The Carolinas

We've been working our way up the ICW through the Carolinas. It is a snake like path for the most part full of twists then straightening for canals and cuts which link rivers and creeks . The channel is fairly narrow in most places and that makes sailing a real challenge. Straying out of the channel means you go aground hard and fast. South Carolina is still a bit tropical but slowly becomes that unique blend of seashore, marsh, river and swamp that is Low Country. It is not great sailing but it is beautiful in a spooky and wild sort of way. As with everything , it is also more developed even than last fall! We have spent some time in fabulous places here. Beaufort ( Bew ) of Pat Conroy fame. This is the setting Conroy's many books and for the films Conrack and Prince of Tides. I guess some of the Forrest Gump shots were made here too. People here still talk about Nick Nolte and Tom Hanks as if they were local. Fast running rivers eventually lead to Charleston . The currents here are fierce as two rivers come together to make Charleston Harbor. This makes docking such an adventure. We watched one skipper try to put the dock on his starboard side but the current just grabbed him and turned him around completely. There were a few chances for a port side tie up but after several turns in the narrow dock area he finally tied up. This was accomplished with the required calls to fend off and scampering on deck along with helpful supervision from anyone on the docks. Sometimes you watch the show ; sometimes you are the show! Charleston just never disappoints. So much history took place here. Tales of pirates, war heroes and scoundrels abound. I do have a somewhat different take on the War of Northern aggression but never mind. Each afternoon the skies let go with deluges of rain, thunder and lightening. We were wading in the street almost knee deep to get to a bar - just for shelter of course. The bar tender was from Boston. Once we talked with him , he played Drop Kick Murphys and Dirty Water for us. I said something about the flooding and he just said welcome to low country happens all the time! Georgetown, about 60 miles away. is an old city that now has busy, noisy papermills . It was the homebase of Francis Marion the Swamp Fox of Revolutionary war fame. Their harbor is not big but it is quite pleasant. There is a riverwalk around the whole harbor for an enjoyable stroll. The water is river brown here as in most of the ICW along this stretch. After Tom saw an alligator, I was completely against a swim no matter how hot it got. Many people were water skiing and tubing though. We are now in Beaufort - (BO ) NC with it's charming waterfront. There is a ton of development on the Morehead City side of things but it can't quite ruin the beauty of Beaufort and the outer banks. Saw many wild ponies and wading birds near Cape Lookout. Moving along tomorrow if the Tstorms let up .