Day 206: North to Waccamaw River

Day 206: May 8: After a night of disrupted sleep we rose to a stunning sunrise in Sandy Bay. The sailboat that had anchored next to us left early but we beat the power catamaran that had also anchored in the same area. As we passed by we noticed the boat was from Marshfield, MA and of course had to shout out to the captain onboard who said he was planning on putting miles behind him so would be passing us!

Still on the Stono River, we cruised through Elliott Cut. The tidal current between Stono River and the Ashely River can reach 4 knots in Elliott Cut inspiring small sailboats to wait for slack water rather than try to proceed against a strong current, which flows on the ebb. Short but lovely, the pass is lined with stately homes as well as small bungalows tucked inside a canopy of moss covered trees. 

We approached the busy Charleston Harbor, choosing to not veer off the main channel and wait for the bascule bridge. We did enjoy the view of the Battery as we cruised by. John was also happy to see Fort Sumter. I snapped a picture of a shrimp boat passing by the fort; fully decked out with its nets spread wide.

We had been told that due to dredging we would have to take a detour around the Isle of Palms. Luckily the dredging operation had moved when we arrived so we had no issue staying in the channel. A row of condos were off to the port with numerous large sport fishing boats all lined up. Guess it's a fishing town!

We traveled through some stretches with extremely low tides once again. Matthews Cut was particularly shallow; we could see the flats along the narrow channel. "Stella", the sailboat we passed a few days ago after she backed down out of a shallow spot and anchored to await high tide, actually grounded along this section. Drawing 6' I imagine the ICW can cause her some difficulties. She had another long wait! We were able to proceed, although cautiously. At one point we passed an oncoming vessel who shouted out we had some pretty thin water ahead. In turn, we alerted him he had the same to contend with as he made his way to Charleston. 

The banks of the channel were lined with what appeared to be fields of wheat on one side and tall grasses on the other. Sparkling in the sun, the brush took on a purple hue, creating an illusion of heather. A lone house stood guard along the edge reminding me of the Cape's outermost house owned by Henry Beston. The small cottage stood on one of the most easternmost points of land at the end of Nauset Spit. The. house was eventually washed away in 1978. 

Low tide along the flats did have its benefits. We finally saw some alligators; 9 in fact. Their bumpy backs and heads give them away as they silently skim along the water. 

Another first was passing through the Tom Yawkey Bridge, a pontoon bridge that serves the Yawkey Wildlife Center. The center includes more than 24,000 acres of marshes, wetlands, forests and beaches and is home to hundreds of species of wildlife. Tom Yawkey, longtime owner of the Boston Red Sox was also one of the largest land donors to the state of South Carolina. His gift of 20,000 acres of land, one of the largest donations to wildlife conservation in the United States history, was the foundation for the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center. Yawkey and his wife Jean spent winters in South Carolina and developed a fondness for wildlife and the SC community, choosing to donate all of their land to the South Carolina Department of Natural Ressources upon Tom's passing. 

Shortly after the alligator sightings we crossed over the South Santee River and continued on to the Waccamaw River where we cruised along a cypress lined inlet to an anchorage called Schooner Creek. There was only other boat anchored in this very tranquil spot! Being this far off the river, the current did not pose a problem. Another day in paradise.