I liked Georgetown more and more as I spent time there but the noise of the mills, the coffee ground like hard particles building up on the boat from the steel mill, and the mess from birds began to take the bloom off the rose, as they say. I’d hoped to have my friends from Portland catch up but, with their progress, perhaps I’ll just meet them on the way back up.
There was a raw northeast wind blowing but I was only slightly chilly in normal clothing. No long underwear or gloves.
Between the Santee Rivers, I saw a Bald Eagle come nearly straight down about 30 feet from the boat, stick its claws in the water with its wings in a “V” position, make two powerful flaps, and fly off with a fish. Its body never touched the water. I haven’t seen such grace, power, and coordination even watching the Olympics. I expect there is a steep learning curve doing it this well, even for eagles.
I spent a good deal of time running through the Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge standing on the cabin top leaning against the mast with the autopilot remote in my pocket. Just a few feet of height makes a big difference and it was nice to be going through at high tide.
Speaking of tide, this was one of those nice ICW days when you have a fair current all day long.
If anything, the scale of the marshes made more of an impression on me this year than seeing them for the first time. I wish the light had been better for taking this photo of the “Horizon of Grass”. The scale of these marshes has to be seen to be believed.
I’m currently anchored in a side creek with a bit of high ground to give me some lee from the NE wind. The current is holding me beam to it so the boat is heeling and the wind is singing in the rigging but the cabin heater is going. I’ve just had a nice hot shower and am relaxing in the 80 degree cabin until my hair dries.
Charleston is an easy 26 miles away, anchor to anchor, so tomorrow will be an easy day.
There was a raw northeast wind blowing but I was only slightly chilly in normal clothing. No long underwear or gloves.
Between the Santee Rivers, I saw a Bald Eagle come nearly straight down about 30 feet from the boat, stick its claws in the water with its wings in a “V” position, make two powerful flaps, and fly off with a fish. Its body never touched the water. I haven’t seen such grace, power, and coordination even watching the Olympics. I expect there is a steep learning curve doing it this well, even for eagles.
I spent a good deal of time running through the Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge standing on the cabin top leaning against the mast with the autopilot remote in my pocket. Just a few feet of height makes a big difference and it was nice to be going through at high tide.
Speaking of tide, this was one of those nice ICW days when you have a fair current all day long.
If anything, the scale of the marshes made more of an impression on me this year than seeing them for the first time. I wish the light had been better for taking this photo of the “Horizon of Grass”. The scale of these marshes has to be seen to be believed.
I’m currently anchored in a side creek with a bit of high ground to give me some lee from the NE wind. The current is holding me beam to it so the boat is heeling and the wind is singing in the rigging but the cabin heater is going. I’ve just had a nice hot shower and am relaxing in the 80 degree cabin until my hair dries.
Charleston is an easy 26 miles away, anchor to anchor, so tomorrow will be an easy day.
