Sherry Pickett

Very calm morning motoring north on the Waccamaw River. Nice change of scenery with big beautiful trees lining the banks of the river. Good depths, wide river to start then becomes narrower as you wind your way north. Current against us the whole trip. Saw lots of turtles on logs along the shore. Arrived at the Oxbow anchorage near Enterprise Landing and anchor set well on second attempt. An alligator swam out from a small creek close to the orange (law enforcement) mooring ball then turned back toward shore. Will add pictures once I download from my camera. Lots of osprey around. A strong thunderstorm with gusts up to 36kts, lots of lightning and heavy rain came over us about 4PM. Not fun but all good with us and our buddy boat Second Star.

Very little wind, left at first light to catch mid tide water levels over two very shallow areas within the first 6 miles of our trip. After the shallow sections the trip was quite enjoyable. Beautiful morning and no boat traffic. Wide river most of the way. We did have current against us though making it a slower journey. Saw an alligator!

Leaving Charleston we had to contend with two container ships, one outbound and one inbound at the same time. As we had to cross the shipping channel to head north on the ICW it felt a little bit like a game of frogger but we kept safely out of their way. Next was the infamous Isle of Palms section of the ICW, lots of areas of shoaling and narrow and shallow spots. Happy to be travelling with Second Star again, and will catch up with Esmeralda tomorrow as they took the outside route to Georgetown. Awenda Creek is easy off the ICW and well protected from any waves. Strong current but good holding. Gusty south wind this afternoon 8-10kts g 17-19.

Good weather for overnight passage. Winds pretty steady around 10kts broad reach so kept a good pace motor sailing. Waves were 1-3 feet, 5-6 secs Nice moon rise around 1:30AM. Not much boat traffic just a couple tugs and a few freighters most anchored near Savannah. Nice to have our boat buddies on Esmeralda with us and Second Star behind us who left from St. Augustine.

Left passing through the Bridge of Lions 7:30AM opening. Motored north on the ICW with James & Jaqueline on Esmeralda. Current sometimes with us but most of the day was against us. Beautiful sunny day. Many bridges but all fixed 65’. Stopped at the marina for fuel, pump out and water then took a mooring ball. Met up with Matt & Rob on Isle of Misfits for drinks at Brett’s and then the Salty Pelican. Great shrimp empanadas.

Not much wind today for us in the ICW, current against us for 2 hours then with us for the last two. A little bit of a windy path on this stretch of the ICW but good depth following Bob’s Tracks. We are in the south mooring field of St. Augustine Municipal Marina. Saw our first manatee of the trip just as we arrived in the mooring field. Dolphins playing around the boat late afternoon. Nice to be back in St. Augustine when it’s a little warmer and not quite so busy as it was a few weeks before Christmas on our first visit here.

Nice quiet day on the ICW, motored sailed with wind behind us. Arrived at marina with dolphins to greet us. Dolphins playing and fishing in the current by the bridge. Our assigned slip is the closest to the bridge so great view of the dolphins still swimming right up to our dock. Off to spend a few days here with Tina & Dave.

Winds were gusty mostly from S but at times we were very sheltered in the ICW. Busy Sunday afternoon with many small fishing boats and families out on the ICW. Most challenging section of the day was just after the George Munson bridge near New Smyrna, passing through the Ponce de Leon inlet. Extremely busy with all kinds of boats. Small boats anchored dead in the centre of the channel fishing. Had to go further out the inlet because of boats so close then turn around to follow the track in deep enough water. Interesting that a Tow Boat was sitting in the area just waiting to help someone. Happy to return to Halifax Harbor Marina. Had a very nice dinner at the bar at the Chart House.

South winds behind us all day. Again not too much boat traffic. Picked up mooring ball outside Marina. A bit bumpy as fetch built up from wind. Walked around town. Watched the 11:06PM Starlink launch. 🚀

Gusty winds from behind today as we motored north on the ICW. Very little boat traffic which was nice. First stopped at Eau Gallie to anchor but couldn’t find a spot we were comfortable with. Tried the YC there but they only take reciprocals from Florida yacht clubs. Decided to carry on to next bridge and found a spacious anchorage with decent protection and only one other boat here. Bridge traffic is a little noisy here but will be ok for just a one night stop. Good holding.