Doing the Charleston!

. . . EXPLORING THE LOW COUNTRY WITH FRIENDS

Kent raises the anchor on Tom Point
Creek at high tide.

After leaving our friends, Hamp and Denise, in Savannah, we traveled a couple of days by ourselves through the Lowcountry. That's what the tidal marsh area on the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina is aptly called. Tides continued to be eight feet (compared to one or two feet on the Gulf Coast), causing strong currents as the huge volume of water ebbs and flows. Low tide revealed deep, long, "gumbo" mud banks -- and shoals that weren't visible in high tide.

Friends Chuck and his wife, Janie, met us 
Friday at St. John's Yacht Harbor, near Charleston. We really like meeting new people along the way, but seeing friends we've known for awhile means so much. Chuck and Janie drove over from Georgia and were our tour guides for the visit.

             Chuck, Janie and Kent enjoy docktails on Carina near Charleston.

Reasons to Go Back

When visiting the Keys, we would say that if we saw everything, we wouldn't have a reason to come back. We definitely have reasons to go back to Charleston. We saw a lot, but there's so much more history to see.

Old town Charleston as seen from Charleston Harbor. Charleston's business district is as modern as any other city's. City planners and residents have kept the historic flavor of buildings in the older parts of town, even when they are newly built.

This beautiful older home -- or is it just older looking? -- is one of many that line certain sections of the harbor.

At first, we thought this was Fort Sumter, but learned it was Pinckney Castle. The castle was built as a fort in the early 1800s, although it never saw a shot fired in anger. When the Confederate forces took over Ft. Sumter, Pinckney Castle was used to house Union captives. We've read that at high tide, the jailed soldiers stood in waist-high water 
inside their cells. 

The ferry to Fort Sumter approaches the island. Private boats aren't allowed to dock there. The fall of the fort was the start of the American Civil War. The U.S. flag flies above the

 many versions of the Confederate flag.

The Confederate H. L. Hunley was the first submarine ever to fire and sink an enemy ship, the U.S.S. Housatonic, in 1864. The sub disappeared shortly after it fired on the ship, never to appear again until it was found in Charleston Harbor in 1995. While on display, it is still undergoing extensive conservation. The sub sits in fresh water charged with electrical

 current to clean a century-worth of barnacles and sediment.

This model of the Hunley sub shows the cramped quarters of the captain and crew. The Hunley had three separate crews from the time it was first built. The sub sank twice while being tested, was raised twice and put back into service each time with volunteers. From her start until 1864, 21 crew members died. What courage it must have taken for that last group of volunteers to climb into the sub, knowing its history.

By contrast, the U.S.S. Clamagore is a World War II-era submarine on display at Patriot's Point in Charleston Harbor. It has an almost 2,000-ton displacement, compared 

to 7.5 tons for the Hunley. 

As monstrously big as the U.S.S. Yorktown is, it's small by comparison to today's aircraft carriers. The Yorktown was built in just 16 months at the height of World War II, earning a total of 16 battle stars for its service there and in Vietnam. The carrier was also used in recovery of the Apollo 8 space capsule.

Chuck and Kent walk the Yorktown flight deck where thousands of planes went to war

 to protect our nation.

After leaving the wonderful St. John's Yacht Harbor where Carina was docked a couple of days, we entered Elliott Cut, a half-mile canal that leads to Charleston Harbor. It's been described as one of two of the most dangerous cuts on the Intercoastal Waterway. Because we left on a rising tide, we had no problems there or when entering the harbor.

The hurricane regulations sign made us laugh. The sign has seen one 
too many hurricanes.

Our next stop (after a few anchorages) is Osprey Marina. We're meeting Roy (aka Turtle Boy) and Yasmine, two good friends from Marathon, at Myrtle Beach where they have their land home, a condo near the beach. It will be good to see them again. They have gotten the "Keys disease," too -- a love of the laid-back life in a warm climate.