Hilton Head Island

Good-bye to Savannah and Isle of Hope.  We enjoyed our quiet days there.  Today Ceci and Jim returned to Atlanta, and we left to keep moving north.  We crossed at least four rivers on their way to the ocean.  We went by countless islands, including Dafuskie and Bull.

Early in the day we saw a barge rounding a red channel marker.  Is he coming our way?  George crossed in front of the barge after talking to the captain and agreeing to pass on the starboard side.  But this guy was moving fast, and we had to hurry to get out of his way.  It has been months since we've passed by a barge.  We had forgotten how they move.  We really should have just stayed on the green side and passed port to port.

The barge was carrying trucks.

The biggest water we crossed was Calibogue Sound which runs between Dafuskie and Hilton Head Islands.  There was a lot of action there.  The water was churning with current and human activity.  We saw the Haig Point ferry, parasailing tourists, sail boats, and fishermen.

This parasailor came right over us.

Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head Island

We pulled into Bryan Creek Anchorage at high tide.  Lately we have anchored in low tide, but we were not concerned.  We found a quiet spot inside with grassy marsh on both sides and 20 feet of water.  I dropped 100 feet of anchor.  By the time I had finished, we were in 4 - 6 feet of water.  This was a bad surprise.  We know there is a six foot tide tonight.  So as I was dropping the anchor chain, the boat was moving around to a shallow spot. George also said he didn't know what the anchorage would look like at low tide.  Would we be in mud?  It's better to see the low tide landscape.

 Instead of working for an hour to find a safe place to anchor, we motored another half hour to Windmill Harbor Marina on the northern end of Hilton Head.  They have their own lock to keep the water calm and at a standard height inside the marina.  We moved slowly into the lock, and they raised Aunt Aggie just 7 inches because it was high tide.  It seemed like a fun activity for the men who live here.  Kind of like having a tree house with a pulley for bringing in snacks.

It is hot here.  Where is spring?  We are inside using air conditioning.  I hope the cool air later makes it possible to open up for sleeping.  Happy Friday!