Back in the ICW in Low Country

We said goodbye to Georgetown in the early morning fog, which we expected to lift soon.

There was an eerie feeling to the morning as we passed the fishing boats.

But the fog did not lift quickly so we moved very carefully and very slowly back out into the ICW.

The sun tried to break through but just couldn't do it. — The sun tried to break through but just couldn’t do it.

We used the chart plotter, the radar, the ICW markers and our eyes and ears as we continued along.

The morning continued to have that eerie Halloweenie feeling.

Hurrah! The sun finally won and brightened our day and our spirits. What a relief! We traveled along, sometimes with the current and sometimes against it. It all depended upon whether there was an inlet opening near the ICW. It was very hard to predict just what it would be, quite unlike our New England waters. We did pretty well and had a nice assist from the current for most of the day.

A beautiful day in the ICW in the Low Country

A beautiful white bird stands out against the marsh grasses — A white bird stands out against the marsh grasses

There had been warnings about unusually severe shoaling in certain sections of the ICW so we kept a watchful eye on the depth at all times. There are major tides here in South Carolina. Most of the homes along this stretch had their own docks, but they sat in mud at low tide.

Can you see how the dock sits in the mud at low tide? — Can you see how this dock is sitting in the mud at low tide?

This is an ICW marker that supposedly marks the edge of the safe depths. Don’t think so! It is sitting in mud – don’t go near there.

How I wished I had my camera! The iPhone just can’t do this justice. We passed several structures that could only be the remains of the gates built to regulate the water in the rice fields, letting in water when needed and keeping it out when necessary. Supposedly a slave chid would sit atop the gate and wash his/her hands in the water on the non-field side. As long as the soap lathered, all was well. As soon as the soap no longer lathered, it was a sign that the water was sea water and salty. Any sea water let into the fields would ruin the soil for many years.

The structure that you can barely see is the remnants of a rice field gate.

It still amazes us how often we dolphins in the ICW, sometimes far from the ocean, or so it seems to us.

There was a dolphin greeting party as we entered Long Creek to stop for the night. us as we — There was a dolphin greeting party as we entered Long Creek to stop for the night.

Long Creek was a lovely place to settle for the evening. A perfect example of the many winding, squiggly-wiggly creeks throughout South Carolina’s lowcountry.

Evening in the salt marshes of Long Creek

Still catching fish as the day comes to an end.

Off to Charleston tomorrow!

October 31^st – Adventure statistics so far
Days since we left home – 50 days
Days traveling – 31 days
Miles traveled – 1,046 nautical miles
Average distance traveled per day – 34 miles
ICW miles covered – 469 statute miles
Distance outside ICW since Mile 0 – 102 offshore nautical miles
Nights at dock – 10 (2 were free docks)
Nights on mooring – 2 (free)
Nights at anchor – 27 (also free!)
Longest passage – 13 hours, 84 miles Sandy Hook, NJ to Atlantic City, NJ

Ice cream parlors – 8 (that’s really not many)

Museums – 7 ( a mix of history, science and art)

C&D Canal Museum, Chesapeake City
American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore, MD
Town of Oxford Museum – Oxford, MD
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum – St Michaels, MD
Virginia Air and Space Museum – Hampton, VA
North Caroline Maritime Museum – Beaufort, NC
Rice Museum – Georgetown, SC

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