St. Johns Yacht Harbor to South Santee River, SC

Saturday, 23 May 2015

We left SJYH in the morning after we'd pumped out, timing our departure to give us ample tide in a shallow spot on the other side of Charleston Harbor. 

Somehow, Memorial Day sort of snuck up on me this year.  It just seems like it ought to always fall on the 30th.  Does this date me?  (It was the 30th until 1968!)  It did not however sneak up on thousands of boaters in the Charleston area, who hit the waters in force on Saturday, for the Memorial Day holiday kick-off.

It was breezy and, by Keys standards, cold as we went back through Elliot Cut, and crossed Charleston Harbor.  We took photos of the historic district that we had walked through.

There appeared to be sailing races going on towards the big bridge, which kept us from taking a longer cruise further up the river.

 

We cruised by Fort Sumpter, the Confederate area fortress that is still maintained by the National Park Service.  It was choppy enough that there was a reasonable amount of boaters in the less protected waters.

Then we got back into the protected waters of the AICW.  Photos can not do it justice!  Pretty quickly, four bigger boats fell in line together.  A 75' sport fisherman, a 45' trawler, a 100' yacht, and us.  We all travelled at a similar no wake speed.  Then there were hundreds of smaller outboards, who idle much slower than us in idle zones, and zoom around us in between the no wake zones.  What a zoo!  The sport fisherman called back (on VHF) and said he couldn't take it, and he was turning around, which he did.  The trawler took an early anchorage, and the yacht went to a local beach hang-out.

We cruised down between Bull Island and Capers island, and in spite of the hundred or so boats around the beach, though we might anchor in a nearby creek, where a few fishermen were trying their luck.  I anchored once and pulled up oysters, and wasn't happy when I dropped the hook again, either.  There are three mooring balls in the main channel.  I don't know who they belong to, but, when I tried to grab one, the line was so heavy and overgrown with grass that I couldn't pick it up.  I  decided that this is a place that I want to return for sure!  But, I didn't want to anchor where drinking boaters would be passing me later in the day.

So we continued on northward, and the boats quickly thinned out.  The boaters changed from people in swimsuits and ice chests full of beer, to fishermen and pontoon boats, clad in folks in jackets.  We were regulating the temperature inside the boat by opening and closing doors and windows.  I had on long pants and a t-shirt, and Ellen was pulling a sweat shirt on and off.  

We also checked out Harbor River inlet, but the 17-18kts wind against the current would have made for a sloppy anchorage.  

These houses at McClellanville all had their flags out... American, South Carolina, Confederate, Citadel, USMC, and many more.

We decided to continue to the South Santee River, so we could go to Georgetown in the morning.  We found a nice anchorage, with a breeze, but little chop to the north N33 09.258' W079 21.123'  We grilled hot Cajun sausage with potato buns and onions.  So we had our Memorial Day picnic, too.