UPDATE: St. Johns Yacht Harbor, Charleston and on to Beaufort/Port Royal, SC

Currently Docked at : Port Royal Landing Marina   

Latitude 32 23 45.2 N   Longitude 080 40 39.4 W

http://www.portroyallandingmarina.com/index.htm

Thursday, Dec 17^th, 2008 we moved from McClellanville south past the Isle of Palms, crossed Charleston Harbor, down Wappoo Creek through the dreaded Elliot Cut and down the Stono River to St. Johns Yacht Harbor. The passage was fairly uneventful and the many miles of salt marsh we saw were breathtaking. Crossing Charleston Harbor and seeing the Battery and Fort Sumter from the water is always an awesome site, especially when you think of the history. 

We did have to deal with two bridge tenders (Ben Sawyer and Wappoo Creek Bridges) that need another profession. If I had to guess, neither of the women have ever had to deal with the strong currents that occur near these bridges. No matter how nice you are to these folks, they always seem to get a kick out of seeing sailing vessels caught up in the current and having to maneuver dangerously close to each other and the bridge while they decide to stop watching their game show or soap opera and press the button to open the bridge. Never mind that the hours we were passing these bridges they were supposed to open on request. These folks all seem to go to the same school of rudeness. Shame on the state officials who allow these folks to keep their jobs. They make a great impression for their state with their rudeness and attitude for the boating public.  They seem to have lost sight that they wouldn’t have a job if there were no commercial or pleasure boaters to open the bridge for. I’m planning to get off my soap box and write some letters to state officials to see if we can help change the attitudes of these people.

Friday, Dec 18^th we sat out the storm that hammered the east coast with rain and snow. I can’t remember the last time it rained all day and into the night with the intensity we witnessed. Serious flooding occurred in and around the Charleston area.

Saturday, Dec 19^th we were blessed with sunny skies and a visit from our family. Matt, Tara, Holden and Annalee came to visit us and we had a great day with them. They took us to downtown Charleston which is awesome at Christmas time with all the decorations. They also took us out to dinner at the Charleston Crab House. It was very special to see them and spend time with them on our way south.

Sunday we spent the morning with the kids and we were sad to see them go. The rest of the day we spent planning our next couple of runs down to Port Royal.

Monday we were greeted with frosty docks. What a way to wake up. We shoved off for Beaufort with a planned bail out point at Dataw Island Marina on the Morgan River if we couldn’t make the Bridge at Beaufort by 4:00 pm. Monday was cold but sunny and we enjoyed the scenery along the low country of SC. We decided to bail out and spend the night at Dataw Island and were glad we did. This is a beautiful marina off the ICW with lots of southern charm. The marina is part of a private golf course development and is 1^st class.

Today (Tuesday) we left Dataw Island and ran the 19 nautical miles (nm) to Port Royal Landing Marina which is about 3nm south of Beaufort. We left around 10:15 am and were tied up at the dock by 1:15. Another southern charm facility. These folks are very, very nice and helpful in every way. More to come from Port Royal and Beaufort as we plan on spending Christmas here.