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.
