TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 48 NM
DOCKED AT: PALMETTO BAY MARINA, HILTON HEAD, NC
ICW MILE MARKER: 563.8
SUNRISE: 6:58 SUNSET: 7:50
HIGH: 77 LOW: 49
TODAY’S BRIDGES: 0
Due to our order on the dock and the swiftness of the current, Gypsea pulled off first, we followed next then Rho-Jo left the dock. Soon we shifted Rho-Jo to the front and chugged after his lead. One of the first sights of the morning was a distant cruise ship in the ICW. Hummm?!
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| RHONDA AND JOE IN THE LEAD |
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| CRUISE SHIP IN THE ICW |
We eked our way through the shallow Hell’s Gate that connects the Ogeechee River to the Vernon River then were soon passing Moon River. Yes, that’s the same Moon River immortalized by songwriter Johnny Mercer and singer Andy Williams. While Savannah looms close by land, it is a good two hours by water and we opted out this trip.
WE ARE SEEING MORE AND MORE OSPREY NESTS
Soon we found ourselves entering South Carolina waters and passing Haig Point on Daufuskie Island. For you fans of Pat Conroy, this is the setting of his novel “The Water is Wide” where he chronicles his first year of teaching. This island, still only accessible by water, was granted to the freed slaves after the Civil War. They made their living as oystermen, lumbermen and farmers. By the way, the pronunciation of Daufuskie is “Da fus key” as in “the first key” as the inhabitants of this small island said it.
To reach our night’s destination on Hilton Head Island we headed into Broad Creek to the Palmetto Bay Marina just shy of the Cross-Island Expressway Bridge. Rhonda and Joe headed just a tad bit further to Broad Creek Marina to dock. They have friends, Dena and Phil, that work and live on their boat there. Later in the evening we all met for drinks and dinner at our lovely resort. I feasted on my first soft shell crab of the season!!
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| PALMETTO BAY MARINA |
In 1663, Hilton Head was spotted by English Navy Captain William Hilton. It really hit the big time in the 1950s when the development boom swept the area. Today herds of tourists and “snow birds” flood to her shores to enjoy the balmy weather, manicured golf courses, lovely beaches and abundant preserved nature sanctuary.
South Carolina is the first place in the United States that tea was ever grown and is the only state ever to produce tea commercially. “Sweet Tea” reigns as king here and a great thirst quencher.
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