Heading to North Carolina

 Log 21552

Mosquito Creek off the Ashepoo River

It was raining hard when I awoke at 6:30 yesterday morning at Skull Creek Marina on Hilton Head. The coastal forecast for the area had deteriorated badly overnight, and there were marine warnings posted for severe thunderstorms and possible waterspouts. We had to abandon our plan to run outside to Charleston and instead head up the Intracoastal Waterway. Given that, we didn't leave until around 10 am, planning to arrive at a few shallow spots at high tide.

Help getting through the shallow spots from our new forward-looking Sonar

We passed through Beaufort, SC at noon, survived one shallow area, and arrived at the Ashepoo River at around 3 pm. Rather than turning right to follow the ICW, we turned left up the Ashepoo to Mosquito Creek. We were hoping for dock space at B&B Seafood where they charge a flat $25 a night to dock and where fresh shrimp is available inside. Alas they had no space, and when we anchored nearby our dinghy wouldn't start. So no fresh shrimp for us last night. Our anchorage though was quite nice. There are a few houses nearby, but we were in a very peaceful spot for the night. The Lovely Laura Lee prepared lamb chops and we dined on the back deck overlooking the beautiful marsh at sunset.

Sunset view at dinner on the aft deck

We had departed Thunderbolt in Savannah Tuesday at noon, and the trip to Hilton Head was uneventful except for a wild ride when we went out the Tybee Roads ship channel with a strong thunderstorm ahead, and wind blowing into an outgoing tide. It was pretty rough for about an hour until we turned back in behind Hilton Head. 

Tuesday night we walked from our marina about 3/10's of a mile to the Old Fort Pub Restaurant. It was surprisingly good food served to us outdoors on a deck overlooking the water. A very nice night until around 8:30 when the mosquitoes came out in full force. 

We should be able to easily make it to Charleston today. It is a little foggy this morning with low clouds. It should become partly cloudy by mid-morning. We are bound for Oriental, NC on the Neuse River in what I call the "Inner Banks" area. We have reserved a slip there for a month at River Dunes, which looks like a good place to hang out for a while. We'll keep you posted.