Beaufort, SC

            We left Charleston along with a parade of about a dozen other boats, but we scooted under the Ben Sawyer bridge while most of them had to wait almost an hour for the next opening.  We listened to them chatter about who would follow whom and who was passing whom for much of the day.  It was cold but sunny, and our cruise was fairly uneventful.  We stopped for the night in Rock Creek, just off the ICW, which would make it an easy run to Beaufort in the morning. 

Seven years ago when we did this same adventure, we met some wonderful folks - Nancy and Perry Duke - cruises who live in Beaufort, and we’ve stayed friends ever since.  I let them know we were coming, and they responded oh yes they knew, they were expecting us, and did we want to come over for dinner?  Of course we did!  

        We got to Beaufort in the mid afternoon, after a short detour to Morgan Island, aka Monkey Island, where the US keeps a colony of rhesus monkeys for study.  Alas, big signs telling everyone to stay off the island, but no monkeys were seen or heard.  We anchored outside the mooring field next to one Beaufort’s free docks.  On a mooring nearby was s/v Calista, with Giles and Annick, whom we’d also met seven years ago, and they came right over to greet us.  They are also going to the Bahamas and we will probably see them again along the way and in the Bahamas as well.  

Morgan Island - NO TRESPASSING!

Peases and Dukes

    We went into town for a walk before meeting up with our friends Nancy and Perry.  Beaufort is such a pretty little town, with the Spanish moss draping the live oaks and the saw palmettos.  We were even treated to a rainbow. 

The Dukes put on quite a spread of fried shrimp and grilled chicken and side dishes, and graciously offered the use of their washing machine as well.  We had a wonderful time catching up with them.  Since we last met we have both traded in our Willards for trawlers.  In the morning we brought the Willie Dawes to the dock for the Dukes to have a tour and then they drove us to their marina to tour their Grand Banks Vero.  We hope to cross paths with them in the spring when they will be out cruising.  

Wednesday (Nov 23) we bid goodbye to the Dukes and to Beaufort to continue our way.  We stopped short of crossing the border, spending one last night in South Carolina in Wright Creek, within sight of the night life of Savannah, Georgia.

Today it’s Thanksgiving.  We had considered going to Savannah, but given the holiday, we figured nothing would be open so we crossed the Savannah River and meandered into Georgia for a few miles, making it a short travel day.  The highlight of our two and a half hours on the water was watching the dolphins cavorting in the wake of a container ship headed up to Savannah.  

Wake jumping!

We are in Turner Creek, looking forward to our own quiet Thanksgiving - turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, and squash - and some phone calls home to connect with our sons.  Happy Thanksgiving!!!  May your day be blessed with family, friends, food, and music.  

Rainbow in Beaufort, SC