From Charleston to Rock Creek

Tuesday, November 18th: Rock Creek

We left Charleston this morning in cool and heavy winds. There was not much sense in waiting since the forecast is the same for the next few days and after all, we are traveling along rivers, creeks and land cuts and not in open water. As we were coming up the Edisto River with 20 knot winds behind us and the current pushing us along, Bob was shaking his head at the force of the water and saying how glad he was that we weren't going against it.

I've been thinking about the boat that was beside us at the Charleston City Marina - a 46 foot Beneteau. The couple on board were taking two very experienced sailors with them on their sail out of Charleston directly to the Bahamas. They waited for better weather and then left on Sunday morning. The sail was to take 3 to 4 days. They will have encountered some of today's weather - this morning, the forecast was for gale force winds along the gulf stream.

Rock Creek

We have just anchored off the ICW in Rock Creek. The temperature is in the 30's (F) and there is a freeze advisory for Charleston, so not the balmy weather one would expect this far south. With the heater on, we are cozy inside the boat and since I cooked a fair sized chicken in the pressure cooker last night, I have dinner for tonight. We've closed up the boat - even with the enclosure fully zipped up, as it has been for several days, we will not be sitting in the cockpit to watch the sunset (too chilly!) but will settle inside instead - listen to the radio, read after dinner and hope for milder temperatures to come.

Rock Creek - Looking downstream

We arrived in Charleston last Friday and spent four nights staying at the Charleston City Marina. The marina boasts a "mega dock" and is indeed a mega marina. We were on Dock x - if that sounds far out - it was. We had a brisk 10 minute walk to the washrooms and showers. There were compensations though. The marina has a once an hour shuttle service as well as a pump out boat that comes on request - well you ask and it comes ---- eventually.

Houses in the "Battery" area of Charleston - pronounced "battry" - worth millions.

The Aiken-Rhett House - We toured this home. Everything in it was owned by the original owners. It wasn't restored but was shown as is after years of hard use. Slave accommodations and stables are hidden behind. The original family owned 18 slaves who took care of their home and stables. This kind of home with family and their many slaves is referred to as an urban plantation

We took advantage of the shuttle service to exchange our starting battery for a new one at West Marine. The engine is still not starting reliably so Bob decided to act on his suspicion that the starting battery isn't holding a charge. West Marine gave us a new battery and $27 back as well - the battery price had dropped since we purchased the first one. We don't know yet if a new battery is the answer - but the engine started today as it should.

In keeping with my ongoing fascination with grocery stores, I must mention the grocery store on the City Marina shuttle route - it's called Harris Teetor's and is a wonderful store with lots of everything. After shopping there, I have decided that it is time for me to stop squirreling food away. I must have faith - given our packed lockers - that even if we don't encounter a proper store for many days to come, it's unlikely that we are going to go hungry.

Charleston is a lovely city full of history and many beautiful pre-revolutionary homes. We went on a carriage tour, a Gullah bus tour (Gullah is a dialect spoken by local blacks) and we toured 2 historic homes. There are many more possible tours to take and homes and museums to be seen. Perhaps we'll stop again on our way back.

This home is called a "single" house - one room deep running all the way back from the street. The door at the front leads to the piazza (the veranda) and the main door to the house is off the piazza. Piazzas in Charleston homes are situated along the side of the house to take advantage of prevailing winds. During warm weather, people went out on to piazzas to sleep.

Sweet grass baskets - sewn, not weaved - price reflects hours it takes to sew them. Prices run from $40 to $200 or more. They are very heavy and sturdy - also quite beautiful. I didn't buy one.

Iron gate by Philip Simmons. The tight curls are hallmarks of his work. His gates are highly prized and his work is everywhere in the city.

Bob says I must write about Hyman's Seafood. This restaurant is advertised in signs on buses and in every tourism book and brochure. Advertisements include clip out coupons for free crab dip or potato soup. On the recommendation of our shuttle driver, we chose another seafood restaurant for dinner our first night but the next day when we out walking, we decided to try the "famous" Hyman's for lunch. We had our free dip and we each chose a broiled fish from the list on the wall board. Those around us were delivered large plates of deep fried seafood - the favoured cooking style here abouts, it seems.

The meal was tasty enough but we wouldn't give it an 8-10 on our rating scale; however, the restaurant's self-promotion was very entertaining. The waitress gives you a card that you're to fill in with your email address to get notice of specials. You can win something if you drop the completed card in the "tackle" box. Bob filled his out. He'll be getting emails from Hyman's for years to come, I expect.

As we were sitting with our tea, "Rita the Greetah" came around with Hyman's Seafood stickers. If you wear one around town, you have an additional chance for a prize. In the bathroom and along the walls as you exit, there are holders with Hyman's business cards for the taking, and to exit, you are asked to follow the carpets leading to the main floor gift shop where you can buy Hyman's Seafood t-shirts, hats and many other nifty Hyman's souvenirs. The waitress told us that the hats are on special - for $4! And to top it all off, the sign on the wall at Hyman's claims "We get 85% of our business through word of mouth." Sure thing!

Almost every house has some kind of iron work. The more wealthy you were, the more you had.

Wednesday, November 19th: On the way to Beaufort, SC

The engine wouldn't start this morning until Bob had run the generator for a good 5 minutes. So much for the battery theory. Bob has a new idea which he will work on when we anchor near Beaufort today.

There was another bit of excitement this morning. When we emerged from our cabin, there were bits of land peeping out of the water a few feet from our boat - it was low tide. We were fine raising the anchor but as we moved back toward the mouth of the river, the depth sounder suddenly showed 00 and we came to a stop. We were grounded - a "soft" grounding since we were sitting on mud. Bob swung the boom out over the side of the boat - didn't work. Then he tied the full diesel and gas jerry cans to the boom and swung it over again. As we were working away at these solutions, the tide was also rising. Before long, using the motor, Bob was able to work the boat off and we were on our to Beaufort, South Carolina - pronounced - Bewfort, unlike Beaufort, North Carolina which is pronounced as you would expect.