South Carolina Historical Tour - Beaufort and Georgetown

 Greetings from Georgetown, SC!  As you can see, we modified our itinerary a bit since my last post.  We decided to skip Jekyll Island and head straight to Beaufort, SC. We left St. Mary's, GA on the morning of July 9th and arrived in Beaufort the next afternoon.

The weather was quite variable during the morning of our journey and we weren't able to sail until mid-afternoon.  After that though, we had calm seas and a following wind...just perfect!  We averaged 6-7 knots with an occasional burst of "speed" to 8 knots :-)

I know that sounds painfully slow, but it's really not.  It's quite peaceful and with the breeze blowing, it doesn't feel that slow.

The next morning we arrived at the inlet to the Beaufort River and had our first lesson in properly timing your entry into tidal areas. The tide was going out at 2-2.5 knots and Starry Night, under motor power only, does about 5 knots.  So...we had to travel a portion of the 20 miles up the Beaufort River at about 2-3 knots SOG (speed over ground) which was painful!. Ack!  

Traveling (very slowly) along the Beaufort River

We were also quite surprised at the difference in water height at low tide and high tide in Beaufort, which was up to 9 feet!!

We tied up to a mooring ball in Beaufort, which is maintained by one of the local marinas.  In addition to the primary benefit of not worrying about dragging the anchor, we had access to the laundry facilities, water, and dinghy dock.

The Beaufort waterfront park, like most of the other southern towns we've visited, is beautifully maintained and is adjacent to nice restaurants and shops.  Just by coincidence, we were in Beaufort during their annual Water Festival, which is a ten day long event with food, music, arts and crafts tents and other events.

Sunset in Beaufort, SC

South Carolina Low Country

Enjoying the Beaufort Water Festival 

We were thrilled to have my brother, Bill, and my niece, Andrea, join us for a few days in Beaufort, where they got a taste of all that comes with living on a boat - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Most people  romanticize the sea-faring life, and there is much to love about it.  But it also comes with being subject to the whims of the weather, managing a limited water supply, and worrying about filling up the waste tanks! 

The weather was variable, as per usual in the summertime....typically sunny in the morning with afternoon thunderstorms rolling in.  We made the most of our time, though, and really enjoyed it.  One of the highlights of their visit was a trip to Hunting Island State Park which has a beautiful beach, where we jumped waves for hours, and a lighthouse.  

 

Day trip to Hunting Island State Park 

My niece, Andrea, taking advantage of the cool breeze

before the impending storm

We also had good circumstances for star-gazing and took the opportunity to pull out our star-gazing book and identify a few new constellations.  Andrea has quite the eye for detail, and was able to pick out Scorpius and several other constellations I had never seen before.

After 12 days in Beaufort, Steve and I rose early to begin the trip to Georgetown, SC - taking advantage of the outgoing tide :-)

Sunrise departure to Georgetown, SC

The morning of the 22nd was clear and cloudless and we had an absolutely wonderful sailing day, maintaining 7-8 knots all day.  We had a bit of excitement at "shift change" at around 11 pm.  Steve was taking over the helm after my 4 hour shift from 6:30 pm - 10:30 pm.  During my turn at the helm, there had been a lot of lightning over the mainland but it was far enough away not to impact the sailing conditions.  

That changed quickly after I went below, to our cabin.  The wind shifted direction by ninety degrees instantaneously, which caused the Starry Night to head upwind and go into "irons".  

For those of you interested in the physics of sailing (i.e. technical weanies), I'll use the "points of sail" diagram to elucidate.

We had been sailing on a broad reach, with the wind angle at around 140 degrees, with sails on the port side. When the wind shifted it was coming from an angle of 220 - meaning the sails were now on the wrong side of the boat.  The forces of the wind therefore caused us to head directly into the wind, which brings the boat to a halt.  Once the velocity of the boat is below a couple of knots, the rudder (steering) ceases to work since the rudder operates by virtue of the velocity of the water passing over it. Thankfully, Starry Night is equipped with engines, so the situation was easily remedied by starting the motors but it's always amazing to me how quickly things can change when you're subject to the elements.

We arrived in Georgetown, the third oldest city in SC, the next day.  Georgetown was quite an interesting place from a historical perspective and was an important port city, and was known for rice and indigo production. During a morning walk, I came across several historical landmarks and homes dating back to 1737. 

   

Historical home (1737) in Georgetown, SC 

 Home of James A. Bowley, the great-nephew of Harriet Tubman 

James Bowley, his sister and his mother, were the first people helped to be emancipated by Harriet Tubman. He went on to become a SC state congressman and newspaper editor.

Home of Joseph H. Rainey, the first black congressman 

to serve in the US House of Representatives, 1870-1879.  

Kaminski House, circa 1750

    

Our visit to SC was capped off by dinner with our daughter, Bridgette, and her boyfriend, Elliot, who drove to see us from Charleston. Perfect end to a wonderful visit to South  Carolina.

Next stop: Carolina Beach! Stay tuned...