Beaufort, SC, to Charleston, SC

We left Toogoodoo Creek (one of our best anchorages) at 6:30 a.m. on 12 April and headed to Charleston City Marina in downtown Charleston, SC, and arrived there at 10:00 a.m. Once settled, we immediately began washing and cleaning the boat. There was a month's worth of salt and dirt on the boat and we could not wait to get to work on the boat once we got tied up! Later in the evening, we had dinner with Jack and Judy, owners of JJ's ODYSSEY. We met Jack and Judy last spring in Beaufort. They are from Chattanooga and own the 49 foot version of our boat, and it is gorgeous.

We spent Friday and Saturday touring downtown Charleston, visiting Battery Park and walking the streets of historic downtown. We took a carriage tour of Charleston on Friday which turned out not to be one our better tours, unfortunately. The disappointment was not in what we saw but in the tour guide. She was a chatty young girl who spent more time talking about herself and her home in Missouri than talking about Charleston.

Homes in historic downtown are beautiful and almost all of the homes have beautiful gardens.

Late Saturday evening through early Monday morning (14-16 April), we spent rocking and rolling due to high winds and heavy seas. We were glad to be tied to a dock at Charleston City Marina, although there were times we thought we might be better off at anchor somewhere. There were boats that lost their canvas in the high winds. Thankfully, our boat did not sustain any damage. Two sail boats that were anchored out adjacent to the City Marina lost their holding and ran into each other. Other boaters were able to gain control of the boats and towed them to the marina. No injuries, just a couple of damaged boats.

The America’s Great Loop Cruisers' Association Rendezvous began on Monday. We spent the week (16-19 April) at the rendezvous. We made new friends at the rendezvous and it was good to see old friends again and acquaintences we have made over the years while boating. We also got to spend time with friends Paul and Jackie Fish from Knoxville who now live in Charleston. It was good to see them again and to hear about what they have been up to since moving here.

We also spent an afternoon with long time friends, Randy and Margaret Elliott and their granddaughter Lauren, who happened to be vacationing in Charleston. We toured the Patriot Point Naval and Maritime Museum located in Charleston Harbor. This museum is one of the largest museums of its kind in the world. The museum includes the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier, the destroyer USS Laffey known as the Ship that Would Not Die, a Coast Guard cutter, Ingham, and a submarine, Clamagore. On the hangar of the USS Yorktown are planes from the WWII and Korean wars. On the flight deck of the USS Yorktown are aircraft from the Vietnam and Desert Storm wars. Unfortunately, we did not have time to see the Destroyer and the Coast Guard Cutter, but what we did see of the USS Yorktown and the submarine was fascinating. If ever in Charleston, we highly recommend this tour, but plan on an entire day to see it all—it is well worth cost of admission. Guided tours can be arranged at no extra charge or you can go it alone at your own pace.

The rendezvous ended on Thursday, and our plan was to leave early on Friday. However, the high winds and seas returned, so we decided that it would be best if we stayed over in Charleston one more day. We left Charleston City Marina on Saturday, April 21, and anchored at Georgetown, SC, across from the Town Clock. However, the anchorage was full of boats, mainly sailboats, and there wasn’t much anchoring room. Because we were not sure that our anchor was going to hold, the captain did not think it was wise to leave the boat to check out the little town of Georgetown.

After dinner on the boat, we decided to pull up the anchor and head to Butler Island, an anchorage about 5 miles up the ICW. It was a large, beautiful anchorage. Another boat joined us in the anchorage later in the evening. It was a beautiful day for cruising, and we had a quiet, peaceful night at anchor. Next stop is Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach.