Moon River

Yesterday we passed by Moon River.  Yeah, that's the one Andy Williams sang about.  If I coulda anchored there I would have, but the entrance is silted up and impassable.  That darn song danced around in my head all day yesterday!  And again today!  Maybe now that I said this it will be outta my head and into yours! :-)

Anyway, I did sing it to my sweetheart.  It wasn't the most memorable of moments, but I tried my best.  Here are the lyrics for you:

Moon River, wider than a mile, 

I'm crossing you in style some day

Oh, dream maker you heart breaker

Wherever you're going, I'm going your way

Two drifters, off to see the world

there's such a lot of world to see

We're after the same rainbows end, waiting, round the bend

My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me

On another note, Joanna and I are sitting here at anchor watching a family of wild boar walk the beach.  Pretty cool.  Guess I'll cancel the beach walk for this evening.   Then again...I do have my shotgun!

Closing in on Charleston!

We are hoping to get to Charleston tomorrow before the weather starts to turn.  That is why we pushed out another 62 miles today.  We need to get in position for Elliot's Cut. This cut is right before Charleston and is known for its swift and dangerous currents.  When we came south for the first time in 2006 as ICW rookies, I lost a lot of sleep worrying about Elliot's Cut. It turned out to be easy at slck water, but last winter I mistimed it and it was a white knuckle experience.  Hopefully not tomorrow, because we plan to get there around 11:30 and slack water! :-)  

During the passage in '06 we were making headway in the cut at about 1 mph.  Some guy sitting in a lawn chair on the bank got to watch us take what felt like 10 minutes to get by him.

Our anchorage is a little breezy right now and the tide is ripping through here.  Took extra time setting the anchor so hopefully we will be snug...time will tell. 

Have to do an engine inspection this evening, so i need to get going.  Busy...busy...busy!

Overall things are going very well!  

My dashboard

I navigate with an ipad

Bull Creek

We passed through Savannah today but did not stop as we are anxious to get to Charleston and we have seen Savannah.  We like Charleston better. In fact, it is our favorite east coast city. (Although New Bern is pretty good, too.)

We went through an area known as Fields Cut today.  Just as we approached it a big barge tug got in front of us. Normally that would be a downer, chugging along behind a slow barge and tug. But did I tell you it was Field's Cut? 

I was quite content to follow him with low tide approaching and a notoriously shallow stretch of the ditch. Right away I figure this guy has local knowledge and all I need to do is follow him safely through...NOT!

The cut is about 3 miles long. Most of the way my depth sounder was reading 5 ft. Did I tell you we draw 4.5? Gulp!

We got about 3/4 of the way through when the barge suddenly stopped. Uh-oh! Now what do I do? Then he starts to try and back up. So I call him on the radio and he does not answer. Great! I am forced to move left...Great, now I am stuck. But wait! I am suddenly unstuck! Now if I can just get by that floating crab pot without getting my prop fouled....Yes!  When last I saw the tug and barge he was still stuck. Several more hours waiting for tide to go up.

Hohum...just another days work! 

This is the 3rd time we have anchored here in Bull Creek. Very nice and well protected.

Wahlburg

We really liked this anchorage. Remote and quiet. Adjoining st. Catherine's Island is run by the NY Zoological Society which breeds endangered animals. Saw many roosting birds and this morning the woods were alive with animal sounds.

Sweet! Wahlburg Creek

Things that "Just aren't happening" on this trip

1. Any radio announcement by the Coast Guard that we can actually understand (not garbled and spoken a mile a minute)

2. Joanna gets a nice camera shot of several Dolphins breaking the surface.  (Lord knows she has tried)

3. Consistently good weather.  (What we had last year coming down)

4. Snow!  Hey, that's a good thing!

5. Finding the misplaced yarn for Evie's Christmas stocking.

6. Fishing off the back of the boat! (Too old...too busy)

7. The "Steve Factor" not rearing it's ugly head at least once a week. (Think: Steve "fixes" something, which results in a new problem.)

8. A trip without a time deadline 

9. Good wifi!

That's all so far!