2018: Tolers Cove to Hilton Head SC

11/3/2018

Depart: Toler’s Cove SC 7:40

Arrive: Windmill Harbour, Hilton Head Island, SC 4:15

Distance: 81 nm

Lock: 1

Once again Clark did the distance calculations – inside versus Atlantic Ocean. Today it came out to be a tie – 78 nautical miles regardless of in or out.  Having looked at the forecast, he decided we would review the weather situation and decide on” in or out” in the morning. 

When we checked the marine weather report for today, we heard a small craft advisory for the a.m. with 20 knot winds and seas of 4’-to-5’ subsiding in the p.m. to 2-to-3’ seas.  Given the forecast, we of course decided to take the ocean route. We left at first light.

Early morning sky just after leaving Toler’s Cove

Morning Sky heading out of inlet towards the ocean

Morning Sky heading towards the ocean

 Even with the stabilizers going we had a little rock and roll going for the first part of the journey. Other than navigating the steps on the boat, I decided that the most challenging part of being on a rocky boat is using the head. For warmth today, I had rain pants over my jeans, so not only did I have to pull up one pair of pants, but two, without losing my balance and falling over into the toilet.

Once again, we had a single waypoint for the day’s travel. When we set the autopilot to follow the course, it said we had just over six hours to the waypoint. I told Clark we needed the radio on to help pass the time. We found a Country Music station out of Savannah. We saw a few boats out today on the ocean – all of them off in the distance one way or another.

Sadly, I found myself garbed in layers and layers of clothes to stay warm. Since that did not do the trick, I pulled out the blanket and huddled underneath. I stayed that way until we got off the ocean and out of the 15+ knot north winds.

Clark predicted we would arrive at Windmill Harbour marina in Hilton Head, SC at 4:00. At 4:05 he called them on the radio to request passage through the lock at the entrance to the marina. 

We stopped to get fuel before docking for the night. That process took almost an hour. Once we docked, Clark pulled out the hose to get rid of the worst of the salt collected on the boat. It was caked on! As soon as he finished that job, he ran off to get the sunset pictures for the night.

Butterfly Habitat at Windmill Harbour

Butterfly Habitat at Windmill Harbour

Sunset at the Windmill Harbour Lock

Silhouette at sunset

Clark planned our travels for tomorrow and then realized that we will be trapped in the marina until the lock starts operating. Unfortunately, we have no idea what time that occurs. We may need to make serious adjustments to our plans based on the lock schedule. Our Plan A is aggressive and requires an early out from the marina.