From Georgia to South Carolina

Brunswick, GA 5/22/05
The next few days held some of the best and one of the most unnerving aspects of cruising. We joined up with another couple at Jekyll for the trip to Beaufort via the intra-coastal waterway and off shore. We spent two quiet days in Brunswick GA. Lovely marina and free laundry! The second day was to insure that we had a day of fair wind for the 12 hour offshore passage. Barbara and Harry Oehler on Our Dream have done the trip several times and we used anchorages which they liked.

Sapello Island, Duplain River 5/24/05
We anchored in the Duplain River in mid afternoon, had showers on the boat read and took naps. The sunset was spectacular and we even had ice cream (rare treat on Sandpiper) for dessert. Our anchor seemed well set so we went to bed feeling secure. During the night the expected front blew thru and the wind piped up in opposition to the strong current .Loy got up at midnight and discovered we had been dragging our anchor closer to shore and to our friend’s boat. Our peace of mind was gone in an instant. We put out more chain and another anchor but did not sleep much! The anchors continued to drag until 3:30 AM. Luckily we had a full moon and could see what was happening. This was the first time in eight months that we did not stay put on our trusty Delta anchor.

Redbird Creek 5/25/05
The next day we rode a rising tide all day thru the marshes and sounds to an anchorage in Redbird Creek. We had a delightful surprise as we were joined by two other boats and of course had a party on one of the boats. (One of the best aspects of cruising is the ability to have a party with great people in the middle of nowhere.)

Beaufort, SC 5/26/05
The next day we sailed down the Ogeechee River to the Atlantic. This was a day when the Mother Ocean treated us like honored guests! The wind blew from the west allowing us to sail all the way to Beaufort! I wish all of you could have been with us! This same ocean back in April had not been as welcoming as we tried to cross to the Bahamas.
We have Been docked at Port Royal Landing Marina. Great facility, friendly people!
On the 27th walked through the historic streets of Beaufort, SC which was colonized by the British. It is a community with a downtown full of homes dating back into the 1700’s. We attended the annual Gullah festival. It is exciting to see this community of Sea islanders celebrating their history and their place in the modern world.

Savannah, GA 5/28/05
We rented a car and made our first visit to this venerable southern city established as a British debtor’s colony. We took a horse drawn carriage tour of the historic areas. The sense of history is rich and the architecture of public buildings and homes makes us feel that we are participants in the early history of our nation.

St. Helena Island, SC 5/30/05
We made a very special trip to the Penn Center. We had heard about this for years. After the fall of Port Royal to the Union troops President Lincoln appealed for missionaries to set up schools to teach the freed slaves. The first was this school named in honor of William Penn, Quaker founder of the state of Pennsylvania. The school provided training until the late 1940’s. The center continues to do early childhood education, and preservation of the history of the Gullah people. Research has now established that the slave traders sought out the people of Sierra Leone because of their familiarity with rice growing which was a major economic activity in the sea islands of South Carolina in the 1700’s. Their language and culture continues to have strong connections with their African roots. In the 1960’s the center became a planning site for Martin Luther King, Jr. and his leadership team as they developed the strategies of non-violence for the civil rights movement. We found ourselves moved by the significance of this place in the history of our country.

Hunting Island, SC 5/30/05
We drove to Hunting Island and climbed the Hunting Island Lighthouse which was destroyed by the Confederacy and reestablished by the Union after the war. The state park gave us an opportunity to study the marsh lands of South Carolina’s coast and pay close attention to the many similarities with the forests of Florida and the difference with the tall pines of South Carolina standing amidst the palmetto and palm trees.