Thursday, April 17, 2014

Steamboat Creek - at anchor

Hunting lodge? Out in the middle of nowhere
We left early to catch the tides this morning. We went through a who's who of shallow passages today including Ashepoo River, Fenwick Cut, Watts Cut and Dawho Creek. If you ever come down the ICW, the names will become all too familiar to you! We took them all at near high tide so the white knuckles were able to get some color in them but I kept Ann busy recording depths so I could update Active Captain.

We have no idea what's behind that fence - perhaps dinosaurs (like Jurassic Park), why out here? Nothing around.
We were coming though one difficult passage with only 6 ft of water when we saw an oncoming boat with crew waving wildly at us. We thought that perhaps there was some news of a new shoaling problem or a wreck in the middle of the passage so we stopped and drifted, not a good thing to do in 6 ft of water! As it turned out they just wanted directions to a nearby marina where they had parts waiting for a repair! They were headed in the opposite direction from the marina at the time they stopped to talk to us. We told them to turn around and take a right at the exit towards the inlet where the marina was located.

Wine, music, a sunset - perfect
As we continued on, just before running aground, we turned towards Steamboat Creek and saw them in the distance following us into the creek. We knew that was not the way to the marina they wanted and sure enough, later on they reversed direction and headed for the marina. Imagine ordering parts and not knowing where the marina is located!? You meet all kinds on the ICW.

We're settled in for the night with a public dock convenient for Hoolie relief, one of the main attractions of this anchorage. The wind is still gusting in the teens but we're snug for the night. On Friday we'll leave early to beat the predicted rains coming by noon and hopefully reach Charleston before they start. .


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