History is the future

When planning our trip, we were worried about the ICW being crowded with northbound boat traffic. Snowbirds that make the annual fall migration to Florida and especially the Keys are on the move to return to the higher latitudes, now that the snow has melted. But to our surprise, the waterways are mostly empty - a few boats headed north, and a few local sports anglers and commercial fishermen, as well as the occasional gaggle of jet skis.

We’ve made good time, cruising most of the time at 20 knots or so. There’s time at the end of each day to explore the areas near our marinas. In Beaufort (in South Carolina it’s pronounced Bew-fort; NC calls theirs “Bo-Furt"), we stayed at the Downtown Marina of Beaufort.

Most of the grand palatial houses were second in-town homes
for the planters - their main crib was on their island plantation.

We shared the lay-along dock with a 112’ yacht from Palm Beach. A crew of 4 keep Canira looking sleek and ship-shape. But then Marvin helped them with their dock lines as they departed this morning! We also met a guy from Apalachicola, on the quest for the Great Loop, and a couple from Orlando on a new Boston Whaler, going to their summer home in upstate New York on the Hudson River.

We caught up to Canira and passed on the way. AIS gave us her specs, course and speed. 

The Downtown Marina is in the heart of the town in a very nice park that was constructed in the late 70’s. We were told that it is floating park - an engineering feat that I’m not sure I quite understand! We walked around town, took a free shuttle, and visited the museums. We enjoyed the art galleries, too and, how could I forget, the Chocolate Shop. They supplied Tom Hanks with his "box of chocolates" for the Forrest Gump location shoot. 

St. Elena (across the river from Beaufort) was important in the Spanish conquest, serving for a time as the center of government for La Florida which spanned north to present-day Virginia and west to Alabama. After the Spanish left, the English came. Beaufort was an important town during the Revolutionary War. Loyalists left Beaufort for The Bahamas following this war. Union forces held the town during the Civil War and plantation owners left Beaufort. Then, Reconstruction started in Beaufort following Emancipation and the end of the war. And, of course, Parris Island (also across the river from Beaufort) is important today as the training center for the Marines.

Our plans to stay at the City Marina in Charleston were thwarted, as they had no transient berths. Upon arrival at Charleston, we found we’re here during the Spoletto Festival - and that might account for the spectacular fireworks show off our stern. Instead we are staying at Bristol Marina just up the river from the heart of the city. Because there are 2 low bascule bridges before the marina entrance, the boats moored here are more our size. At the City Marina, several yachts are larger than Canira! We’ll move a little further north tomorrow to the Charleston Harbor Resort to see how the other half lives.

Dragon Boat races on a Saturday
morning start at the Bristol Marina

After arriving in Charleston, we Ubered to Meeting Street for lunch at Noisy Oyster and re-provisioning at Harris Teeter, a new grocery experience for us. We walked from Bristol Marina, under the expressways on a concrete boardwalk along the waters edge, to the City Marina to eat dinner at the City Variety Store Restaurant. We've always had a good experience there, but not tonight.

Tomorrow there’s more to explore!


6.1.2018