We left Port Royal Landing Marina in Beaufort Saturday morning after a good walk for me and a run for Cindy across the bridge.

Here you see the sun coming up just as we were pulling out a little after 7 am. The short days re a little limiting when trying to move down the waterway. Cindy has been busy with the varnishing. Friday was warm and she got her swimsuit out to do the work in.

We have the rails off so getting around to the foredeck is a little risky. As of now, we have 5 coats on, so two more to go before we put the rails back on. We moved on down the ICW to just past Savnnah, Georgia by a couple of miles. I new the weather was going to change and we were looking for a place with a little wind and wave protection, with predicted winds in the upper 30 mph range. Found a nice spot up the Herb River, pretty much all alone. Sure enough yesterday the wind howled pretty good and the temp dropped all day as the cold front came through. It started to lay down late last night and this morning at sunrise it was 38 degrees. This is southern Georgia and it is still October. At least it didn't snow like at home. Today we are in no rush, because of the need to time the tide to get through Hell Gate, a shallow stretch with only 2 feet of water at low tide, and we draw just over 4 feet. The tidal swing is 8 feet, so if we wait to transit at mid tide, we should be fine. But this means we won't pull out of our anchorage until noon or a bit later. Then we will find another spot up a creek in another Georgia swamp. We are working ou way to Jacksonville where hopefully we'll head up the St. Johns River to ultimately leave the boat for the holidays.

Sunset in the Herb River

Yesterday was a beautiful day we spent anchored in Station Creek again. We worked hard stripping the varnish off the portside cap rail. It runs the full length of the boat. The brightwork teak had been neglected by the previous owner and water had begun to seep under the varnish in places where there were seams in the teak or where hardware was attached. We did the worst parts last spring, but the problem was the new varnishdidn't exactly match the old. Two toned cap rails look crappy so the whole thing needed to be stripped and re-done. So we are taking it in steps. Yesterday we stripped the port side from bow to the rear entry door, about 35 feet. Used a heat gun and scrapers. Today we motored up to Port Royal Landing Marina near Beaufort, about an hour and will stay here for 3 nights. The sole purpose is to get the first few coats of varnish on before we move on south. In the mean time, while Cindy is varnishing, I did other chores. We ran into a bit of a Head Issue. Our septic system is really a good one, but it is 17 years old. The toilet flushes with a vacuum flush system. It appeared to be failing the past couple of days with the circuit breaker tripping. Usually this means it is plugged with whatever. So below decks I went. I took the system apart and it was clean, nothing plugging it up, but still a "crappy" job. But I replaced the valves and it is working great now. So much stuff on a boat works best if the boat is used. These valves and other systems rely on lubrication, gaskets that stay lubed etc. When the boat isn't used they dry out and things fail and I think that is what happened. Anyway things are working, varnish is drying and tequila is on ice. We will be here until Saturday, by then 4 coats of varnish will be on and it will be time to move. The weather is nice but cool for here I think, lows around 45-50 and highs upper 60s, but good work weather.

No pictures today, it was crappy out. I do have a story though. The night before last we were in TooGooDoo Creek, another South Carolina low country swamp. It was flat and clear. The moon was a sliver and while we were looking at it, we heard buck snorts, but from the water all around us. Dolphins in the dark everywhere and on all sides, then they started talkng to each other, whistling. Pretty neat experience. We are currently anchored in Station Creek maybe 6 miles south of Beaufort. We stayed here last spring going north and got sunburned varnishing and waxing. It's a nice spot with wave protection, but just a mile or less off the ocean, and not much wind protection. When we got here early afternoon yesterday, I changed the generator oil and filter. The oil changing equipment on the boat leave a bit to be desired. Got the job done but found out today that the pump to extract the oil had a bad impeller, so will order one up off amazon. Worked on inside stuff in view of the weather today and got a good band workout in (so did Cindy). The plan is to hole up here for a few days and do some of the varnishing that needs to be done and then putt on south. A thunderstorm rolled through a couple hours ago and the temp is supposed to drop into the upper 40's low 50's at night this week, all part of a cold front passing by. It is blowing so hard, I can't light the grill, so the steak will be on the stove tonight. All systems working well and no problems we can't solve.

Beautiful day today, cloudless and light wind. We stayed at the St. John's Yacht Harbor last night.
Got a hike in this morning and saw some pretty foliage.

Used the marina courtesy car for a Walmart resupply and when we returned, found out the marina was having a picnic today. It was in support of the Folded Flag Foundation, a veterans educational fund. It included a run and a barbecue and pig roast and they made us feel welcome. Great pulled pork, chicken and grilled sausage. We pullded out around 1:00, made good time with a favorable tidal flow and are camped in Toogoodoo Creek. The sunset tonight was spectacular, and I have a line out, we'll see what happens.

October 20
When we left Conway, we traveled down the Waccamaw through a thunderstorm that passed through and the temp dropped 20 degrees. The cold front put us into temps more like Ely for the next couple of days. Traveled to Georgetown, SC and anchored alone in the harbor there. Nice spot. Historic downtown Georgetown is right on the waterfront. We dinghied in with the bikes and Cindy got a chance to check out the Good Will and Salvation Army, but no treasures. Thursday I worked all day online. There is a free dock at Georgetown for day use, so we tied up there and when I was working, Cindy was able to get a run in and poke around in the shops. We pulled out of there when I finished working Thursday afternoon and went down Winyah Bay to the inlet right on the ocean, anchored for the night at a gorgeous spot with the plan to depart early Friday morning for an outside run to Charleston. The forecast was for 2-3 foot seas. Departed at first light, just before 7 AM and had a nice day run down the coast. Our holding tank for septic is 35 gallons and is full, needing emptying. You are allowed to empty it at sea, as long as you are off shore 3 miles minimum. We were 6 miles out, so emptied the tank and gave it a good flush. Charleston Harbor was fairly busy with sailboats on a sunny Friday afternoon when we arrived. The initial plan was to anchor out again, but couldn't find a place that fit. We like to be off alone when we can and the whole place was prety busy, so we opted for St Johns Yacht Harbor, a fairly inexpensive option as far as marinas go in this area. We need to get water anyway and have not stayed at a marina since Southport 10 days ago. They have a courtesy car for boaters and will probably use that for a Walmart run Saturday, then move on.

At anchor in Winyah Bay, just inside the inlet

Views astern down the coast

Fort Sumter as we traveled past

This morning on Cox Ferry Lake

Had a beautiful camp last night in Cox Ferry Lake, a couple of miles downsteam from Conway. Absolutely flat night. Lots of stars. This morning we went back u to Conway for a few hours. Cindy shopped at thrift stores and found a great vintage wedding dress for her store but didn't buy it, didn't know how she'd get it home. I found some "good" stuff, wiring parts and fittings at NAPA for the back porch light and the battery cable connector to the starting motor. I also scored some fresh shrimp at the local seafood market. The morning was beautiful, clear and calm but mid day a cold front came through, temp dropped 20 degrees in a couple of hours and the wind kicked up out of the north, thunder, lightning and rain for an hour or two. By the time we pulled over around three, it had settled down and are currently in a river branch, Bull Creek anchored with a couple of other boats. We stayed at this sot last winter. Plan is to wander towards Georgetown tomorrow for a couple of days. Then maybe another day or two on the outside to avoid the Georgia shallows.

This part of the river looks like going up Loon River to Lac La Croix

Last Sunday October 8, Cindy and I left Ely, drove to Hermantown to visit with Barry, Bethanie and boys. I worked Monday from there and then drove to the Cities, stayed with Marion overnight, flew to Wilmington to get to the boat t Southport. Steve Wallace at Zimmerman Marine had put Burntside back in the water on Friday after summer nap on the hard. A new wsher dryer were installed and the prop re pitched over the summer. We provisioned and got some more tools and parts, then pulled out Thursday mid day. Didn't go very far, to an anchorage we stopped at a couple of times before called Tina's Pocket. Checked the systems out and all is working fine. The next morning, no start on the engine, with a bad terminal connection on the starter. I fixed that and we departed on the outside on a nice cloudy day with 3' seas, a short jump down the coast to Little River. Anchored just inside the inlet mid afternoon took a hike on the dunes and had a quiet night. Left yesterday morning, stopped after a couple of hours at the free dock mile marker 355, near the Conway bypass bridge. We had stayed here before as well. There is a Walmart and Cold Stone across the road where we picked up some additional supplies. Left there and anchored just north of the Enterprise Landing last night, quiet with owls hooting and lots of stars.

found a dumpster where I dove for a 4' 2x4 I needed

sunset on the Waccamaw

Docked for the afternoon at Conway, SC.
Good music and food at this place and really nice new docks 

We traveled up the Waccamaw River to Conway SC, got in a nice bike ride and will eat here later this afternoon, then move back down a couple of miles to an anchorage away from town. Really friendly people here. Were serenaded by a blues singer at this restauraunt off our stern this afternoon.