Charleston to Port Royal

After an uncomfortable night on the face dock in Charleston City Marina we were more than ready to get going Sunday morning.  There were heavy clouds so we couldn't leave until about 7:15. 

Instead of canals and dredged cuts like the ICW (Intercoastal Waterway) in North Carolina, this section winds across wide river mouths, through sounds and past coastal inlets.  There are swift tidal currents, and lots of bottlenose dolphins that ride the wake of passing boats. It's pretty straightforward piloting but also easy to lose your way if you don't keep track of the markers.  Phil is very careful about this, in fact, he makes a list of every marker with the color and number for each day's trip.

We pulled into a tiny fishing village, Green Pond, SC about 2:30 and docked behind a hugh shrimp boat.  You'll see pictures later.  There was a small seafood market there where the fishermen sell their catch so we had fresh shrimp for dinner that night.  That is the only business in the village.

A couple of hours after we docked, a boat from Switzerland pulled in.  It was a couple with a 9 year old child (Patricia, Thierry, and Marvin) and they had been living on the boat since he was 2 weeks old.  They didn't have reservations but were looking for safe harbor from an approaching storm.  We really enjoyed getting to know them during the 2 days that we waited out the storm. 

This morning dawned partially cloudy and cool but we left Green Pond about 7:30 right behind our new friends.  Phil said it was the most relaxed day he had had behind the wheel. We had our very own airshow from figther jets stationed at the US Marine Corp Air Station. I was so enthralled in watching them fly formation and buzz our boats that I forgot to take pictures. 

By the time we got to Ladies Island Swing Bridge at 11:05 it was COLD.  The bridge is on restricted openings so we had to wait until 1pm for the next opening.  There is a marina just before you reach the birdge that's on the protected water of Factory Creek. They allow boats to dock there free for a couple of hours to shop or just wait for the bridge opening.  Our Swiss friends decided to spend the night there but we came on to Port Royal Landing Marina which is right at the mouth of Port Royal Sound.  We didn't want to risk getting through the bridge before 7am and it doesn't open from 7-9.

Here are a few pictures from the past 3 days.   

 
This is the small seafood market and dock where we found shelter from the storms.

And this is the big shrimp boat I mentioned.  It didn't go out while we were there because of the weather.



But a smaller boat was out when we got there and gave us these fish that Phil is cleaning.  They were delicious.

There are some more pictures that I wanted to add but it would take until Christmas to upload with wi-fi speed at 18Mbps.  Maybe tomorrow night.

For those of you who have, or want to add comments, I don't know what to tell you.  I've been able to see only comments from Kathy and Bill.  Will let you know if I can figure it out.