Georgetown, SC

We awoke this morning to the sound of water swooshing under the boat – the tide on its way out. Tom told me it was 6:00 and since I knew I couldn't go back to sleep, I got up, made coffee, and waited for dawn. I walked out on the deck listening to owls call in the woods near the boat. And waited. I watched a couple of fishing boats go out the channel with their spotlights on. And waited. I thought for sure the sun should be coming up by now. Finally the stars began to grow fainter and I saw light in the sky to the east. Boats near us were pulling up anchor. Tom came up on deck with the alarm clock in his hand. It is an atomic clock and supposed to change times automatically, but it didn't correct for the time change. So I had gotten up at 5:00, instead of 6. Oh well. I wouldn't have heard the owls otherwise.

So we left the anchorage with 4 other boats and motored into South Carolina – finally. It seemed we would be stuck in NC forever. Went through the bridges together same as yesterday. We picked up another catamaran part way through the day, making 6 of us in line. Took off layers of clothing as it got warmer and warmer. And entertained ourselves pronouncing the name of one of the French Canadian sailboats over and over, trying to replicate the way their French speaking friends pronounced it. The boat's name is Maga Jo, but it sounded so much better with a French accent.

The Waccamaw River which we traveled on today is wildly scenic. The trees have subtle Fall colors now. Turtles were lined up sunning themselves on all the fallen logs. We drifted around multiple bends in the river where the other boats disappeared and there was no sign of civilization anywhere. And there were islands of water hyacinths floating by periodically. One of my favorite spots on the ICW. We did get to sail briefly late in the day when the wind picked up on our beam in a wide, straight part of the river. With the current and sail we were making over 8 knots. Tom needed his sailing “fix” badly and the other catamaran was moving up on us from behind, so we added a little extra push to stay ahead.

Georgetown waterfront

And now we are anchored in another of our favorite places on the waterway – Georgetown. There are no alligators here this time around. I guess they are hunkered down somewhere. Our friends who were behind us on the dock at Carolina Beach during the “wind event” are anchored next door. It's a calm night so far.

Tomorrow we might head offshore to Charleston if conditions are favorable. And it's getting warmer every day.