Kilkenny Marina - at a dock

 

The famous Causton Bluff Bridge - with the inoperable leaf down
It has claimed at least three sailboats so far - dismasted

We had a short run today to Kilkenny Marina on the south side of Savannah. On the way, we went through Hell Gate which is no longer a problem since it's been dredged. However, it is beginning to shoal in again with depths to 7 MLLW when the original dredged depth for 12 MLLW. Still, it's a pleasure not having to worry about getting through at low tide. 

I remain fascinated with the Live Oaks - we don't have them up north

The other cuts were easy, no changes from the spring. The Causton Bluff bridge was on demand but you had to be careful about that leaf that does not open. When going south, it's easy to see the leaf that is still down but when going north, it's not so easy since there's a sharp turn to starboard to get through - which can swing you into that down leaf. There's a bit of sideways current that adds to the excitement. We made it through without a problem. 

As I said, the docks look homemade but sturdy enough

Kilkenny is the same as ever. It's really just a facedock and fuel. They technically do have restrooms and a shower but I wouldn't use them. If you have three boats or more using air conditioning, the voltage drops to a little over 100v. As soon as evening comes and everyone turns off their A/C, then the voltage is back to 120v. The docks are homemade but seem sturdy enough. For us, it's a convenient stop along the way to the Crescent River anchorage, our next stop, which is staged for Mud River. 

Windmill Harbour - at a dock

 

Out for sailing class!

Today was in great contrast from yesterday - no rain, no wind, great moving along. We have a traditional stay at Windmill Harbour to see friends and to enjoy the company of other boaters. Of course, we do things differently with the virus about but we still get to enjoy each other's company. 

Great flower from Rick and Elizabeth!

I used to give talks here as part of my visit but that's no longer a good thing to do with the virus around - no gatherings. We refueled and had a pump-out so we're good to go for Titusville for sure. Ted Arisaka and Patti paid us a visit and in this era, brought their own chairs to sit out on the dock by Fleetwing. It's good to meet friends along the way, even if it's with social distancing! 

The modern way to socialize during the pandemic

We also ran into Rick and Elizabeth who gifted a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of Italian wine, always welcomed, we do love our wine. So with all the important stuff done, we're ready to move again Friday morning. We're headed to Kilkenny for the night and then on to the Crescent River anchorage. We are making good progress south!

Lady's Island Marina in Beaufort, SC - at a dock

 

Photo courtesy of Geoff & Jenni McClure - at Awendaw Anchorage

The forecast said a chance of showers around noon but clear the rest of the day. The "chance of showers" turned out to be a solid five hours of heavy rain! So as I negotiated my why through Watts Cut and Ashpoo-Coosaw Cutoff, I had the added entertainment of heavy rain and poor visibility, such fun. I had review weather apps awhile back but only as they predicted wind, not rain. I think a new round of evaluation is due. 

Just to make matters more interesting, as I pulled up to Lady's Island Marina - I got no answer on either Channel 16 or their phone number. See nowhere else to go, we pulled into a fack dock with the ominous warning posted of "Dock closed, no tie-ups, no letting people off". We pulled in any way given the heavy rain at the time. 

In going to the office, they had no record of the reservation I made last Sunday afternoon (the call was listed on my phone). The lady in the ship store was kind enough to make calls to the marina owner and eventually, someone appeared to sign us in. As it turned out, the owner was on duty Sunday and he took the call but forgot to log it in so they had no record of my reservation.

After that unpleasant experience, the owner came by to apologize and said he was taken ill that day with a temperature of 102 but was okay now. Moving along, we will be leaving Thursday morning for Windmill Harbour for a day. At this rate, we'll reach Titusville before our scheduled arrival date of Nov 1.  

St Johns Yacht Harbor- Provisioning and Laundry

 

A quiet time in the morning as we headed to pick up our courtesy car to provision

What makes a good marina? For me, it's not the bathrooms or showers since we prefer the convenience of doing all that aboard Fleetwing (why leave the boat when not required?). After many years of living aboard, we want easy access to laundry facilities that actually work, preferably at a good price per load. Another of our requirements is a courtesy vehicle so we can provision quickly. Equally important is good WiFi with a dependable connection to at least 3 Mbps in speed. Not many marinas meet the first three of my requirements. Bonus points go to marinas with a dog park and let's not forget a reasonable price per foot. Oh yes, I much prefer floating docks for easy tie-up but I can get around that if the other requirements are met. 

This is only a dull photo if you never
 do launndry while underway ($1/load too!)

So how does St Johns Yacht Harbor stack up against those requirements? First off, they have a free courtesy car (no charge for use up to two hours) and it can be reserved in advance so you can plan your day, not all marinas offer the reservation feature if they have a car. Secondly, the laundry facilities here are second to none with four spin washers and four dryers at a $1.00 per load price - and they all are fairly new and they all work. 

Next comes the WiFi that delivers a solid signal, no problem there. They have floating docks with ipe wood at $2/ft. However, if you have BoatUS, you get a 10% discount and if you're a veteran like me, you'll get another 10% discount on top of that which makes for a very reasonable price. As gravy, they have a dog park advertised with a fence but it's not all there - nevertheless - Hoolie had a good run. 

Nice ipe floating docks

Personally, I don't think any marina deserves a 5 star rating unless they offer a courtesy car, the other points can be debated perhaps but a courtesy car is truly a step up. On the downside, the marina is in a river and the current can run 2 to 3 kts. For us, it was not a problem since we're used to such current from our days at the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club on the Hudson River. Here, we even had a face dock which can always be approached into the current, not a problem. 

Given all of the above, we'll be coming back here on our way north, it's a fine marina. 

St Johns Yacht Haven - at a dock

 

Awendaw Anchorage sunrise

The day started out with a great sunrise as I took Hoolie ashore for his morning institutional. The anchorage has a great place for Hoolie for his shore leave and the anchor came up clean, no mud. It's one of our favorite anchorages. There are usually 3 to 6 boats when we've been here in the past but this time there were only two, counting us. 

Out by the ICW, there's a sandy beach for Hoolie

With a 6.5 ft tide, there were no shallow spots to worry about but even without the tide, it was fine for boats with up to a 5.5 ft keel at MLLW. I took a photo of the Isle of Palms high bridge, it was just a little over 61 ft at high tide today. During the week, the Ben Sawyer Bridge opens on demand (on weekends, it only opens on top of the hour) which was convenient. However, the Wappoo Bridge only opens once an hour at the bottom of the hour, we missed the opening by 3 minutes! 

We had really high tides today!

We bucked a 4 kt tide running through Elliott Cut but eventually made it. The current is not as bad as the turbulence caused by the current interacting with the narrow passageway. You had to be on guard all the way through. 

 

Isle of Palms high bridge

We are now ensconced at St John's and will provision on Tuesday and do laundry, then it's on to Lady's Island Marina on Wednesday.  

Awendaw - at anchor

 

One of three dredges working the area

We left with a foul tide but it wasn’t far to Minim Creek and that’s when we ran into dredges. There were three working in the area but that’s good news! They were finishing up and the entire stretch had been dredged to 12 to 14 MLLW! No longer did you have to worry about staying right in the middle and staying off all marks, it was a wonderful passage.

This guy was right at the entrance to the creek, I had 
no problem going around at high tide but at low tide, another story!

McClellanville was dredged earlier this year but they had left a short section just outside the town that for some reason was not dredged. Well, they came back in the fall and dredged that section too. I can remember scraping the bottom at low tide but that’s a thing of the past, at least for a few years until it shoals in again.

We are now anchored in Awendaw which is one of our favorite anchorages. There’s tons of room and a place to take Hoolie ashore, even at high tide. There’s only one other boat anchored nearby which support the observation that there are fewer boats going south this year.

We will bypass Charleston and take a dock at St Johns Yacht Harbor for two nights. We need to provision and do laundry and the marina has excellent laundry facilities. Then it’s on to Lady’s Island Marina on Wednesday and Windmill Harbour on Thursday. We are moving right along.

Georgetown - at a dock

We had the docks all to ourselves after the big guy left (he was taking on fuel)

 It was another glorious day for traveling south. We arrived in Georgetown by 12:30, refueled, did a pump out, and docked. We expected the docks to be full but we were the only ones at the Harborwalk marina on the face dock. They did charge $10 for a pump-out which I thought was more than they should but we had a pump-out anyway. 

A great display of seafood and a typical layout down south
All the fish was individually packaged in clear warp due to the virus concerns

The first stop was mandatory - had to get seafood at the Independent Seafood Company. As is the custom down south, the fish is laid out on ice, not in refrigerated cabinets. I guess they have so much ice for the shrimp boats that a little more in the store makes little difference. 

Part of the fleet located in Georgetown - you know it's fresh

I found some good looking grouper and bought a pound for Ann to prepare. Needless to say, it was excellent. We always stop off at the seafood market here for whatever looks fresh, it has never been anything less than outstanding. 

We are headed for the Awendaw anchorage for Sunday night. I spent the day ensuring the outboard motor worked (it did) and starting up the genset to check for leaks (no leaks!) so we're all set for anchoring out. From here south, we will be anchoring out as much as being in a marina. The anchorages are convenient and it fits in with our social distancing strategy.