The best news is that it's warm and we're wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts!
Slipped Ebb Tide II into reverse at 9:12AM, leaving Georgetown in light rain. Seas were calm with light winds. The ICW to Charleston is mainly land cuts, rather than open water passages. At 9:30 we entered the five mile-long Easterville/Minim Canal. It is too narrow for passing, so we followed a delivery captain in a Marlow72 and a vintage Mainship36 at 8 knots. Nearly an hour later, we were able to pass safely and continued southward. In a 28 mile-long cut, we passed a 50' ketch hard aground and laying on its side - scary. Had some "skinny water" patches too, but no problems.
After nearly a week on the ICW, we're seeing some of the same boats daily. In the past few moorages, these sails and trawlers leave at first light, chugging southward. We leave a few hours later, pass them enroute, moor and then see them arrive hours later. The process repeats itself daily.
Thirty knots of wind made Charleston's open-water approach past Fort Sumpter a bit bumpy, but we moored safely in Charleston's City Marina around 2:00 PM. Cable TV and WiFi are running. It's still windy, but the temperature is 73 degrees. We'll stay here for three nights and explore Charleston during the next two days. Kathy's priority for today is to wash the laundry. I washed the boat.
Ebb Tide II underway
