Gales, Dolphins, Pink Flamingos and Mullet

 We pulled into the anchorage at Charleston and was pleasantly surprised to see dolphins surfacing all around us. --wait, before I forget, I have to tell you about my fear of running aground coming true. 

So we stayed at this beautiful anchorage just before Charleston and we(meaning Jon) have picked up the anchor and I'm steering out of anchorage as always. I'm doing fine, lots of water on a rising tide. As I'm going out of the mouth of Awendow Creek it looks like two crab pots are directly in my way  I check my chart and I have plenty of water both sides. I decide to go to my right between them heading up into the ICW.  The current is pushing me a bit and all of a sudden....I'm hard aground. I mean we don't sway one way or another. I try reverse. Jon tries reverse....nope stuck.  Ok now Jon is worried we are going to such up sand or mud,so he turns the engine off.  He's telling me "I told there was schouling there!" "When did you tell me?!!" "Yesterday!"  (You get the picture..from now on we take time before we leave the anchorage) In the meantime I'm looking at the depth and is is fluctuating from 5 to 6 feet but even when I hold on the spreaders(the heavy wires going from the sides of the boat to the mast) and hang way out nothing happens. I look at the chart plotter and see that we will have another foot in a matter of 15 to 20 minutes do I know its rising quickly. I get back hanging out holding on to the spreaders...feet on the side rail and start pumping like you would if you were on a swing. Jon says he thinks he felt us move and heads for the other side to do the same.  But I see we are just barely moving and I don't want the current to push us further on land. So I yell for Jon to start engine and be ready. ....I keep pumping...Jon feels it and puts it in reverse and we are off.....oh my gosh..I've never been so glad that I weigh as much as Jon (well maybe not as much but enough to get us off)  LIFE IS GOOD...oh a dolphin,  everything changes..no harm done. We only lost about 10 minutes...sigh.  

0k, back to Charleston and the dolphins. It was amazing and wonderful. After we got the anchor secure about 600 feet outside the channel.   We sat up on the front of the boat with snack and a beer and watched about 8 to 10 dolphins feeding all around us..even a mom and baby fishing together for about 2 hours. (Sorry, I didn't get pictures) We both were in heaven.   But..we were not anchored off the downtown area.  We were on the other side and it would be to far to try to go explore. We just wouldn't be comfortable being so far away from our anchored boat for several hours. Anyway  we were just as happy to watch dolphins and pelicans.   Night was a different story..look at pictures below to see the big ships that passed us...600 feet away from us. 

Leaving Charleston we anchored in south Edisto River. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We would be amazed as mullet would jump straight out of the water and land on their side. We of course figured this out by asking our friend, Google. Apparently they are looking for more oxygen or something.  

As we left the anchorage we saw dolphins eating breakfast and as we headed for Beaufort,  SC.  Jon noticed  first, a pink flamingo ...at first it was hard to believe your eyes and you have to ask someone else if it was true. I think we saw two so far on our travels. 

We like Beaufort. They really have made the most of their waterfront without making it to commercial. They have a beautiful park with lots of grass and a walkway along the water with about 15 old fashioned porch swings facing the water. You can sit their swinging and looking at the water. Behind and along the park their are restaurants and shops. We also walked into the historic district and marveled at the old trees and houses. 

After Beaufort we anchored in Herb River in Thunderbolt, Georgia and then North Newport River where a dolphin came over ot our boat and just looked at us.  It really seems like the dolphin are more active then the last time we traveled this way. Maybe we are more attentive.  We stayed an extra day to ride out a gale (winds 15 to 25 gusting to over 30 knots- maybe the dolphin was trying to tell us something) Next it was New Tea Kettle Creek. (There are so many interesting sounding creeks and rivers in Georgia) We stayed there two days...another gale. Now we are on Brunswick, GA. Again two days because a gale blew through. I have to say our anchor is a beast and we never moved. Tomorrow we get to Florida.  Yahoooo!

 We were greeted in Charleston Harbor when we put our anchor down by these guys and dolphin

of course it's race day

this is from our window next to our bed....hello, he is only 600 feet from where we are sleeping.....hope the Captain and navigator had their coffee

beautiful South Edisto River anchorage -where we saw mullet jumping

Ladies Island Swing bridge just before Brunswick/we can't capture all the great old trees and houses

low tide -blow up pic to see the crab about to go in potShrimp & Grits----sooo good

the park in Beauford is just beautiful

notice how far docks go out.  There is about a 7ft tide

 our anchorage New Tea Kettle Creek (not to be confused with old Tea kettle Creek) one of the places we waited our a Gale.

Jon talking to our dolphin friend while we travel toward Brunswick, GA on ICW

               this is the one shot I got of dolphin following us for about 45 minutes. Jon and I took turns watching and talking to him/her.