Vero to Socastee

       Wait, where is Socastee? Thought we were going to Annapolis? Well, we are but events changed our plans a bit. Adventure description follows and remember, we hate adventures. 

     Socastee is near the southern end of the Myrtle Beach, SC area. Myrtle Beach is about 60 miles long so there are several towns along the way. 

    We left Velcro Beach before sunrise in partly cloudy and warm conditions. It was a bit breezy and only got worse. As forecast, however, the wind was behind us and was not an issue for our catamaran. With the genoa and motoring we occassionally got up to 8.5kts over the bottom. Fast. We made it to Addison Pt./NASA Causeway bascule bridge before it closed for rush hour and then anchored just beyond it. It was lumpy and we very slowly dragged our anchor in the windy conditions. A reset worked out better. Overnight was okay with some rain but the morning rain was a no-show. We went to New Smyrna and anchored in our normal southbound stop just as the rain started. This was about half the distance we could have covered but tornado and thunderstorm warnings made a good reason to stop early. We had to reset our anchor as we swung close (they said) to a previously anchored boat. More likely we were floating differently in the wind/current combo, not dragging. Anyway, the next day we stopped in Daytona for fuel then kept going. We anchored in a new spot for us, off Fort Matanzas. A lot of current,  (nowhere near the worst we've been in) but a very nice spot. Scenic, historic and semi-protected.

                       Fort Matanzas

Should have come here a couple of years ago when the Crescent Beach Bridge broke for two days. It's less than 2 hours south of St. Augustine where we went next for the weekend. After having local friends, Bob and Jane, to the boat for lunch on Sunday, we went out to sea on Monday. 

     We needed to avoid a part of Georgia because a bascule bridge was broken and could not open for us. When we would have gotten to the bridge it would have been too windy and rough at that time to go out into the ocean so before that we decided to try to skip Georgia entirely and go directly to Charleston offshore. This is normally a full day, an overnight, and a part day of travelling out at sea. It started out great. Seas were under a foot and diminished as the passage went on. We had a near flat calm from 1400 (2pm) to 0200 but after that, things changed. For the worse. Way worse. Seas quickly climbed to 2-3ft and the breeze grew to 12kts at just a slight angle away from the path we were taking to Chucktown. Of course, it got worse again. Way worser. After 4am, seas built to 6-8 feet and the wind was on the nose at 20-25kts with higher gusts. This slowed us down considerably. Our arrival time went from 1030 to after 1600 (4pm) and the boat was being beat up by the waves. Items that had never been moved by weather, lines that have never chafed and things that had never gotten wet in adverse conditions were all affected. We got sprayed while steering, of course, but while Carol was in the forward port corner of the cockpit sleeping we were hit by a solid wall of water. I got soaked steering as usual but the water went through the underside of the forward bimini and dodger and onto Carol. That was a new experience. After numerous 10ft seas (our biggest ever) we decided to change course a little after sunrise. Instead of continuing on to Charleston we headed for the Edisto River entrance. The angle of the wind and waves improved but they did not get any smaller. A problem (or two) was still coming up. The river inlet channel had a shallow spot (a bar) out in the ocean and the wind speed and sea angle (and heights) was making the approach a major challenge. We called the Coast Guard on the VHF radio to let them know what we were going to attempt and to set up a communication schedule so they would check with us if we did not contact them in ten minute increments. First time for us to ever do that. If they called us and we didn't respond it would mean something bad had happened. Real bad. Then they might send out a vessel to investigate. Might. Eventually. Well, it worked out okay. It was a struggle to maintain control with the wind and seas on our stern quarter. A real workout. A wet workout. But we made it into calmer water and lived to tell the tale (duh). We had confidence in our boat and reasonable confidence in our boat handling skills but there was room for doubt. A lot of room.  

     We have gotten sea spray plenty of times. We've had waves come over the bow and then over the hardtop bimini and over our heads. But we never had solid walls of water hit us like these did. It will make great stories in the future but at the time that was pretty far from our minds. Carol said a condo purchase suddenly sounded much better than in the past. I often post these blogs saying, "it wasn't the worst we'd ever been in, but a good attempt." Well, this was now the worst we'd ever been in. 

     We had to travel inland on the Edisto several miles before we rejoined the ICW but even with all the wind, the water was mostly calm because there was no fetch. We were quite comfortable and got a start on clean up and reorganization of the boat, inside and out. We anchored in the Stono River just outside Elliot Cut, a spot we've used on other passages. This is just outside (south) of Charleston. So, we did not get quite as far north as we planned but our chances of getting injured (or worse) dropped dramatically. We did have fatalities on the boat, however. The plants on our stern were killed by the salt water that hit them. RIP.

               Dead plants and grass

 We got a late start the next morning due to bridge schedules and went through Chucktown to Minim Creek near the little village of Quarantine. We planned to go all the way to Winyah Bay to anchor but the wind was too strong for that semi-exposed anchorage. Our secret spot off of Minim Creek is much more protected. It was still breezy in the morning, gale warnings in fact, when we departed. We got up early to try and beat the forecast storms but it did not get as light as early as it did the previous morning. Heavy cloud cover, I guess. We knew it was going to be a nasty day but the wind and waves would be on our stern so we would not be uncomfortable, much like our first passage after Vero. We stopped for fuel at Waca Wache Marina and in doing so turned into the wind and current to tie up. Sporty. While fueling I had difficulty avoiding being knocked over by the wind. Especially the gusts. We pulled away from their dock with brilliant boat handling skills and continued on to Osprey Marina. Once there, we were squeezed into a small spot and waited for the storms. This is a very narrow hurricane-hole type spot but the wind was still rocking us. The trees on either side of us were waving back and forth dramatically. Enough so that we worried we could be hit by one if it broke or was uprooted. Tornado warnings were posted and we wondered why you can be in a spot that will protect you in a hurricane but not a tornado. We do not want to find out the answer to that question. Our passage to Socastee should have taken us about 6 1/2 hours. It took us 5. Including the 30 minute stop for fuel. That's what wind and current on the stern will do for you. And why it's so miserable when it's against you. 

Solid water went through these windows like they were not even there. Popped the snaps without ripping them. Considerate. 

     So, we are at Osprey Marina in Socastee, SC near the Myrtle Beach area. Staying 4 nights to let spring catch up to us, do laundry (a lot got salt soaked) and to visit a former co-worker of Carol's who recently got very bad health news. From here it's a couple of days to Carolina Beach where we will stay a couple of nights. Then we will continue up the ditch to Annapolis. Hopefully we will not need another blog entry before then. 

PS... Imagine being at the beach out in chest-deep water. A wave comes and you kind of bounce up and the wave passes under you comfortably. That's normally what a boat does. Now, move back so the water is at your knees. A big wave will come above you and drive right though you, smashing you into the beach like a solid wall of bricks. That is somewhat like what we experienced. Not every 10ft wave does that but every once in a while one will catch you and smash you. Two or three times an hour is enough to ruin your whole day. 

     Start humming the words to 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'.

PPS... we know others have experienced conditions much worse than what we had. Good for them. 

PPPS... look up lee shore.