m/v Erika Lin's Adventures: Beaufort, SC to Charleston, SC

Date            April 16 - 18, 2012
Day     293 - 295
Departure    Downtown Marina of Beaufort, Beaufort, SC 7:00 am

Arrival Charleston City Marina, Charleston, SC 3:50 pm

Miles 66.0

Cumulative 4696.6

April 16th - Today we traveled through some of the most beautiful waterways we have seen. W left early and were the only ones on the water. The water was flat calm and the marshes were absolutely stunning. We also traveled through some of the shallowest water we have encountered since we left Canada. On occasion we had only two feet of water beneath the keel. I will let the pictures speak for themselves!


Sunrise in Beaufort, SC

I liked the turtle sculpture on the edge of the lawn.

Docking today was one of the most stressful we have encountered. The wind was gusting to 17 mph, blowing us away from the dock and the current was running extremely hard. We had to make a couple of attempts, as there was a boat at both the bow and stern of our boat and we needed to be between the two of them. The dock staff was waiting on the dock and Lynda knew that she had basically one shot to throw each dock line! The first line was the mid-ship, she nailed it on the first try; one of the dock staff caught it and wrapped it on the cleat. Next was the bow line, this time not so lucky; second try made it. Now the stern-again, first try. Even with both the bow and stern thrusters working, the dock staff had to really pull to get us to the dock because the wind was blowing hard and the current was so strong. Bob did a great job getting us in and when he felt the boat was secure, he cracked open a well-deserved celebration beer! Tomorrow we go into town for some sightseeing. Here is tonight's sunset.

April 17th and 18th - We rode the free marina shuttle into town and took a horse drawn tour through the city. We had another great tour guide who was well informed on the history of the city. Many of the houses in Charleston are listed on the National Register of Historic Homes and have been here since the time George Washington was president. It is mind boggling to think that many of our country's greatest founders actually walked on the same streets that we were walking on. Coiled sweetgrass baskets are one of the oldest African crafts in America and are available in downtown Charleston in the city market and on some street corners. They are made of sweetgrass, bull rush, palm and pine needles. They are made in various sizes and can take from a few hours to a few days to complete and are very beautiful.