BEAUFORT, SC

Yesterday morning started out with dense fog and drizzle with promises of rain throughout the day.  We opted to stay in port and went downtown to tour the Savannah historic district with boating neighbors.  One of the boaters, an interesting characte in his mid sixties, is doing the loop single handed. It was overcast all day but the forecast heavy rain never did materialize until later in the evening.  The marina had a courtesy car that we used to get back and forth and do some shopping later in the evening.

The city of Savannah is crammed full of history.  It was interesting to note that the city was spared by General Sherman in his march to the sea but he burned down the city that was just across the river.  I suspect there are people around here who think the Civil War is still going on.

We departed the marina just as the sun was coming up this morning.  The weather was the opposite of yesterdays, beautiful clear skies and light winds.  However it wasn't long before the winds increased to 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts as we progressed through the day.  By the time we arrived in Beaufort the wind picked up to a steady 25 mph which, combined with strong current, made getting to the dock exciting.  The ICW continued to snake through the SC lowlands as it did in Georgia and made it's way through several bodies of water.  For instance, we started in the Skidaway River then went along the Wilmington River, Savannah River, Wright River, New River, Ram's Horn Creek, Calibogue Sound where we passed Hilton Head Island. Then the Chechessee River and Port Royal Sound where we passed Parris Island, the U.S. Marine Corps training base, and entered the Beaufort River.  We encountered two to three foot seas in Port Royal Sound accompanied with allot of salt spray.  We arrived in Beaufort early enough to walk around the quaint little town before having dinner on the boat.  It was an 'interesting' day on the water and the walk around town was a nice reprieve.

I still haven't had an opportunity to operate the boat from the fly bridge due to the weather but the throttle system worked very well from the pilot house.  In fact the boat handled well all day.  We plan another early start tomorrow and another long day on the water.  The winds calmed down considerably so we may ge a good nights sleep.

Y'all stay vertical,

Capt John and First Mate Sue