Boat Guests

The week-end of May 14 we were able to have our daughter and son-in-law (Angie and Matt)  join us for the first time on the hook at one of our favorite places, Price Inlet.

We left the marina early (7am) Saturday morning to work with the tides and get through the Ben Sawyer Bridge at high tide.  This area of Ben Sawyer Bridge and Breach Inlet on the ICW has become known as the worst spot on the entire ICW for not being deep enough for sails boats to pass through.

 

 

 

Once we got to Price Inlet and anchored, we got the dinghy (plus 1) ready to go and made a trip to Bull Island for some serious shell hunting.  Angie and Matt felt like they were on a Easter Egg hunt, every place they looked they found a shell more perfect than the last one they just picked up.  By the time we decided to head back to the boat they had a bag full.

 

 

 

While Angie was washing her shells it was " Sloppy House Wife" time for the rest of.  Nothing like a nice cold rum drink after a long warm day on the water and beach.

 

So of course Walter and I were being show offs and planned a yummy dinner.  We wanted the kids to know that you don't have to do with out.  Time for dinner consisted of marinated boneless chicken thighs, oriental cabbage salad, French bread and red wine.  Then to top off the evening Key Lime pie!

 

 

 

It was a great day even got the sunset to cooperate!

 

 

 

I don't think I mentioned that this was the first week-end of the summer with temperatures in the mid 90's, we were very thankful that there was a 15 knot wind all night.  Angie and Matt were good to go in the v-berth with a wind sock providing a breeze all night.  Walter and I on the other hand had to rely on a 12volt fan for some relief.

 

Walter and I did our normal routine and set our alarm to wake us up for the tide change which happened about midnight with no worries.  The kids didn't even know that we were up and walking about top side, I guess they were sleeping well their first night on the boat.

 

Morning came with everyone up early to see the sunrise except Walter until the coffee got to brewing and the laughter and chatter began, then he had no choice :-)

 

This trip was only one overnight and we were going to have to time our trip back down the ICW with the tides again.  We did not have to pull anchor until 1pm,  this gave us another chance to head to the beach for some more fun. 

 

More shell hunting, and playful time in the sand and water.

 

 

 

 

 





 What a great first for us with the kids.  I am sure there will be more in the future.

We Are Back At It!

First overnight of the season.  It has been a long winter and a very wet spring but now we are ready to get some sailing in and some overnight anchoring.  With a trip down the ICW this month (June) we joined our friends from the Cruising Club of Charleston at Sandy Beach for an awesome happy hour filled with plenty of sunshine.  As the evening came to a close we anchored in Bass Creek with 9 other boats.


It was a great week-end.  If I didn't know any better I would say that Walter and I are getting the hang of this.

Spring Is Finally Here

It was a long winter this year, even for those of us that live in South Carolina.  Every week-end since Spring was supposed to of arrived the weather has been cold or cold and damp or cold damp and very windy, none of these make for a great day on the water.

Walter and I decided to make plans for a 3 day week-end and go anchor some where no matter what the weather was, he was just jonesing for an adventure.  We decided to go back to Price Creek (our nemesis) to give it another go. 

Side note: You will never guest what Walter got for Valentines Day, you guessed it a shiny black sentinel, new stainless steel carabiner and colorful  anchor line.  I meant it in the last entry when I said that we would never anchor again without a sentinel, our guardian.

We supplied the boat and readied her for a long week-end.  We set sail from the marina Saturday about 10:30am headed for the ICW passing Sullivan's Island, IOP and Dewees Island until we hit marker 86 to make a right turn into Price Creek.  After the turn we headed back to the exact spot we anchored last time a smaller creek just off of Price Creek.  Once we got there we did a few turns getting a feel for the best spot then decided to head back out to the main part of Price Creek and go further down toward the inlet.  There it was the perfect spot, deep water and great view of Bulls Island on one side and Capers Island on the other, to include plenty of swing room, HURRY we have arrived!

It was about 3:30pm when we dropped the anchor.  We took our time getting settled in making sure that our sentinel was doing its job and we were anchored well, after a while it appeared that we were set for the week-end.  So you know what that means, time for a sloppy house wife and a fishing pole.

 



Price Creek has a lot of boating activity, people fishing, tubing and doing some beach time so we had a lot to watch and keep us entertained.  Walter did not catch any fish, so good thing we brought some steaks and veggies to put on the grill.  It was a great first day!

Once it got time to call it a night we set the alarm for the next 2 tide changes just to make sure we were awake to watch the boat move and make sure the sentinel was doing its job (we were still a little nervous about getting the anchor line wrapped around the keel)

 





We woke up to a fantastic morning (no anchor problems during the night)  and enjoyed coffee and breakfast in the cockpit.  We never put "plus 1" in the water so we started the process of getting her off the deck into the water and mounted the outboard so we could make a trip to Bulls Island.

Bulls Island is beautiful, you can only get to it by boat.  There were a few people on the closest shore to Price Creek.  So we motored the dinghy to the same spot, anchored the dingy and then took off down the beach with our net bag for shell hunting and a camera.

Not sure how far we walked but it was far enough to fill up my shell bag and feel as if we were the only people in the world.

Walter and I decided it was time to head back to the boat to relax the rest of the afternoon.  We rinsed our new treasures (shells) took showers and you guessed it, made a few sloppy house wife's.

Walter tried putting the fishing pole back in the water but no luck, not a single bite.  Marinated chicken on the grill was the next option along with some salad, fench bread and a nice glass of Chardonnay.

 

 



Once dinner was done we settled in to watch another great day come to an end, but not before Walter enjoyed some chocolate chip cookies I baked earlier in the day.

 

 

 

Finally it was time to turn in for the night, we set our alarm (again) to make sure we were  awake in time for the late night tide change. 

 

Monday morning came without any mishaps or problems.  It was another beautiful day, not a soul on the water but us.  All the boats heading for a fishing spot or the beach were nowhere to been seen.  We took our time drinking coffee and eating breakfast, we did not want the week-end to come to an end to quickly.

 

We had a slight schedule to keep with our return home, one was not  motoring through the Ben Sawyer bridge at low tide.  So we got organized brought plus 1 back on the deck, locked down all the hatches pulled anchor and we were off.

 

The trip down the ICW was very nice, a little windy, but still enjoyable until we realized that

the Ben Sawyer Bridge did not open between 4-6pm due to afternoon traffic, we were going to have to push up our speed to get to the bridge for the 3pm opening. This also meant that

we were heading for the Ben Sawyer smack in the middle of low tide (cringe).

 

As feared we arrived at the IOP and started to watch the water depths start to go down, but not scary down.  About a mile from the Ben Sawyer, Walter started to call out the water depth, I guess to prepare me for if or when we ran aground.  He called 1.8 ft below the keel, then 1.6, 1.2 it was nerve racking.  I think we bounced once but the gods must of been looking out for us. We slowly passed another sailboat with his captain tossing his arms in the air that was sitting in the mud waiting for high tide.  We called the Bridge to request our 3pm opening and was told that the bridge opens on demand during the week and we could of gotten a opening any time before 4pm.  Figures we put ourselves through all that stress for nothing if we could of delayed our arrival by just a little bit.

 

4 Ever & A Day is now through the bridge and in deeper water and her crew (Walter and I) are doing a series of high fives with big smiles on our faces.  The rest of the trip home would be to the harbor and then the marina, should be a breeze!

 

At least we thought so.

 

As we were leaving the ICW and entering the harbor, Walter got a little distracted.  We were just a bit to far from the red marker (that was missing and a temporary one floating in the water in its place that was hard to see) that would keep us in deep water and a little to close to the shallows the direction of Shem Creek. You guessed it, we hit bottom.  Amazing that less than 50 feet away was water deep enough for a container ship and we could not get there, we were stuck.

 

With Walters quick thinking he had the anchor out holding our position so we did not dig deeper into the mud or further in to the shallows.  Me on the other hand was having a small panic attack that I was trying to not show.  The wind was howling and the waves were crashing up against the side of the boat but as Walter pointed out to me later on, we were in water that I could stand in so what was there to worried about.

 

After some time passed and Walters concern that we might be doing some damage to the keel he decided to call Sea Tow.  They were going to be approx. 35 minutes before they got to us, apparently they were having a busy day.  In 35 minutes we might have enough water under the keel to kick the engine into gear and be on our way.  That is exactly what happened.  The waves helped rock us and enough water came into the harbor that we were free and in deep water.

 

We added a new experience and lessons learned as we seem to do a lot, it must just be our way. 

 

After motoring safely back to the marina, we were asked how our 3 days on the hook went. We told everyone that is was a fantastic time, because it really was.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sentinel (definition: a soldier or guard whose job is to stand and keep watch)

The word for our latest adventure is "Sentinel"

Columbus Day week-end we made plans to find a new spot to anchor for a long relaxing week-end, knowing that our sunny warm days were coming to an end soon.  We had heard folks talked about "Price Creek" so we looked it up on active captain and made that our destination.  That Saturday we prepped the boat with wonderful food to cook, plenty of beverages to drink and anything else we could think of to make our week-end complete. 

There was not much wind in the harbor so we motored all the way to the entrance of the ICW

 There is always seems to be a lot to look at once you enter the ICW.

 

 



Then under the Ben Sawyer Bridge

 

I can't remember what the name of a boat that passed us but I swear it looked like a floating condominium it was so big, the picture does not do it justice.
 

 

It only took us a few hours and we were at our destination, Price Creek.  It was a great location we were only minutes from Bull Island and Capers Island by dinghy (good thing we brought plus 1 with us)  So we went through the drill, dropped anchor, got "plus1" prepped and put the engine on her.

 

 

A great start to a long week-end.  The sun was setting a bit so be fixed our signature rum drinks and had a few snacks while we enjoyed the sunset

 

 

Then fixed a little dinner and took the best picture of the day!

 

 

Morning came with no problems during the night we got up to checked the anchor a few times but it was holding well.

 

Walter and I had talked about bring fishing poles once we got our fishing licences. We are now legal so Walter rigged two poles to bring on this trip.  We were not sure what, if anything we would catch, but thought it would be great to give it a try.  Presto, we each caught a fish, to small to keep but very exciting to catch.

 

 

 

We both could not wait to go dinghy over to Bull Island, we read that it is the biggest uninhabited island on the East Coast, hard to believe.  What fun, I found the best seashells I have ever seen and also found my first whole sand dollar

 

After a few hours we took the dingy to the other side of the inlet to Capers Island.  Not as many shells, it  was clear that the tides really influences the two beaches in different ways

 

 

We had enough adventuring for the day and wanted to head back to the boat before sunset.  I was also making dinner in the pressure cooker that night and needed enough time for prep and cooking.

 

On our way back to the boat we came around a small bend in the creek before we got to the boat when we noticed that it had moved (a lot) to the other side of the creek but not off enough to make us panic that the anchor had dragged (we had a lot of line out, the water was fairly deep) so we boarded, unpacked our gear, poured our famous rum drink and decided to play a friendly game of scrabble.  It had been some time since Walter had played scrabble so I was reading a few of the instructions to get him up to speed again.  While reading I looked up and we suddenly were on the completely other side of the creek.  Walter's head snapped up so fast to look after I made the observation about how we moved. 

 

Walter jumped to his feet to check the anchor and in a fleeting moment the anchor line was under the boat not just under the boat, under so tight that he feared that it had wrapped around the keel and we were dragging.  So we went into controlled panic mode that is if there is such a thing. 

 

Trying to recall all that happened is a little blurred, but I think I can remember all the highlights. As we were drifting into the weeds, Walter jumped in the dinghy asking me to get him the spare anchor out of the locker. Of course it was like wrestling a octopus trying to get it out without break something on me or the boat.  I got it to Walter as quickly as I could.  His plan was to drop and set the back up anchor in hopes that it would stop the boat from drifting any further so we could figure out for sure what happened and also from spending the night in the weeds while waiting for towboat US.

 

Still things are a blurr but in a hours time, somehow we figured out where the anchor really was.  Walter was able to get a tiny bit of slack in the anchor line allowing me to untie the line from the boat pull the end underneath the hull of the boat and get it completely clear of the keel.  Walter gave me back the loose end, I tied it off and started to bring the line and anchor in with the windless until it was all back on board.  Mind you were are still anchored with the spare anchor but still to close to the weeds and shallow water for any sort of comfort.  By this time Walter was getting really skilled at using the dinghy as a tug and was able to maneuver us out of the weeds so I could start the engine and put the boat into gear and move to a safer place.

 

We got Walter back on board and tied up the dinghy so he could  move the boat just a bit off from where we originally anchored.  Success, we were safely anchored just before it got dark out.  While Walter cleaned up the deck of the boat from our hour of curious I started preparing the dinner I mentioned earlier and poured a nice glass of wine.

 

 

Dinner was great, I did pork carnitas in the pressure cooker with tortillas, fresh cut cilantro and a touch of lime juice.  A few more glasses of wine while Walter and talked and laughed about our mishap and realized that the tide change was pretty quick and strong in the creek.  We decided that we were really fortunate that it did not happen in the middle of the night, especially as the night was turning out to be a bit overcast.

 

We were exhausted so we got ready for bed and set an alarm for the tide change so we could get up and check the anchor.  We were a little traumatized and did not want a repeat of what happened earlier.

 

I was so tired but a good night sleep was not happening for me.  I think Walter did just fine, at least that is what I figured by the snoring. 

 

The alarm went off, we both sprang to our feet and were on deck before you knew it.  Walter immediately went to check the anchor and would you BELIEVE IT!  In what seemed like a split second the boat moved and the anchor line was back under the boat and we were heading for the weeds and shallow water, again.  My fear came true, it was the middle of the night and a cloudy night at that.  We pretty much repeated the same routine, spare anchor, dinghy, colorful language and now flash lights.   Not sure how long it took to get the anchor line untangled and the anchor reset but it sure felt like forever.

 

No more sleep for us, we decided that we needed to take turns checking on the anchor the rest of the night at least until the sun came up.  Neither one of us wanted to go through that a third time.  The sun could not rise quick enough, finally I could see my hand in front of my face, there was a light at the end of the tunnel or should I say creek.  We were in a huge need of caffeine so I put on a pot of coffee while Walter prepped for our departure.

 

The trip back to the marina was a bit of a let down we were exhausted and cranky.  We had started the week-end out so nicely and we were really enjoying ourselves.

 

Sentinel (definition: a soldier or guard whose job is to stand and keep watch)

 

Walter and I were the soldier or guard for a night but I can guarantee that we will never leave the marina with out a proper sentinel for our anchor.  PROMISE!