking Beecha. We walked Beecha together just before dark and I took some photos of them... not so spooky.

With a some what long day planned we were up bright and early and underway at 0700 with another beautiful sunrise over the Georgia marshes. We had planned to offshore yesterday from Brunswick and avoid the Georgia marshes and their strong currents but when you see a sunrise this you are happy the weather forecast kept us inside in the ICW.
We did have to deal with the currents… fast then slow and it’s really hard to predict what you are going to have the way the ICW winds around like a snake through multiple natural and man-made waterways. The other thing that can really add some tension to yur day are the tide levels in Georgia… 8 foot tide and some of the ICW has some really skinny places. We have been lucky though and have had mid and rising tides in every known trouble spot. First time in 2 or three years we transited the Little Mud River at high tide… very nice indeed.

We did have one interesting event just before the Savannah River. The ICW cuts across the river and just as we were arriving a container ship hailed on the VHF that they were crossing the ICW in 5 minutes… checking the chartplotter we would be crossing the Savannah River in 5 minutes… quick VHF conversation with the ship and it was decided that I would stand off and wait for him to pass in front of us. No Problem… well this happened to be one of the moments when we had the current with

us and pushing us at abut 9 knots… so standing off was easier to say than actually accomplish. The problem was there are two channels of the Savannah River… the north channel where the ships transit to and from Savannah and the south channel… much shallower and only small boats can use it… but the current uses both of them and with the strong ebbing current we were also being pushed sideways down the south channel

and it’s not deep enough for us… so I had to proceed into the north channel slowly and turn up river alongside the ship as it passed to keep from being pushed aground. I fell in behind him and proceeded back down river to the ICW. It was pretty exciting actually but Susan was not thrilled with the experience to say the least.
At the MTOA rendezvous in Daytona we had won a free nights stay at Port Royal Landing Marina is Beaufort, SC so this was our destination for

today. Normally, we anchor in this area but tonight we would be docked with power for FREE!
We arrived to our destination for the night and were securely docked at 1645. Our position at the marina
N32°23.750', W080°40.665'. We traveled today for 9 hours and 45 minutes covering 65.77 nautical miles averaging 6.75 knots.


Posted at 5:08 PM