Boys Being Boys

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventures!

Eric here with the latest travels of Still Waters II.

We picked up another virtual crew member this week.  Welcome aboard olekautoindigo!!

Summary of week:

The crew spent Sunday enjoying Savannah, then shoved off Monday morning for Beaufort, South Carolina.  Wednesday the crew was underway again and spent the next two days cruising and anchoring out.  On Friday, the boat pulled into Harbor Walk Marina in Georgetown.  Saturday, the crew set sail for Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

To read the day-to-day travel log, click on the link.

Still Waters II VIMEO site

To view video of big ships leaving Savannah, an excited young girl watching dolphins in the bow wake, and cruising the Waccamaw River Cypress Swamp, click on this link.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

As you may recall, on Saturday the skipper gave Kim W. and Kelly F. a boat ride to The Westin in Savannah.  Kim was attending the Nuclear Energy Institute Emergency Preparedness Training.  Kelly was just on vacation to enjoy Savannah.  There were several other colleagues of the skipper’s from around the country also at the conference.

 

 

Tim E. from Wolf Creek came by and toured the boat.  Steve S. from Beaver Valley also stopped by and took a short tour.  The skipper also talked with Kelly G. of San Onofre.  Small world when people you worked with about ten years ago all converge at the same location at the same time.  The skipper enjoyed seeing and talking with them all.

And what is a trip to Savannah without a visit to the Candy Store

and Ice Creamery.

Monday, June 12, 2017

As the crew was shoving off the dock at The Westin, they noticed Kelly F. setting up for the day by one of the hammocks next to the swimming pool.  As the crew passed by, they all waved good bye.

There were several large ships coming and going into Savannah so the skipper had to focus on piloting the boat back the eight miles to the ICW.  They were greeted by this pelican when they finally made the turn and entered South Carolina.

The crew came across this bunch of young sailors learning to sail.  However, one of them either was not having a good time or believed the lesson was beneath him.  When the crew got to the bridge you see in the background, there was one young wolf leaving the pack and sailing back to town.  One of the instructors in a motored dinghy finally noticed someone was missing and found the youngster at the bridge.  The instructor towed the lone wolf back to the pack.

Jet skiers are always fun.  They like to jump the boat wake so they circle the boat like Indians circling a wagon train.  They come awful close to the boat sometimes, and so far, no one has falling off in front of the boat.  This groups hour of fun on the water must be over because they are following the leader back to the marina after waking the crew for about an hour now.  Ay yes, back to some calm cruising.

The crew pulled into the Downtown Marina in Beaufort for two nights.

 

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

After walking around town for a bit the crew found the local ice cream store and sampled the merchandise.  The ice cream was homemade but still not as good as Kawartha in Canada.

Geocaching took the crew over to an area where the town Carriage Tours depart.  While the skipper was logging his latest ‘find’, the carriage driver asked Emma if she wanted to feed his horse.  She walked up and got to feed Max four carrot bites.

The last adventure of the day took the crew about a mile from the waterfront.  The marina goody bag had a coupon for free chocolate sand dollars, one per customer.  The coupon turned out to be a bit misleading.  The picture of the chocolate sand dollar on the coupon was about three inches in diameter.  In reality, the sand dollar was about the size of a quarter.  The peanut butter fudge was not all that good either.  I know this to be true because it took the skipper almost all week to finish off the fudge.  If it was good, that half pound of fudge would not have survived the first day.

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

The cruise on Wednesday started out calm but overcast as can be seen in this photo taken at mile marker 530 in Brickyard Creek.

There were also several small boats out checking their crab pots.

The crew also spotted a few Bald Eagles.  It has been a while since they had seen any Eagles.

There were also many dolphins out playing today.  In the Ashepoo River, several dolphins surfaced and came towards the bow.  When Emma went out and looked over the side she could see two dolphins surfing in the bow wake.  She was pretty excited.

The cruise continued thru the miles and miles of salt marsh.

The crew dropped anchor at mile 487 in Church Creek near low tide.  A pod of dolphins swam nearby and then a couple of them swam up into the shallow water.  They would roll around in the shallow water.  Looked like they were trying to use the mud to get a back scratch.

 

Emma was a bit nervous about anchoring out.  But after watching the dolphins play in the mud she relaxed and enjoyed the peace and serenity.

 

Thursday, June 15, 2017

The crew weighed anchor and made way towards Charleston.  As they approached the city marina they saw another flotilla of young sailors.  The lesson must have been over because they were all getting towed back to the marina.

There was a large tour boat dropping off visitors to Fort Sumner as the crew passed by.

And yes, once north of Charleston the salt marsh continued.

When the crew arrived at the designated anchor spot for the night a thunderstorm was building.  The crew decided to press on in the rain rather than anchor in the down pour.  Ten miles later the rain let up so the crew waited for this shrimp boat to pass out of the creek so they could go anchor in Five Fathom Creek.

 

Friday, June 16, 2017

The crew weighed anchor and made way towards Georgetown.  The run was only 30 miles so the crew arrived about the noon hour and had plenty of time to walk around and explore the town.

On the way to the marina though, the skipper spotted eight gators feeding along the shore line.  Interesting enough, the gators were all seen within a mile of Alligator Creek.

After arrival at the marina, the crew went to the Visitor Center.  The town has over 60 Antebellum homes that have survived the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.  Very unusual for a thriving coastal town because the British did their best to destroy the port towns of early America.  Georgetown managed to survive the Civil War without being burned down as many of the other port towns.

The home across the street from the Visitor Center once housed the governor of South Carolina and his wife Theodosia.  After her ten-year-old son died in the fall of 1811 she was suffering from grief and depression.  Her father had just returned from four years in Europe, so she decided to sail to New York City to visit her dad.  Because her husband was governor and head of the state militia, he was not allowed to leave the state during the War of 1812.

 

 

On December 31, 1812, Theodosia set sail for New York aboard the schooner Patriot.  The Patriot never arrived in New York and none of those on board were ever heard from again.  Rumors and folklore around the disappearance sprung up almost immediately:

– deathbed confessions of two different pirates claimed that pirates scuttled the ship and killed everyone on board

–  some believed that the Carolina ‘bankers’ lured the ship into the bank and killed everyone

– some believed that the ship was lost at sea in huge hurricane force winds Jan 2-3, 2013

The father she went to visit was none other than Aaron Burr, the third V.P. of the United States.   But he is probably more famous for his killing of Alexander Hamilton during their infamous duel.

Other older homes and pics of Georgetown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, June 10, 2016, 2017

The crew shoved off from the dock and headed toward North Myrtle Beach where they would stop at Barefoot Landing for the weekend.  The run up to North Myrtle Beach is mostly on the Waccamaw River which leaves the salt marshes behind and navigates thru a cypress swamp.

The crew saw many birds along the shores and in their nests.

As the boat approached a bridge near Myrtle Beach, the crew saw a couple of young fellas sitting on the bridge fenders.

Yes, that is a No Trespassing sign.

The Admiral shouted words of encouragement to jump in the water………………. and so they did.

 

 

Yes, boys will be boys.

Boat Name of the Week

 

Next Week –

The crew will leave Barefoot Landing on Monday and head towards New Bern, North Carolina.  They plan to stop in Southport and anchor out along the way.

Loop On – The water goes on forever and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red