May 25th (Memorial Day) and 26th- Factory Creek SC to Steamboat Creek SC
We spent 6 days in Factory Creek (Beaufort, SC). Lady’s Island Marina is a great place to hang out for a while. We used the loaner car to restock Catalpa. We were able to find hand sanitizer for the first time. Three different boats showed up whose crews we had met at various points during our trip. Oliver had a great time as it’s a very dog friendly place. He even stopped chasing the cats (sort of).
Rainbow over Factory Creek.
I’m sure Lynne is going to turn this one into a watercolor.
The weather for the week looked questionable so we decided we’d either get a slip or get going. You’d think we would have gotten a slip. Nope.
Yesterday was work getting to Steamboat Creek. Most of the day was spent battling wind and current.
Eventually we got to a portion of the ICW where the wind wasn’t directly on the nose. I was able to raise the sail and make up some of our lost time. We pulled into Steamboat around 6:00 with four other boats in the anchorage. All had passed us during the day.
Deja vu. Last time we were in Steamboat we had bad weather and this time looks like the same. We woke to rain today (Tuesday) and decided to stay anchored in the creek. The forecast for tomorrow is looking worse. One forecast is for thunderstorms, gusty winds, and 3 inches of rain. I think there was even a mention of water spouts on the ocean. Another weather app, I check, has the day with less drama. We’re going to stay anchored here for tomorrow also. We’ve got our big 35lb Vulcan anchor down with a bunch of chain and rope out. I moved our smaller danforth anchor up to the bow so I can deploy it if necessary. Probably overkill but it’s better to be prepared. We actually have a third heavy anchor and gear. That’ll stay in the bilge. Steamboat Creek is not that far from Charleston. Charleston has a big harbor and is much more exposed to the wind. We think this is a better spot to sit out a storm.
The most difficult part of a stormy day is getting Ollie to shore. Steamboat has a good dock to tie the dinghy at. When it’s not raining we walk up the dirt road a bit. There are a few houses distant but the area is mostly marsh and secluded. Verizon coverage is good.
Our dock for shore runs.
Steamboat Creek, looking toward where it connects to the North Edisto River.
The paint on our dinghy looks sandblasted. She needs some TLC.
Two of our neighbors left. These two big trawlers stayed.
Night shot of Catalpa with deck light on.
