Savannah, GA to Beaufort, SC
Our cruise from Savannah (Thunderboldt), GA to Beaufort (B-EWE-FORT), SC.
Sunday, April 7. Our port hole glass replacement was inspected and we were good to go. After a pump out and added water to the tank we headed for Bull Creek to anchor traveling 28 miles.
Bull Creek sunset.
Monday, April 8th. Eclipse Day! We went through Port Royal Sound on the way to Beaufort, SC. This was big water but without stormy waves. Nice to have an easy cruise—another 28 miles.
Barge on the way to Beaufort—we haven’t seen many barges since our time in the rivers.
Aton as we entered the ICW from Port Royal Sound. Seriously popular with the birds!!!
We had reservations at Beaufort’s Safe Harbor Marina the following day so we pulled up to Beaufort’s free day dock to check out the town and marina.
Such a nice day dock Beaufort offers boaters.
As we walked back to the boat we noticed everyone was looking up—duh—eclipse. I had purchased glasses and had a few extra to share. We didn’t see the full eclipse as we were east of the path, but we did see a pretty big bite out of the sun and the temperature definitely dropped. We left to an anchorage about a mile away in Factory Creek.
Eclipse!
Factory Creek Anchorage.
Tuesday, April 9. We left our anchorage and went back to the day dock to wait for our slip to open up at the marina. We walked a bit of the town and were excited for the next couple of days. Beaufort has a nice vibe and easy walking to see the town. Shortly after getting coffee we pulled into our assigned slip. We had more arsenal ordered to tackle the constant no see ums as well as other items that we arranged to deliver to the marina.
In addition to the big blue zapper received in Savannah, we ordered another tennis zapper, bounce (unscented) recommended, the purple bottle has listerine, witch hazel and tea-tree oil—found this recipe on the internet, two local sprays, off, 3M in the green can—highly recommended by a dock hand, and a thermacell. Oh and the small little purple/white bottle is soothing to the skin after these enemies bite! My best defence is Darth. They take one look at him and leave me alone. Or as Darth says—they say ptoooey!
The live oaks line the streets.
Homes are beautiful in Beaufort.
Wednesday, April 10. Celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary, we ate, toured, and ate some more. It was a beautiful day just to enjoy our time in Beaufort.
One of our favorite restaurants in Beaufort—Low Country Produce.
Low country Produce donuts, they are fresh, warm and delicious!
We went on Emma’s Golf Cart Tour. It was so much fun. This is from the neighborhood showing the marsh land out to the river. The tour guide said he used to fish and play in these growing up.
One of many of the beautiful old houses. The tour guide told us the Haint Blue seen on the porch ceilings may be there for a couple of reasons. Haint is the Gullah pronunciation for haunt -or spirtit. A restless spirit caught between life and death would find a dwelling to haunt, but they cannot cross water. Legend says that haints tend to be mischievous and will wreak havoc on the homes family. Tricked by the blue ceilings the spirits will avoid the house. Yes, I googled this—its a thing! ORRRR the color is said to prevent bugs….and/or the blue has a calming effect.
The weather was turning so we opted for wood stove pizza and celebrate our anniversary back on the boat.
Thursday, April 11. The rain and wind arrived! The wind gusts were 46mph. When there was a break, I did laundry. Some of the best information is received by doing laundry! Lynn and Regan (Hesperus) and Carol from (North Star) shared destinations and whether the weather would allow us to leave the next day.
Darth Vader not doing well—-had to do a double take as he’s floating in this abandoned dinghy.
Carol and Alan from North Star invited us along to dinner at the Bull Tavern as the storm passed.
This is ‘soft shell crab’ a treasured dish to this region as the season is short. I’m told there are different ways to cook them. You can eat the whole crab!
Being from the northwast and eating Dungeness Crab—-I can honestly say without apologies there is no comparison.
AND, if you ever find yourself in the Pacific Northwest and would like to try crabbing for Dungeness Crab, I highly recommend contacting Anglers Unlimited in Anacortes, WA! : ) Jamie & Scott Propst are the best at fishing, crabbing & shrimping in the PNW.
Friday, April 12. We left after a pump out and adding water to anchor at Church Creek on the way to Charleston.