Evergreen is currently docked at Southport NC. We are waiting out some bad weather and getting some needed rest.
May 11th and 12th- Isle of Hope/ Savannah GA to Beaufort SC
After leaving Savannah we traveled further north along the ICW to Beaufort. Port Royal Sound was a little rough when we crossed. We then headed up the river, passed Paris Island, and grabbed a mooring at the downtown Beaufort marina.
Our flotilla decided to spend an extra day in Beaufort. We did some shopping during the day and met up for dinner at Luther’s. Tomato pie, Nocellara olive oil, and Gumbo Sauce, were some of the culinary treasures we acquired in town.
Brought Ollie to town for a walk just before departure. All is quiet at dawn.
Evergreen moored at Beaufort, South Carolina
May 13th- Beaufort SC to Steamboat Creek/ Edisto Island SC
Today was a mixture of rivers, creeks, and canals. Our trio of boats split for the night. We decided to anchor on Steamboat Creek due to the convienient access to a boat ramp and dock. Rhiannon and Autumn Bourne pushed on a little further to another anchorage. We were the only boat anchored on Steamboat for the night.
Steamboat Ollie. The little white dot in the background is Evergreen.
May 14th- Steamboat Creek to Awendaw Creek SC
We were up before sunrise and off the anchor by 6:30 am. Ollie’s morning commando raid was in the dark. Our plan was to catch up with the flotilla who were another 10 miles up the ICW. We all needed to time our passage through Watts Cut, near Charleston, with slack tide. It was a long, busy, day for us. We caught up with them around 8:30am after fighting current all morning.
May 15th- Awendaw Creek to Thoroughfare Creek SC
We had a peaceful night at Awendaw Creek. The morning brought some wind and current issues. Getting the dinghy on deck and pulling the anchor was a workout. We passed the shallows around McClellanville. As usual, there was a boat stuck there. Next on to Winyah Bay. Georgetown is the usual stop for us but we decided to press on with a favorable current up the Waccamaw River.
We ended the day and anchored on Thorofare Creek. We hadn’t been there before but Autumn Bourne had stopped there and assured us it was a good spot to let Ollie get some exercise. It’s in the jungle off the Waccamaw River but the Creek has a large sand dune left over from an earlier age when this was ocean front property. The anchorage was deep and it is very scenic. We’ll stop here again.
The dune.
Happy Oliver.
Rhiannon and Autumn Bourne
Evergreen
Evergreen anchored on Thorofare Creek.
Sunset.
May 16th- Thorofare Creek SC to Bird Island NC
We were underway by 7:45 and back on the Waccamaw soon after. Ollie enjoyed his shore leave. The “Dune” is actually a park with trails to explore.
Sunrise.
Once out of the Waccamaw we were back in the big ditch. Most of the rest of the day was through a long, straight canal with varying levels of boat traffic. Rhiannon split off in Myrtle Beach to visit with family for a few days. We agreed we’d meet up in the near future. Evergreen and Autumn Bourne continued on.
We crossed into North Carolina. Autumn Bourne picked our anchorage for the night at Bird Island. It is a protected spot and the Island is a barrier beach. The only reason we haven’t stopped here before is because we know of at least two other boats that have grounded out going to the anchorage. Autumn Bourne knew the route in and we followed closely behind. The trick is lining up the G7 green marker off the stern and the big white water tower off the bow. Stay on the line, and you are in.
Some scenes from Bird Island. Ollie cleared all birds.
Autumn Bourne anchored.
Evergreen in the background.
May 17th- Bird Island to Southport NC
There is a lot of current running around Bird Island due to the five foot tides. We timed our departure with slack tide to make anchor retrieval easier.
Autumn Bourne had plans to dock in Southport for a day to visit with friends. Since we needed a rest, Evergreen decided to also get a dock. While in transit we learned the weather wasn’t going to be good for a couple of days. All boats extended our marina stays until Saturday to wait for the weather to clear out.
We ended the day at South Harbor Village Marina. The actual docking went well and the dock hands were very helpful.
May 18th- Southport NC
Today, we slept late and had eggs and bacon for breakfast. There is a park right up the road and Ollie has gotten some ball and frisbee exercise when it’s not raining. Eventually, I motivated myself to get Evergreen filled up with diesel fuel. Lynne’s getting a load of laundry done. The rain has mostly kept us around Evergreen. It’s been a relaxing day. Oh yeah, I was able to get caught up on this blog. Tonight we plan on eating at Joe’s Italian Bistro which is right near the dock.
Evergreen docked at Southport NC.
