We're in North Carolina

Southport is another quaint southern town with lots of pretty old homes. This was one of the newer ones built in 1910. I thought the trim was lovely but I sure wouldn't want to paint it .

Something about this home doesn’t seem to fit; maybe it’s the two satellite TV dishes on the porch roof!

The marina at Southport is a really nice new facility. We got a kick out of this sign on one of the boats there.

Leaving Southport we were on the Cape Fear River and went past Bald Island and Oak Island. There was a rising tide and we didn’t see any depths less than 10 feet, so the Captain was happy; this can be a tricky area with shoaling. We took the Snow’s Cut across Pleasure Island into Myrtle Grove Sound. This picture in Snow’s Cut shows how deeply they had to cut through to make the waterway.

There were a lot of nice homes along Carolina Beach and LOTS of Sunday boat traffic. Everybody seems to be in a really big rush to get somewhere. I say "slow down" and enjoy the scenery!

I think these two boats are about at their maximum capacity for passengers.

Upon arrival at Wrightsville Beach we’d had enough of the traffic and decided to join the large group of boats anchored off the town. There’s a free dinghy dock to tie to, we wanted to get off the boat as it was a bit rocky at anchor with all the little powerboats buzzing around. It looked like spring break all over again at the beach. It doesn't seem that it can be Memorial Day weekend to us, our seasons are very confused this year. We would just be starting our boating season in Wisconsin and we've been living aboard for 8 months already.

These flowers were growing wild on the walk to the beach:

We met people on two sailboats from Appleton here: the Ariel and Another Adventure. They’re heading up to Maine after wintering in the Bahamas.

On Monday we headed back out in the ICW but the traffic wasn’t nearly as bad as on Sunday. We had to open three bridges that only open on the hour. We had to wait a bit for two but hit the Surf City one just right. We were on Stump Sound most of the day; very scenic and wide enough that we could motor-sail. We anchored in Mile Hammock Bay with about ten other sailboats and two trawlers off Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base. There was no going to shore here as it’s a restricted military area. Tied up at the dock was an old looking military transport or landing craft. It had a good sized gun on the bow looking down at us. We were a bit disappointed that we didn’t see any Marines training.

The next day we headed on to the "other Beaufort". We saw this sign along the way but no shots were fired.All for now from the Carteret County Library in Beaufort, NC.

Farewell to South Carolina

After Georgetown we traveled about 22 miles on the Waccamaw River portion of the ICW. We’re not sure what causes it but the water here is the color of tea from the tannins in the cypress trees. You see a lot of boats with discoloration on the bow which Paul calls a “brown mustache”. We went through a lot of natural area and saw many ospreys nesting on the channel markers. This one was not happy to have his space violated! (note: the channel markers on the ICW have either a yellow square or triangle to distinguish them from other channel markers)

After the Waccamaw we were on the part of the ICW known as “The Ditch”, it’s very straight and narrow with no other rivers or creeks flowing into it. This was an odd sight – cable cars crossing the waterway carrying golfers and their clubs to play the holes on the other side of the ICW!

As we got near Myrtle Beach we were back in civilization again, even saw a McDonalds just off the waterway, a marked contrast to what we’d seen earlier in the day.

This is the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club. We thought the lighthouse was pretty impressive.

We got a slip for the night at the Barefoot Resort Yacht Club in North Myrtle Beach. Supposedly they have the largest swimming pool in South Carolina at their resort – too bad it isn’t heated! We had dinner at the Dock Siders Restaurant at the complex. The food and the live music were both enjoyable.

This was our last night in South Carolina. The license plates for the State claim “Smiling Faces and Beautiful Places” and I’d say that’s fairly accurate. We saw a lot more Beneteaus around here than back home (FYI that’s what type of boat we have). Beneteau has a plant in Marion, SC which we toured a couple of years ago. Weather update: average daily temps are mid-80s and mid-60s at night – very pleasant.

Here is the rather exotic looking State Flag of South Carolina. Col. William Moultrie was asked to design a flag for the use of the S.C. troups in the Fall of 1775. He chose a blue background, which matched their uniforms, and a crescent, which was worn as a silver emblem on their caps. The palmetto was added after S.C. seceded from the Union and needed a national flag.

On Saturday we entered North Carolina about mid-morning after crossing the Calabash River. The ICW is very scenic here. There are still marshy areas here and there but it’s mostly woodland. Wildlife sightings: we saw two deer swimming across the ICW and saw dolphin for the first time in quite awhile. We got stuck waiting 45 minutes for a zero clearance pontoon bridge that only opened on the hour – every boat had to wait for that one. There was a light rain most of the day but when it got rather nasty we decided to get a slip at the marina in Southport, North Carolina.

More Historic South Carolina in Georgetown

North of Charleston, the ICW went through a large area of preserved coastline. The large wetland holdings came from the huge rice plantations which flourished before the Civil War. It’s a major refuge for migrating waterfowl and contains about 20 percent of the coastal marshland on the east coast. The places you could anchor along there weren’t too appealing so we went on to Georgetown where you can anchor just off the public dinghy dock. Georgetown is on the Sampit River which is off the Pee Dee River and Winyah Bay; these names are the most obvious legacies left by the Native Americans who lived here.


Georgetown, named after Prince George who later became George II, was founded in 1730 and is the third oldest city in South Carolina. One of the heroes of the area is Francis Marion, also known as the “Swamp Fox”, who used guerrilla warfare and eluded the British during the Revolutionary War by traveling along swamp paths. The character Benjamin Martin in the movie “The Patriot” is loosely based on Marion’s life. Indigo (dyestuff) and rice were major crops and the seaport exported more rice than any port in the world at one time.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! This is us from the town dock, I loved that it was close enough to row Ginger to shore (also public restrooms for humans were nearby). There was a "Don't Feed the Alligators" sign at the dock. We didn't see any but evidently they're plentiful in the rivers and marshes in the area.

We did our own walking tour of the historic district where more than 50 buildings and sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The town did a great job with this 1500 foot Harborwalk. A number of restaurants on Front Street have access to it with outdoor seating.

The William Doyle Morgan House (c. 1880). This one was beautifully restored.



This historic home is now a Bed and Breakfast. I thought the porch looked really inviting.


Here's one of the lovely streets lined with Live Oaks. There was a special sign for a 570-year old Champion Live Oak. They're called that because they're green year-round.


This is Prince George, Winyah, Episcopal Church (c. 1747)



Prince George is one of the few original church buildings still in use in South Carolina dating to the colonial period. The box pews were customary in colonial times. The pews were assigned a number and members owned their pew!


Since there was no heat in the church, pew owners frequently brought charcoal burners from their carriages in cold weather and the pews retained the heat. The "good old days"?



Another inviting porch on a lovely old southern home.

The sign below explains the historic building above.


A "watch cat" sleeping on the job inside a store on Front Street.

This town landmark also houses the Rice Museum (c. 1842). It was originally an open-air market. Surrender papers were signed here in 1865.

That's all for Georgetown, we really enjoyed our two nights anchored here. The only downside was the "pungent" odor from the paper/pulp mill when the wind was right. It was very similar to the air when you're nearing Kaukauna on Hwy. 41 in Northeast Wisconsin (many of you will relate!)

Charleston is Beautiful

Charleston (originally Charles Towne) was founded in 1670 by the British. It was built on a peninsula with the Cooper River and Ashley Rivers flowing around it to form Charleston Harbor. We anchored on the Ashley River just off the Mega Dock of the City Marina for one night and the next day we moved to the Maritime Center on the other side of the peninsula.

Here’s a sunset from the City Marina dinghy dock.


Here’s a view of the city on our way over to the marina. Part of the charm of Charleston is there are no very tall buildings and the church spires are very prominent.

We took a horse-drawn carriage tour which about the only way to see the historic area; no trolleys here. Candace was our driver and this is Richard the Percheron and our carriage. It took old Dick awhile to get in “gear” but he eventually did a fine job for his passengers.


The historic homes are very well cared for and the gardens and flowers are beautiful. The Confederate Jasmine and Magnolia trees were in bloom and smelled wonderful.

Here are a few of the scenes of Charleston:

A replica of the tall ship, La Amistad, was docked at our marina, as a stop on its’ America’s Atlantic Freedom Tour. It was a slave ship made famous by book and movie. There was an area set up at the marina with storyboards and displays for school groups tours.

You would need much more time than we had to see the area. A ferryboat can take you out to tour Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The Fort is famous for being the site of the official start of the Civil War, or, as it’s referred to in the South, “The War of Northern Aggression”. The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina founded in 1842, is located northwest of Charleston. We stayed an extra night in Charleston as the storm you can see in the above picture was predicted. There was hail and damaging winds in neighboring counties but only rain where we were. The other tall ship there for the Harborfest was "Spirit of South Carolina".

All for now from the Restless Wind currently at anchor off Georgetown, SC.

The Low Country

After leaving Beaufort, we enjoyed one of our all time most calm nights at anchor. We were in Steamboat Creek off the N. Edisto River on the ICW. For once there was zero wind and the nearly full moon shining on the water added to the ambiance. There was a boat landing so I (Em) decided to try out the oars and rowed Ginger to shore. Going over was a snap but returning was a bit of a challenge with the tidal current, it probably took four times as long!

One of the lovely homes on the Beaufort River part of the ICW north of Beaufort.

Low Country View: This boat really isn’t aground. This part of the ICW is just very flat and winding and you see some strange sights.

A view of the Low Country from Steamboat Creek. They call this part of the country the "Coastal Empire" on the local news.



This was the sunset in Steamboat Creek; this sailboat was from St. Louis, MO. You can see smoke coming from a fire on shore that we'd seen all afternoon.

We left mid-morning heading for Charleston.

Savannah, GA and Beaufort, SC

We were in Thunderbolt, GA waiting for our alternator to be repaired until Thursday the 15th. May is starting off to be an expensive month too! Here’s one of the yachts in the boatyard, “Kisses”. I wondered if the owners were some of the Hershey family.

Paul heard one owner’s bill is currently at two million dollars; hard to imagine, isn’t it? Evidently it was in a horrendous storm in the Atlantic and has been in for repairs since last fall. The owners of these yachts are rarely onboard but their crews were certainly busy keeping them squeaky clean just in case they ever showed up.

We did get to spend a day in Savannah, known as the birthplace of Georgia. General James Ogelthorpe founded the colony of Georgia in 1733 when he landed on the Savannah River bluff 18 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. There are over 1,000 historic buildings restored and in use in the 2-square mile historic district. The city was spared being burned as Gen. Sherman had his headquarters here. We took the 90-min. tour on an open-air trolley, shopped a bit, had lunch at The Cotton Exchange at the riverfront and Em finally got her birthday treat (a huge brownie sundae) at Leopold’s, famous for ice cream since 1919. Filming on some famous movies was done here, among them: "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"; "The Legend of Bagger Vance" and "Forrest Gump". Here are a few of the sights:



These green areas are called squares, not parks. The city was laid out on a grid system and there are still 21 of the lovely squares in use. The trees are Live Oaks and what we call spanish moss hanging from them is neither spanish nor moss but air plants.



This is Whitfield Square, named after George Whitefield, an English clergyman who ministered to the city's earliest colonists. The gazebo is a popular spot for weddings.


This is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. We toured the inside, the stained glass windows are incredibly beautiful. Another interesting thing about Savannah is it is known as the most haunted city in America as a result of the large number of violent and untimely deaths.

Paula Deen has a restaurant and retail store here called The Lady and Sons. Evidently it's hugely popular and you make your reservations for dinner at 9:30 AM. We went past it on our tour and could see the piles of fried chicken at the buffet table through the windows but thought we'd keep our arteries clear and take a pass!

We traveled the ICW through more of the Low Country, though it didn’t look quite so low and marshy with more trees on shore. We were in the Sea Islands of South Carolina after crossing the Savannah River. We were able to sail quite a bit of the day with southerly winds.

This is a view of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

We went past the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island where Marines have been trained since 1915 (no not the same ones). I got a kick out of the 1 800 MARINES on the water tower. After sailing through Port Royal Sound we decided to get a slip at Port Royal Marina, just south of Beaufort, SC. This is the one pronounced BEWFORT, not to be confused with Beaufort, NC pronounced BOWFORT. I think we finally have that straight! We have never bobbed around so much tied up to a dock; the winds were crazy! There were several things to be excited about: free wifi and cable tv AND a courtesy pick-up truck! We haven’t seen that in a very long time. Since it was supposed to storm the next day, we decided to stay two nights. Dockage fees are getting better, $1.50 per foot but now there are charges for pump-outs whereas in Florida it was usually free. We think Florida receives federal funding to help with the costs as part of an environmental program. Whatever the reason, it was much appreciated.

Beaufort is supposed to have all the history and charm of Savannah and Charleston without the traffic. There are a lot of art galleries, shops and eateries in the historic district. A lot of the historic homes along the river are now bed and breakfasts. Here are a few of the sights of Beaufort:
Here's a "swinger" at the riverfront. I thought these swings were a great idea.

We've seen holly bushes before but these had the red berries. It sure doesn't feel like Christmas! Next destination, Charleston, SC.