After getting fuel and a pump out (holding tank) at the marina, we were on way from Charleston in time to catch the first opening of the Wappoo Creek lift bridge at 9am. But first, we had to negotiate Elliots Cut, a narrow 3 mile cut that runs from one river to the next. It has a fast flowing current and homes/docks on both sides so timing the bridge is very important b/c there's no room to turn around.
Entering the cut.
Between the bridges, the shallow water, and other boat traffic, cruising on the ICW can be very nerve wracking. Of course, we knew all this before we started out, but we also knew that the ICW has the distinct advantage of letting you make consistent progress every day towards your destination ... with ample towns and marinas along to way for that dose of creature comforts we've come to depend upon!
We continue to watch the weather offshore because we still long to go sailing! The ICW has periodic places where you can leave the waterway for the ocean, and Charleston is one of those places. So, after crossing the Charleston Harbor and getting a close-up view of Fort Sumter, we decided to duck offshore. The wind was predicted to be SW 10-15 knots, and since we had trouble maintaining a north heading with a SW wind in Florida, we thought it was time to try it again. Our plan was to exit the harbor, raise sails, try out a few different headings and then return to the ICW ... now this may sound like a lot of work to go basically nowhere, but our rationale (or Dan's rationale, I should clarify) was that since it was noon when we cleared the harbor, it was too late to begin an offshore passage but not too late to return to the ICW and still make our destination (anchor at McClellanville).
Not such a good idea. For starters, the wind did not cooperate (always the downside of sailing). It was from the SW, but it was 20-30 knots with 5-7ft swells....instead of the predicted 10-15 knots with 3 ft swells. An exciting ride is putting it mildly! As we motored out, we'd rise and fall on the swells as the water crashed over the bow, reaching us back in the cockpit. Dan and Jim wrestled the sails up and then we could run with the swells from behind, making a much more pleasurable ride. But since we couldn't continue on this path, we had to turn around and motor back thru the same crashing swells as before. Yuck! As the boat would heel over 40degrees, every loose thing in the cabin when crashing to the floor ... even stuff that was secure in a locker came crashing out (think Comet being ejected across the head and bacon grease being tipped over in the locker under the sink) ....
Tell me again why we did this?
Anyway, once back in the ICW, everything was calm and we had a smooth transit to our anchorage on a pristine creek outside McClellanville, SC. We anchored at 6pm becauce the sky was thundering and threatening rain ... which never materialized, but it allowed us a pleasant evening reading books in the cockpit, under a cool cloudy sky and nice evening breeze. Not a bad ending.
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