Discretion Is The Better Part Of Valor!!!!

SHIP'S LOG:

I got a call last night from Chuck Estell who has made the trip on the ICW, up & down, a dozen times. He warned me that I was headed to the most dangerous spot on the ICW, Elliot's Cut. It is just beyond Charleston. It is dangerous because it is a narrow cut through a rock face and beyond it two rivers merge and flush through it into Charleston Harbor. Unless you go through a slack tide, you will be battling a 4-5 knot current in a narrow cut with no margin for error. He told some hair raising stories of his experiences, enough so that I was going through at slack or not at all. Discretion is the better part of valor.

I left Whiteside Creek, after going up the mast to check out the marsh it's in. It stretches for miles. The marsh grass is about 5 feet high and from the cockpit you can't really see anything. Sort of like being in the movie, "The African Queen."

Back out on the ICW, I found that this stretch bears little resemblance to the Magenta Line on the charts. The depth of the water goes from 20 feet to 14 feet to nothing in a hurry. You would think that this close to a major city, they would do a little more dredging but such is evidently not the case. Passing by Isle of Palms I was looking for a marina to fuel up and pump out but the two there were set inside the Isle of Palms, off the ICW and the entrances to both were narrow and shallow. Call me chicken but I have seen enough of Towboat/US as I am sure they have of me.

Approaching the Ben Sawyer Memorial Bridge, just outside of Charleston Harbor the water was still shallow. I only draw 5 1/2 feet but I get nervous whenever the depth approaches single digits. But no grounds, not even a kiss and I was under the bridge, after it swung open, and into the Harbor with the city to starboard and Fort Sumter to port. when you look at the fort, you can see that it must have provide the city with wonderful protection. But it is so close the the land on either side that at the start of the Civil War, it was a real trap. Just passing by it gave me a thrill and a chill. This was a place of real history and it was amazing to see it at last.

Charleston Harbor is good size and has a heck of a current running through it at tide. It was rather choppy as well and it really cut down the speed even further. Needless to say, I wasn't going to make slack at Elliot's Cut today. I headed up Wappoo Creek that leads to the cut to an anchorage that was suggested. However, I found that it was really exposed to the current and to the passing boats. All of the guides recommend that you use two anchors. I have enough trouble with one and I had no desire to repeat the Thoroughfare Creek incident either. There is some anchoring in the Ashley River but the holding is poor. It left me with no option but to dock for the night. I got to pump out and fuel up and got to see a little of Charleston while I was at it. It is really quite a beautiful city, especially the older section along the water front. With slack being 13:14 at the Wappoo Bridge 2 miles before Elliot's Cut, I have time tomorrow to get to Fort Sumter, do a little shopping and be there in time to make it through the cut unscathed. The weather for the next few days will be in the 70's and clear and if my timing is right, I will be on my way toward Beaufort (pronounced BUU - Ferd) and hopefully a chance to haul and fix my dinghy. Tomorrow's choices for anchorages are Church Creek, Toogoodoo Creek and Tom's Creek. Talk about being up a creek . . . . . .