Monday, April 21, 2014 – 10 PM – Leg 12/Days 19, 20, 21, & 22 – 30.8 Miles
That weekend was a lot of fun. Hung around in the morning for my birthday and cleaned up the Tinkbug just in case I met anybody who wanted to come back, this is exactly what happened. Was doing some laundry and struck up a conversation with a couple from Louisiana. They were visiting a friend who lived in Hilton Head and asked me to join them for dinner. It turns out we knew some of the same people from Arizona. Randy and Rachael Riznek used to live in Chino Valley, but before I lived there. At dinner, I met Sarah Carmichael who was the friend they were visiting and she was from Australia.
Sarah and I spent a lovely weekend together going around and visiting all the tourist sites. She was a great guide and I loved hearing that accent all weekend. I'm such a history buff so we went to the museum, went on a tour of the plantation, visited the remaining houses in the Gullah neighborhood, and drove around the island to look at all the great photo stops. She took me to a restaurant that served the best blue crab and shrimp gumbo that I have ever tasted. We spent Sunday afternoon on the boat and cooked dinner there. Said our goodbyes in the evening and promised to keep in touch. A very enjoyable birthday weekend with a very enjoyable lady.
The weather has been mostly overcast and rainy. Had a thunderstorm and a downpour Friday in the evening. The temperature is hovering around the 65-degree mark, dropping a little bit at night. But today it cleared up and warmed up and it made for very comfortable travel. the watercourse is just like a snake here. I traveled 36.1 nautical miles and am only 17 miles away from my start point. That means I went almost 20 miles sideways and backwards. At one point I was actually traveling southwest, which is completely opposite to my intended direction. But the Army Corp of Engineers knows what they are doing and it's all about how to get it done with the least amount of dredging.
The voyage was a nice transition from the busy weekend though a little lonely after the company I shared. There were many open spaces, some civilization, bigger city, and lots of long docks. Snaked around Beaufort and really got far inland today; at one point I think it was around 13 miles from the ocean. After the Chechessee River and Port Royal Sound (which is a pretty big body of water), the ICW heads inland for quite a distance and appears to do so for most of South Carolina.
I was going to travel down around Coosaw Island so I was near Dataw Marina. But since I don't need anything I cut the travel short and am holed up in Fish Creek. It cut about 10 miles out of my travel, about 5 today and 5 tomorrow. There are so many inlets from small streams and creeks that you can anchor just about anywhere along this area.
As I sit anchored in safety tonight, I pray my Blessed Lord that those dear to my heart find themselves anchored in your safe harbor.