TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

7-09-08

We’re on the last leg of our journey.  We had a nice dinner at Morgan Creek Grill with Bonnie, catching up and enjoying the company.  We’ve promised to keep in touch and hope she and her husband will come to visit.  Our last evening was quiet as for some strange reason all the boats were obeying the “No Wake” zone in front of the marina.  We woke early and were underway by 7:45 so that we could reach the Ben Sawyer Bridge by 9:00.  There were dolphins dancing in the waterway when we left.  There is no other way to describe it.  There were three or four pirouetting and bobbing up and down.  Probably they were enjoying a breakfast of fish, but I prefer to think they were dancing.  It was about 5 miles to the bridge, and predicting the effect of the tide and current on the boat speed is impossible.  As it turned out, we were almost 30 minutes early and circled until the bridge slowly swung open.  Soon we were in the Charleston Harbor, passing Ft. Sumter and the City Marina where I counted 32 sports fishermen lining the docks for the tournament.  We had to kill some time before the next bridge at Wappoo Creek, so we idled up and down the docks before turning into the ICW, and we were still 15 minutes early for the bridge.  The good news was that we only have one more bridge to pass through before Hilton Head, and that one is in Beaufort.  We had planned to anchor about 30 miles from Isle of Palms and take two easy days to get home, but we arrived at that anchorage early in the afternoon and decided to push on to the South Edisto River.  We really were anxious to get home, and we figured we could make it in two days.  It took over 8 hours on the water, but we reached the river by 3:15.  As luck would have it, the afternoon sea breeze picked up, and we had a south wind of 15-18 knots, which wasn’t good in an exposed anchorage.  We continued motoring up the river until we came to a semi-sheltered anchorage, and set the chain.  After showers and another hot dog dinner, we settled in for what we hoped would be our last night at anchor.

We woke, made coffee for the journey and headed back out the river to the ICW.  We soon were in familiar territory from our very first voyage from Dataw Island where we first bought the boat.  The channels were narrow, and, of course, we went through at dead low tide.  Bill had a reading less than 5 feet at one point.  We went very slowly until we once again reached deep water in St. Helena Sound.  We passed the naval base where jets were taking off in pairs, rocketing over the channel.  We were closing in on our last bridge before home, the Lady’s Island Swing Bridge which only opens on the hour and half hour.  It was getting perilously close to 12:00, and we were afraid we’d miss it by a couple of minutes.   Bill upped the speed and at 3 or 4 minutes to the hour, I called the bridge to request passing through at the 12:00 opening.  He said o.k., and asked for our home port.  There is a big curve coming around to the bridge which obscures the view of the tender.  At 12:00 we were still not too close to the bridge, but we were rounding the curve.  The tender called us and asked if we were coming north or south.  I said, “South and we have you in sight,” but we were still a ways away.  I think the tender delayed the opening for about 4 minutes and held the bridge while we battled the current to get through, but get through we did.  Thank goodness we didn’t have to wait an additional 30 minutes, and I’ll always be appreciative to the Lady’s Island Bridge Tender who stretched it just a little bit so we could pass through, a real rarity in bridge tenders.  From Beaufort, we were indeed in familiar territory, but we still had the wind on our nose coming out the Beaufort River.  When we reached Port Royal Sound, the jet fuel barge from the naval docks in the Brickyard was closing in on us from the river and the thunderstorms were closing in on us from Skull Creek.  We had a pretty rough ride for awhile.  Bill called the barge and idled down until it passed.  Bill put on his slicker just in time for the intense thunderstorm.  I said that Mother Nature was just washing off Cool Breeze so we didn’t have to do that at the dock (and also getting in the last gasp of unfavorable weather on this trip.)  By the time we entered Skull Creek, the barge was ahead of us, the storm had subsided, and we only had to contend with the ferry boats and some power boat parked in the middle of the channel.  The water pump had its last hurrah and gave up the ghost (appropriate timing.)  We crossed under the bridge, dodged the Harbour 22 and the Jr. Sailing School dinghies and called in a request to lock in.  Our friend, Leo, was manning the lock and we passed through with little problems.  Secured at our dock we were kissing and high-fiving.  Happy to be home at last!

A few last thoughts on the voyage.  For those of you who have come along with us – those both known and unknown – we appreciate you checking us out and the comments some of you have sent.  Many times I have been working on this blog and wondering if the time involved is worth the effort, and I guess it has been, even the long, slow, uploads of pictures.  There have certainly been negatives on the trip – things breaking, bad weather, and wind on our nose – but you’ve heard about all of that through this blog.  I’d like to reflect on the positives, especially for those who have read this and are just getting into sailing.  Some of my favorite things:  Evenings in the cockpit, enjoying a drink and watching the sun settled down; Meeting incredible people who all have a story to share and cherish; Seeing new and familiar places in a different light; Savoring the quiet as we sailed with the motor off and the sails filled; The quiet mornings motoring in the ICW while most of the world seems asleep; The duo of pelicans gliding effortlessly with wing tips inches above the water; Bald eagles and ospreys hunting prey; Dolphin dancing and twirling off the bow; Spending time with my husband of 40 years and reconnecting and reminiscing without anyone else around.  I guess if you haven’t spend time cruising on a sailboat, you can’t appreciate the freedom that you can experience as you sail on the waters.  It makes the tough times bearable and forgettable.   These are things I will cherish from the journey.

So, now we are home.  I’ve gone through two days of sorting through 2-1/2 months of mail with a few surprises (mostly unpleasant); We’ve unloaded the boat (well, almost) which has taken as long as provisioning; Bill has replaced the water pump; We’ve enjoyed seeing friends and look forward to welcoming children and grandchildren to the island; Can’t wait to retrieve our cat and see the other child and family, especially granddaughter.  In keeping with our record of things breaking, our internet cable modem has quit and luckily I haven’t disconnected my air card.  I’ll try to add some pictures, but think I’ll just get this final blog on the internet.  All is well, life is still good, but it will probably be awhile before we take another extended trip.  Thanks for coming along on the journey and thanks to Trip Sailor for making it possible!