Southern SC ICW

3/22/2017

After such a long ride yesterday followed by an exciting storm in the middle of the night, we had a slow start today. We untied our lines at Windmill Harbour Marina at 10:45. The unique thing about this marina is that it has its own lock. Before we could continue on our way to the ICW, we had to traverse the lock to exit the marina.

Traversing this lock to enter the marina was the reason for the 7:00 firm deadline for docking the night before. There is no access to the marina after the staff stop running the lock at 7:00 p.m. or before they start running it at 8:00 a.m.  Interestingly, the length and width of the lock are barely larger than the size of our boat! Clark stayed at the helm and kept the boat in position as the lock filled (yesterday) / emptied (today). Happily, all I had to do was watch the proceedings (no boat hooks or lines to grab here), tell Clark when the boat was completely inside the lock so the door could close, and then be his eyes for keeping the boat centered in the lock.

Entering 19-foot wide Lock; We have a 17-foot beam!

Ev watching the water pour out of the lock

After leaving the marina, we entered the ICW and Skull Creek where we passed the alternate choice for last night’s stay – Skull Creek Marina.

Docks on Skull Creek in SC

Sandy shores of Skull Creek in SC

Later, as we followed our course, Clark pointed to a water tower that said “We Make Marines”. I said, “Oh, that must be Parris Island”. I pulled out Google Maps to confirm and sure enough that’s where we were.

“We Make Marines” Water Tower on Parris Island

“Navy” Water Tower

Parris Island, SC

Further down our route, I pointed out a cormorant bird drying its wings to Clark as we passed under a bridge. “Picture?”, he said. “Yes, please, I find them interesting”, I replied. Since the cormorant has less oil on its wings than other aquatic birds like ducks, they hold their wings out to dry.

Said one bird to the other … “What are you looking at?”

On our travels through South Carolina today, we noticed a lot of docks that look like they suffered storm damage and a lot of docks that looked brand new. I gather that Hurricane Matthew left its mark on this area like in areas of Florida. One thing I found remarkable was the length of the walkways leading out to the floating docks.

SC Long Docks

Long Walk on this dock
Clark suggests they use a golf cart from the house to the dock

Ropes and a ladder replace a section missing on this dock
near the middle of the walkway

I got excited because I thought I saw an eagle’s nest. When I zoomed in to view the photo I captured, I found a picture of an osprey’s nest – still exciting, but not quite the same.

Osprey Nest on light on dock

As we neared our anchorage for the night, all I could see for miles around were marshes, and all I could think about was the gnats living there!

SC Marshes

SC Marshes

The wind grew stronger throughout the day and blew up towards 25 knots as we started looking for a place to stay. I hoped we would find one with good holding power against the wind but with enough exposure to blow away the bugs that tagged along with us on today’s ride. We eventually dropped anchor in the Wadmalaw River by Johns Island. With a strong breeze and a chill in the air, we kept our doors and windows closed to be inhospitable to any bugs who may decide to come visiting.

As Clark set the anchor, I quickly ran to the galley to prepare a reheated dinner in the microwave before he shut down the engines. In this way I was able to use the microwave and serve dinner early without running off the battery. Feeling hungry served as an additional motivator to get moving.

We passed the rest of the night doing blog work (me - even though I had no internet) and playing the guitar (Clark). Of course Clark did his duty and captured a sunset picture to add to our collection.

Sunset at Wadmalaw River Anchorage